FAQs

Our terms follow the school calendar so we take a break for half-terms and longer holidays. We do not run lessons during August as most folks are on their holiday with the family.

We have three swimming terms a year: Winter, Spring and Summer.

Winter term:
Sept-Dec, usually 13 weeks.

Spring term:
Jan-Mar, usually 11 weeks.

Summer term:
Apr-Jul, usually 13 weeks

Swimmers are welcome at anytime as the small classes mean we can give individual instruction to help the children catch up.

Please see our available courses page for details.

Your instructor will have the following:

• Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) level 2
• National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ)
• First Aid skills, including the training necessary to give infant CPR
• Enhanced Disclosure, CRB checked
• A minimum of two years teaching experience

For Swimtots sessions, a qualified teacher will generally be in the pool while adults and children are receiving instruction. This is particularly the case for the earlier Swimtots levels 1-2. To achieve the skills in level 5, children should be comfortable to swim independent of their supporting adult.

Yes. All children should be accompanied by a parent or carer who must stay at the venue for the duration of the lesson.

Swimming lessons are all paid for on the Swimcentral website. A full term of swimming lessons is usually paid for in advance. If you wish to spread the cost, you can pay for lessons in two installments.

Swimming lessons are paid for on the website, using a secure online payment system or by BACS transfer if you would like to pay by installments.

Pay by installments
When you book your swimming lessons, you will be given two invoices. The first is due on date of booking, the second is due 6 weeks after. Payment by installments is available in the first few weeks of term, after that we ask for full payment.

Joining us halfway through a term?
If joining Swimcentral during term time, payment is taken for the number of swimming lessons left in the term. You can register for swimming lessons anytime and the current price is shown beside your chosen swim class on the website.

Our swimming lessons last for 30 minutes. The lessons are planned in advance and divided into a number of fun activities for the swimmers. This ensures children are given a variety exercises to enjoy and a chance to learn for themselves.

The lesson sections are:

Introductory activity
Main theme (developing core swim skills)
Contrasting activity
Playtime and feedback to parents and carers

The lesson will often be tailored to meet and needs of the individual swimmers on the day. Your swimming instructor may identify key areas for improvement in that lesson and adapt the programme to reflect this.

Playtime is an essential part of the lessons, a chance to enjoy the water, socialise and under supervision practice some of the activities by themselves.

We deliberately keep class sizes small so that we can give our swimmers individual attention every lesson. Our maximum is 6 for group swim lessons such as Swimtots or Learn to Swim. We offer one to one tuition in our private lessons.

Anyone entering the water should be clear of infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, conjunctivitis or a heavy cold. Open cuts and scrapes should be covered with a waterproof plaster. Children with an ear ache should not swim.

If you or your child has suffered from a stomach bug or virus, please wait two days after the first solid movement before joining the swimming lesson.

We ask about you and your child’s general health in our registration process. This is to ensure we are aware of your requirements and to ensure that the warm water temperature of the hydrotherapy pool is suitable for all swimmers. All information is kept confidential.

If you have any queries about illness and swimming, please consult your Gp.

For Learn to Swim beginners and Swimtots 2 – 4 years of age, goggles are not necessary. Our aim is for children to feel the water on their faces and be comfortable with splashing. This is all part of building water confidence and is essential to your child’s swimming development.

Once your child is comfortable with putting their face in the water, we can introduce goggles gradually. If introduced too early, googles can be relied upon and a child’s water confidence may be affected.

Once your instructor has discussed the option of wearing goggles, they will give you activites and games you can play together so that your child becomes comfortable in the water with or without their goggles.

For Swimtots sessions, a qualified teacher will generally be in the pool while adults and children are receiving instruction. This is particularly the case for the earlier Swimtots levels 1-2. To achieve the skills in level 5, children should be comfortable to swim independent of their supporting adult.

Yes. All children should be accompanied by a parent or carer who must stay at the venue for the duration of the lesson.

We welcome children from two years old into our swim programme. Places are available in Private lessons and Swimtots.

In Swimtots, we teach “core aquatic skills”. Swimmers learn essential skills which are part of learning to swim. These include things like buoyancy, balance, streamlining and how to travel and confident toddlers often progress to a stage where they are swimming without buoyancy aids in these sessions by level 5.

Swimming lessons are all paid for on the Swimcentral website. A full term of swimming lessons is usually paid for in advance. If you wish to spread the cost, you can pay for lessons in two installments.

Swimming lessons are paid for on the website, using a secure online payment system or by BACS transfer if you would like to pay by installments.

Pay by installments
When you book your swimming lessons, you will be given two invoices. The first is due on date of booking, the second is due 6 weeks after. Payment by installments is available in the first few weeks of term, after that we ask for full payment.

Joining us halfway through a term?
If joining Swimcentral during term time, payment is taken for the number of swimming lessons left in the term. You can register for swimming lessons anytime and the current price is shown beside your chosen swim class on the website.

