Swimming Lesson FAQs

Swimming Lesson - FAQs

Swimming Levels and Scoring

How is it decided which class/level my child starts in?

If your child is 3 years or age, they will begin in a Preschool Beginner class.
 
If your child is attending school aged 5-7 years and has little to no prior swimming experience they will begin in Swim Skills 1A.
 
Depending on which venue you attend, you might be offered an Over 8 Swim Skills 1A if your child is new to lessons but 8 years+.
 
If you have a child who has some previous swimming experience, we can organise a swim test for your child for our instructors to see their ability and decide which of our levels would be best suited.
 
We are partnered with Scottish Swimming and so we use the Governing bodies criteria when assessing and placing children in our sessions.

What determines if my child is ready to progress to the next level?

Children should have acheived 4s and 5s on their assement before moving to the next level.
 
If you have a child who has all 4s & 5s and an instructor hasn't yet been in touch, you can contact your venue by filling in this FORM.
 
If your child appears to be struggling with one particular skill, you can contact the teaching team to ask for tips on how to best practice this by completing the form above.
 
Remember to use HomePortal to check your childs progress here. 

Should we expect a certificate upon completion of levels?

Scottish Swimming do have certificates, however they are being phased out and are to be replaced by another form of digital reward. This hasn't taken shape yet, however Scottish Swimming are busy behind the scenes and as soon as it's ready, we'll let you know! Until then, please ask in your venue if you'd like your child's certificate. We have limited supply but are happy to distribute what we do have!

My child's scores been marked down. Why is this?

The general rule is that our instructors won't mark your child down. In certain circumstances eg. long term absence from lessons, it might be the case that we do have to reduce scores upon a child's return.
 
If an instructor disagrees with scores, they may well contact you to discuss before reassessing your child.

My child is in preschool lessons and will be starting school. What should I do?

If your child attends our group preschool lessons, you will be offered an after school group lesson space. We tend to allocate these around May time to allow the children time to settle into their later time with their new teachers. From experience, we've found that waiting till July to move everyone can cause stressed parents and unsettled children with too much going on all at once. That being said, if you'd rather wait till then, we will do our best to accomodate you.
 
If you have a child in our preschool 1-2-2 lessons, you will also be offered a group lesson place. Only if we have 1-2-2 availibilty after school would we be able to offer this to you.

Payments and direct debits

Why is my first direct debit more than the monthly amount?

Your direct debit is always charged on the 1st of the month. Your first payment will be charged on a pro rata basis for the "current month" (which ever month you are setting it up on) plus the upcoming month.

How do I cancel my direct debit for swimming lessons?

To cancel your swim lesson direct debit, you should contact your venue directly. You can do this by notifying reception or by filling out this FORM
 
They will be able to cancel the payment and will remove your child from the lesson programme. Please remember we do require 30 days notice of cancellation.

My swimming lessons have been cancelled! Will I receive a refund?

If you are in our group lessons (paying direct debit), we guarentee 47 lessons in any calander year. Should we be unable to provide you with 47 lessons, you would have your direct debit adjusted for one month to reflect the missing lesson.
 
All other lessons paid in blocks can either be refunded or if you intend on booking in for the upcoming block, you can have your next payment reduced accordingly.

HomePortal

What is HomePortal?

HomePortal is a place for you to check in on what level your child is currently working on, their instructor and the progress they are making. You can access your HomePortal HERE.

What do the numbers mean on my child's HomePortal?

Here is a brief overview of the score system on HomePortal;
 
1- Unable to attempt skill
2- Attempting skill but requires more practice
3- Getting close to performing the skill to the required standard
4- Can repeatedley perform skill at the required standard
5- Aways performing the skill at the required standard or better

General Questions

Does my child get any perks whilst swimming with Live Active

Children in our lesson programme can gain access to our pools for family fun swimming, FREE OF CHARGE!

My child's medical details have changed. What should I do?

To update your child's swimming instructor on medical details, you can complete this FORM. 
 
It might be easy enough to pop on the form that your child has something like asthma and will need to keep an inhaler with them, however if it is something more complicated that would be best discussed, simply request a call from the instructor and this can be chatted through on the phone.

When do we get a break from swimming lessons?

If you are in our group lesson programme (paying direct debit), lessons continue throughout the year. We only close for the Festive Season in December and this is generally for 2 weeks.
 
All other lessons are booked and paid for in blocks. Your venue will be able to keep you up to date on how many sessions remain etc.

Why are the teachers using phones when teaching classes?

Our swimming instructors are using hand held devices to take registers and to update swimmers scores. These devices are completely locked and cannot be used for anything other than their purpose.

My child is on the waiting list. When will they get a space?

Our lesson programme is exceptionally busy and we aren't always in a position to allocate places to people on our waiting lists. Spaces becoming available relies on other progress to the next level, or our capacity growing.
 
When we do offer places in our lesson programme the venue will likely contact you via an email. Sometimes you will recieve a phone call. A prompt response gives the best opportunity of being allocated a space.
 

Why are certain waiting lists closed?

We close a waiting list because the classes are currently at capacity and the waiting list for this level is full. We review the status of our waiting lists around school holiday time; Easter, Summer, October and December

I'd like a different day/time for my child's swimming lesson. What should I do?

To change day/time of swimming lesson, you need to contact the venue. You can do this at reception or by filling in this FORM.

Can I have additional lessons?

For swimmer SS1 to SS3 we will only provide one swimming lesson per week.
 
For children who are in our SS4 & CR classes, there is an opportunity to take part in 2 lessons per week. This allows the children to better progress and build stamina as this is a strong focus of these levels as well as perfecting good technique.
 
The monthly cost for a double session is £34.65 per month.

What is the best way to contact my child's swimming instructors?

The swimming instructors don't have time to chat during the lessons as they move from one class straight to the next. If you do have a querey regarding your chid and their progress, or wish to have a chat with their instructor, you can fill in this FORM and your query will be passed to the instructor. 

What should I do if my child isn't enjoying their swimming lessons?

We want everyone who swims with us to enjoy lessons! If you feel your child is no longer enjoying their sessions, please use this FORM to contact the team and your child's instructor can be in touch to discuss further.