Teaching Policies, Procedures and Parental Responsibilities 

1. All Oldham Active Swimming Teachers are fully qualified and have current DBS checks before they are allowed to teach.
2. Swimming Teachers are only responsible for pupils during their swimming lessons and parents/guardians are responsible at all other times. The swimming lesson begins when the Swimming Teacher accepts charge of the pupil and ends when the lesson finishes.
3. Parents/guardians must remain on the premises whilst the pupil is attending their swimming lessons. This is imperative in case of the unlikely event of a medical emergency, building evacuation or other emergency situation. Pupils must be collected promptly at the end of the lesson.
4. Parents/guardians must never distract the teacher during a lesson and should direct all communication through the reception staff or via email to the site email address;

• Chadderton Wellbeing Centre – [email protected]
• Failsworth Sports Centre – [email protected]
• Oldham Leisure Centre – [email protected]
• Royton Leisure Centre – [email protected]
• Saddleworth Pool & Leisure Centre – [email protected]

Parents/guardians should not try speak with a teacher during the period that lessons are in progress as it is dangerous and will distract the teacher from the supervision of the pupils in their lesson.

5. A coloured swimming hat will be issued when joining the swimming lessons and new hats will be issued when transferring to the next teaching stage. Lost or damaged hats can be replaced by purchasing a new hat from reception.

Pupil Illness 

1. If your child has been off due to illness then a doctor’s note should be provided and a reduction may be applicable.
2. If your child has been ill specifically with sickness or diarrhoea Oldham Active would ask that you use a ‘common sense’ approach as whether to bring them to their swimming lesson.

Swimming Lesson Programme 

1. All of our ‘learn to swim’ programme classes are held over a 30 minute timeslot which includes 25 minutes of guaranteed swimming time.
2. Pupil to Teacher ratios are in line with Swim England & STA Standards.

Swimming Lesson Dress Code & Hygiene 

1. All children should wear appropriate fitting costumes/trunks and shorts specifically designed for swimming. Baggy costumes/trunks can hamper learning.
2. All children are to wear swimming hats of the correct colour, for hygiene and to assist with children being placed in the correct class on poolside.
3. No jewellery should be worn during a swimming lesson. Religious or medical bracelets are allowed but should not distract the swimmer from their lesson.
4. All swimmers should shower before their lesson. Make sure your child uses the toilet before the lesson commences.

Pupil Progression  

1. Swimming Teachers continually assess all pupils’ progression throughout the lessons.
2. Progression of all pupils will be at the judgment of the swimming teacher in accordance with badge criteria.
3. Pupils will be moved up to the next class when they meet the skills criteria required and if there is adequate room in the next stage.
4. Upon completion of a stage, an email will be sent to the parent/guardian explaining that the child is ready to move up to the next Stage.
5. Due to the continuous progressive nature of our programme, and the variety of ability levels within each session, we cannot guarantee a specific time slot on progression, as a space within the next stage may not always be immediately available.
6. Parents can log onto Home Portal to view their child’s progression which will be updated every few weeks within the scheme of work that the teachers follow.

Swimming Lesson Payment 

1. Fees will be paid in advance of the lessons.
2. Direct Debit payments are taken on the day of the 1^stof the month. 
3. New joiners, taking the Direct Debit option will pay a pro-rata payment for any lessons which take place prior to the first Direct Debit being taken.
4. 28 days’ notice in writing is required for the cancellation of the Direct Debit.
5. Failure to provide the full notice period to cancel your swimming lessons when on Direct Debit may result in DFC taking recovery action for the outstanding payment. *DFC Terms and Conditions available on request.
6. For customers not on Direct Debit, enrolment is available at Reception, which allows pupils to top up at any point, paying for 10 lesson credits at a time. Top up payments can also be made over the phone by calling the Customer Contact Team on 0161 207 7000, or on our Home Portal System (when 3 credits or less remaining).
7. Reminders to top-up will be sent if a valid email address is provided, these are sent on a weekly basis when only 3 lesson credits remain. If top-ups are made before the deadline their place in the swimming lessons will be secure.
8. If payment for a top-up is not received before the deadline date, the swimmer will automatically be removed and your space will be lost
9. It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to ensure that the participant has sufficient credits for future lessons. Oldham Active will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that sufficient notice is provided when credits are low.

Changing and Moving Lesson 

1. You may request a change of time, day or Swimming Teacher and we will try to accommodate your request, provided a space is available.
2. Swimming ability and speed of progression will vary depending upon the swimmer.

