WavesThe Links, Whitley Bay, NE26 1TQ

Tel: (0191) 643 2600

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On arrivalto the facility

• When you arrive at the facility please ensure if arriving by car you park in adesignated parking bay. This will avoid the possibility of parking fines

• PLEASE NOTE: Should children wish to swim prior to or after their lessons, aseparate ticket for a public swim must be purchased. Children under the age of 9must be accompanied by a responsible person aged at least 16 years. Childrenaged between 4-8 years must be accompanied by an adult on a 2:1 ratio

• If you cannot produce a receipt for this additional swim you will be asked tovacate the pool before or after the lesson

• If you wish to use the pool hoist or disabled chair, please ask at reception

Congratulations on securingyour child’s place in ourlearn to swim programme.We like to inform all ourcustomers of our swimmingprotocol to ensure you and yourchild have the best experience from the course.

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Prior to thelesson beginning

• Please encourage your child touse the toilet before swimming.If your child has had diarrhoeaor an upset stomach in the past48 hours please do not let themattend their lesson. This is tohelp minimise the possiblespread of infection

• Please ensure your childshowers before their lesson.This will remove up to 66% ofoutside dirt that could end up inthe water

• After showering, please directyour child onto poolside wherethey can sit on the benchesnext to the small pool or on thestep down to the main pooldepending on where theirlesson is being held. Stages 1-4will be held in the small pooland 5+ in the main pool

• If you are required to come ontopoolside, you must wear blueshoe covers to minimise crosscontamination

• No buggies or push chairs arepermitted on poolside to alsominimise cross contamination

• Please do not allow your childto enter the swimming poolbefore or after the lesson unlessyou have paid for an additionalswim and have the appropriatesupervision

• Please ensure your child issupervised until the teacherarrives

Changingareas

• We have a mixed changing villageincluding disabled facilities, babychanging units and toilets

• Children must only undress andchange into swimwear in thechanging facilities.

• Children must not be changed onthe spectator areas

• Please ensure that your child ischanged into appropriateswimming wear. This ideallyconsists of a one piece costumefor girls and trunks/shorts for boys.Shorts must be no longer than kneelength as this could impairswimming ability

• Children have the choice to weargoggles and these can bepurchased from reception.Unfortunately snorkel masks arenot permitted

• No jewellery should be worn forhealth and safety reasons. Ear studswill be permitted, but these shouldbe covered with small plasters

• It is recommended that long hair istied back in a pony tail

• Please secure belongings in thelockers provided. These take 20pwhich unfortunately is notrefundable. North Tyneside councildo not take responsibility for anypersonal belongings

• The course involves continuousassessment and monitoring of yourchild’s ability to consistentlydemonstrate the skills requiredwithin the stage they are taking. A final assessment will take place near the end of the block of lessons, however if a child demonstrates any of the skills after the assessment they will be moved to the next stage.

• Near the end of the course you willbe provided with a report card as towhether your child is progressinginto the next level

• The instructors will take the fullcourse into consideration and placeyour child into the level they believeis appropriate for their continueddevelopment. This is at theinstructor’s discretion, however allteachers comply to the SwimEngland learn to swim framework.Visit www.swimming.org andsearch ‘learn to swim’

• Children progress at differentspeeds. Please note thatattendance on a course is not aguarantee that your child willautomatically progress to the nextlevel

• If the instructor believes your child isready to move up to the next levelpart way through a course then thiswill be accommodated up to weeksix of the programme, however acourse on the same day cannot beguaranteed

• If you did wish to discuss yourchild’s progression either theswimming teacher or a member of the management team will be happy to accommodate this

Assessmentand progression

At the start andduring the lesson

• The teacher will introducethemselves to the children

• All our teaching staff arequalified through Swim England

• Once the teacher arrives wewould ask that you still remainin the centre during your child’slesson

• We ask that parents do not sitdirectly on the poolside to watchthese lessons but to sit on thebenches provided

• There are benches forspectators at the small pool.Eating and drinking is notpermitted in this area. Food anddrinks purchased from thevending machines or the Cafécan be consumed in theenclosed spectator area by theshallow end of the main pool

• In the interest of childprotection, the use of anyphotographic device isprohibited in changing areas.Photography and the recordingof images of any kind isprohibited in the pool halland spectator areas unlesspreviously authorised by thecentre manager

Re-booking ontothe next course

• Once you have received your report card there will be specified dates for therebooking period

• Your child will be allocated a specified time and date. To secure your place inthe next course you must pay for your allocated slot in the timeframe provide

• If you do not pay for your allocated slot before the re booking period ends youwill be removed from the cohort. Once removed there is no guarantee you willbe allowed to rebook again

• If you are unable to rebook onto the next course you will be advised to rejointhe waiting list

• If you would like to change days, times or centres you will be placed on atransfer list.

• Transfer requests will be responded to after the rebooking period has ended

• We will try to accommodate as many transfer requests as possible but thesecannot be guaranteed

General information

• Children entering into the learn to swimprogramme must be 5 in their school year

• Children booking into Advanced ducklingsmust be at least 4 but no older than 4.5years

• North Tyneside has the right to cancellessons where facilities may becomeunavailable (e.g. pool failure/ closure).If pre payment has already been made,additional lessons will be credited

• Please note that while we make everyeffort to ensure continuity of instructorsfor the duration of the course, we cannotguarantee that you will have the sameinstructor throughout

• We do operate a no refund policy onswimming courses once booked. If yourchild has an unforeseen medical problemand is unable to attend a significant partof the course, then please contact us andwe may be able to credit you with themissed sessions onto a future coursebooking. Extra sessions will not becredited for sessions missed due to anyother reason (holidays, short term illness)

Whenever you’re in or around the pool remember at all times to;

• Listen to your teacher or lifeguard, they are there to keep you safe!

• Walk at all times, its slippery!

• Enjoy yourself, but be respectful of other users. Toys such as beach balls, divesticks and dive rings are permitted but please use them appropriately.

We hope that we have provided you with a detailed explanation as to how our Learnto Swim programme runs. Please do not hesitate to contact any of our facilities if youhave any questions.

Last but not least,please be safe by your pool

For further informationcall: (0191) 643 2600email: waves@northtyneside.gov.uk

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