Our swimming lessons last for 30 minutes. The lessons are planned in advance and divided into a number of fun activities for the swimmers. This ensures children are given a variety exercises to enjoy and a chance to learn for themselves.

The lesson sections are:

Introductory activity
Main theme (developing core swim skills)
Contrasting activity
Playtime and feedback to parents and carers

The lesson will often be tailored to meet and needs of the individual swimmers on the day. Your swimming instructor may identify key areas for improvement in that lesson and adapt the programme to reflect this.

Playtime is an essential part of the lessons, a chance to enjoy the water, socialise and under supervision practice some of the activities by themselves.

We deliberately keep class sizes small so that we can give our swimmers individual attention every lesson. Our maximum is 6 for group swim lessons such as Swimtots or Learn to Swim. We offer one to one tuition in our private lessons.

Anyone entering the water should be clear of infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, conjunctivitis or a heavy cold. Open cuts and scrapes should be covered with a waterproof plaster. Children with an ear ache should not swim.

If you or your child has suffered from a stomach bug or virus, please wait two days after the first solid movement before joining the swimming lesson.

We ask about you and your child’s general health in our registration process. This is to ensure we are aware of your requirements and to ensure that the warm water temperature of the hydrotherapy pool is suitable for all swimmers. All information is kept confidential.

If you have any queries about illness and swimming, please consult your Gp.

For Learn to Swim beginners and Swimtots 2 – 4 years of age, goggles are not necessary. Our aim is for children to feel the water on their faces and be comfortable with splashing. This is all part of building water confidence and is essential to your child’s swimming development.

Once your child is comfortable with putting their face in the water, we can introduce goggles gradually. If introduced too early, googles can be relied upon and a child’s water confidence may be affected.

Once your instructor has discussed the option of wearing goggles, they will give you activites and games you can play together so that your child becomes comfortable in the water with or without their goggles.

For Swimtots sessions, a qualified teacher will generally be in the pool while adults and children are receiving instruction. This is particularly the case for the earlier Swimtots levels 1-2. To achieve the skills in level 5, children should be comfortable to swim independent of their supporting adult.

Yes. All children should be accompanied by a parent or carer who must stay at the venue for the duration of the lesson.

We welcome children from two years old into our swim programme. Places are available in Private lessons and Swimtots.

In Swimtots, we teach “core aquatic skills”. Swimmers learn essential skills which are part of learning to swim. These include things like buoyancy, balance, streamlining and how to travel and confident toddlers often progress to a stage where they are swimming without buoyancy aids in these sessions by level 5.

Swimming lessons are all paid for on the Swimcentral website. A full term of swimming lessons is usually paid for in advance. If you wish to spread the cost, you can pay for lessons in two installments.

Swimming lessons are paid for on the website, using a secure online payment system or by BACS transfer if you would like to pay by installments.

Pay by installments
When you book your swimming lessons, you will be given two invoices. The first is due on date of booking, the second is due 6 weeks after. Payment by installments is available in the first few weeks of term, after that we ask for full payment.

Joining us halfway through a term?
If joining Swimcentral during term time, payment is taken for the number of swimming lessons left in the term. You can register for swimming lessons anytime and the current price is shown beside your chosen swim class on the website.

Our swimming lessons last for 30 minutes. The lessons are planned in advance and divided into a number of fun activities for the swimmers. This ensures children are given a variety exercises to enjoy and a chance to learn for themselves.

The lesson sections are:

Introductory activity
Main theme (developing core swim skills)
Contrasting activity
Playtime and feedback to parents and carers

The lesson will often be tailored to meet and needs of the individual swimmers on the day. Your swimming instructor may identify key areas for improvement in that lesson and adapt the programme to reflect this.

Playtime is an essential part of the lessons, a chance to enjoy the water, socialise and under supervision practice some of the activities by themselves.

We deliberately keep class sizes small so that we can give our swimmers individual attention every lesson. Our maximum is 6 for group swim lessons such as Swimtots or Learn to Swim. We offer one to one tuition in our private lessons.

Anyone entering the water should be clear of infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, conjunctivitis or a heavy cold. Open cuts and scrapes should be covered with a waterproof plaster. Children with an ear ache should not swim.

If you or your child has suffered from a stomach bug or virus, please wait two days after the first solid movement before joining the swimming lesson.

We ask about you and your child’s general health in our registration process. This is to ensure we are aware of your requirements and to ensure that the warm water temperature of the hydrotherapy pool is suitable for all swimmers. All information is kept confidential.

If you have any queries about illness and swimming, please consult your Gp.

For Learn to Swim beginners and Swimtots 2 – 4 years of age, goggles are not necessary. Our aim is for children to feel the water on their faces and be comfortable with splashing. This is all part of building water confidence and is essential to your child’s swimming development.

Once your child is comfortable with putting their face in the water, we can introduce goggles gradually. If introduced too early, googles can be relied upon and a child’s water confidence may be affected.

Once your instructor has discussed the option of wearing goggles, they will give you activites and games you can play together so that your child becomes comfortable in the water with or without their goggles.