Swimming Pool Child Admission Policy
Children who are non-swimmers, weak swimmers, or under the age of 8 must always be accompanied in the
water by a responsible adult at least 16 years old during unprogrammed public swimming sessions. Please see
accepted ratios below.
Download our full Child Admission Policy here.
High Visibility Wrist Band
All children aged 4 – 7 years must wear a high visibility wrist band whilst in the pool and changing area. Available at Reception, these should be deposited in the available bins after use.
Under Four years
One Adult : One child with or without armbands.
One Adult : Two children with armbands.
Four – Seven years
One Adult : Two children with or without armbands.
Mixed Ages
One Adult : One under 4 and one 4 -7 year old, if the under 4 is wearing armbands.
General Information
Live Active Leisure expect adults who are supervising children under 8 years old in our pools to ensure they are in close contact with the child throughout their visit. This extends to changing rooms, toilets, poolside and the pools themselves.
Armbands – These are available free of charge or for purchase from reception.
Frequently Asked Questions
Live Active Leisure (LAL) have created this admissions policy in accordance with guidance from CIMSPA – The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, the professional development body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector. CIMPSA are acknowledged experts in the management and operation swimming pools.
The role of the lifeguard is to prevent accidents and the intention of this admissions policy is not to reduce the number of lifeguards supervising swimmers. In fact, it should help the lifeguard whose duties are not only rescue and immediate first aid, but include the anticipation of problems, intervention to prevent behaviour which is unsafe and the education of users in relation to general water safety. A lifeguard cannot replace a parent in keeping their child safe.
Pool operators have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their customers and knowing that there is a risk of children drowning in swimming pools, they would be culpable in law if they did not do something, such as introduce a child admission policy, to protect the safety of children swimming in their pools. They cannot pass that responsibility on to anyone else or be excused that responsibility by the parents. Even if a customer did not sue in the event of an accident, LAL could be prosecuted by the HSE in the criminal courts.
Age is the most significant factor that can be measured against a child’s swimming ability, height in relation to pool water depth, maturity and behaviour, and the understanding of risk. The younger a child is, the less likely they would be to recognise danger. They are also less likely to be able to swim and the younger and therefore shorter they are, the more likely they are to be out of their depth. If out of their depth and unable to swim, unless wearing armbands or supported by an adult, they are more likely to drown.
Armbands and buoyancy garments have been tested by British and European Standards agencies to assess what is safe and what is not. LAL recommends that parents use a form of buoyancy aid which has been validated in this way and ensure that any buoyancy aids parents use to keep their children safely afloat should comply with EN BS 13138. LAL have decided that armbands are the most appropriate form of equipment to distribute within our venues.