Pool Closure and Cancelled Swimming Lessons 

1. In the event of a pool closure we will make every attempt to contact our customers as soon as possible.
2. In the unusual event of a pool closure or lesson cancellation the remaining lesson credit balance will be carried forward to the following scheduled lesson, for direct debit payers this is already worked out into your monthly payments.
3. In the event of a planned pool closure you will not be charged for this at time of booking, or a credit will be provided for a future lesson.
4. If a pool closure is likely to affect swimming lessons on the long term, every effort will be made to offer space at another pool within the area.
5. In choosing to join Oldham Active on a membership/subscription option, you are choosing an all-inclusive monthly or annual price. At times the programme or activities may be affected by a bank holiday or seasonal opening times, and this has been considered when pricing the packages available.

Missed Lessons 

1. Lesson fees are non-refundable where the pupil has either missed lessons or decided to withdraw from the programme altogether.
2. Lessons run consecutively, the lesson credits will be utilised as each lesson takes place regardless of pupil attendance (with the exception of pool closure/lesson cancellation).
3. In exceptional circumstances Management may exercise discretion on refunds but this would only be on production of a medical certificate or documentation from a medical centre, hospital or GP.

Changing Teacher 

1. We will use reasonable endeavours to provide the same instructor for each lesson within a course. However, cover instructors may be used without prior notification.
2. We reserve the right to appoint a new Swimming Teacher at any time and may, at times need to provide an alternative teacher for a class or classes due to illness or for any other unforeseen circumstances.
3. In the event a Swimming Teacher is away for a long period of time we will try to keep the same cover teacher for the time period where possible.
4. If a Swimming Teacher is absent, the Pool reserves the right to join classes together if considered appropriate and safe according to our guidelines. We would always try to put a replacement teacher in place immediately however, if this is not manageable we would put the classes together in order to avoid the cancellation. This would be an extremely rare occurrence as additional teachers are usually available to cover any such eventualities.

Communication 

1. We like to encourage communication and welcome issues to be raised with our staff.
2. The Management Team will be the people to resolve any poolside issues. Any problems or issues should be conveyed through them.
3. Questions regarding the progression of pupils should be directed towards the reception staff that will be able to pass on the message to the relevant member of staff, who will then contact you to discuss the pupil.
4. All parents/guardians are encouraged to supply us with an e-mail address for quick communication purposes. This is essential if you would like to be reminded of when you need to top-up your lesson credit balance.

Viewing 

1. Parents/guardians are not permitted on poolside but must sit in the pool viewing areas. (where pool viewing is on poolside, parents must not interfere with the lessons or distract the swimming teachers).
2. We do ask that all spectators remain in the seating area in order to prevent any unnecessary distractions for the teachers and make every effort to ensure that all footwear is clean, wearing shoe covers when provided.
3. It is difficult for the teaching staff to gain full attention from their pupils if they are being distracted; progress can be affected if children are not fully able to concentrate.
4. No photography or filming is permitted on poolside or in the changing area without the prior approval from the Centre Management.

Behaviour & Conduct 

1. Parents accept that their child is under the supervision, control and care of the Swimming Teacher, during the lesson period. Should the behaviour of the child be unsatisfactory and the class is being disrupted, the Swimming Teacher has the right to remove the pupil from the class.
2. The Swimming Teacher may employ reasonable measures as are necessary to maintain the smooth delivery of the class. We reserve the right to request that your child should be removed from classes should they persistently disrupt or are seen to be putting themselves or anyone else at risk during the class. If a child is removed under these circumstances and suitable alternatives arrangements cannot be made, no refund will be provided.

Poolside Rules & Discipline

1. Swimming hats must be worn during lessons for safety and hygienic reasons.
2. All jewellery and plasters must be removed before swimming.
3. Suitable swimming costumes and trunks should be worn to aid swimming development.
4. Goggles can be worn in our swimming lessons, starting from Pre-School stage.
5. All children must go to the toilet and shower before their lesson starts.
6. It is not advisable to eat a heavy meal one hour before a swimming lesson.
7. Any child who isn’t toilet trained must wear a swim nappy.
8. Parents are not allowed within the lesson environment.
9. Teachers and Assistant Teacher’s instruction must be followed at all times.
10. Children who disrupt lessons will be asked to sit out of the lesson for a two minute period.  On the third occasion they will be asked to leave the lesson.
11. If your child is a constant disruption to the class a Risk Assessment will be carried out to determine their further involvement.
12. It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to declare any behaviour, educational and medical conditions the child has.
13. Parents must be at the collection point in the changing rooms to collect their child at the end of their lesson.

Training

1. OCLL are a forward thinking company, and we encourage all staff to be developed professionally. From time to time we will be running swimming teacher courses, and notices will be put up at the site up to 1 month before the course starts. The regular swimming teachers will be on site, where possible.
2. If any issues arise while the course is running please speak to the Team Leader at the time and they will deal with accordingly.