What should I bring to a swimming lesson? We aim to make our lessons super easy to access. You do not need to bring any of your own flotation aids to our lessons, all equipment required is supplied by us for use every lesson! If your child has SEN we are happy for you to bring a familiar toy or floatie that may help settle them into their new class. All you need to bring is your swimmer's; 👙Swimwear (it helps to arrive swim ready where possible) 🤓Goggles (optional) 💡A swim hat (for stages 2 and above) 💦A towel 👕A dry change of clothes 💊Any medication (inhalers for asthma, for example) (If you would like to purchase a Mer-Fin Swim personalised towel and swim hat, please contact us) Where do I go and what time shall I arrive? Your chosen lesson venue will be stated in your confirmation emails and in your online portal, the address and any venue-specific details will be noted here also. If you are unsure please ensure that you contact us in plenty of time prior to your lesson so we can help you find your way and avoid any frustration. Aim to arrive no more than 10 minutes before your lesson and try to leave within 15 minutes after your class to help avoid changing room congestion. All of our pools operate a NO SHOE policy - bare feet or white socks are permitted No food or drink is to be consumed in the facilities apart from a bottle of water - no glass is permitted under any circumstances No photography is allowed in the facility and no mobile phones are to be used/on show on the poolside Please ensure swimmers shower before entering the pool Poolside can often be very warm, you may want to avoid thick clothing when spectating lessons. Please note if your child is a non-swimmer/flight risk we ask that you collect your swimmer from their class on the poolside promptly at the end of their lesson to avoid them walking around the pool to meet you unaccompanied. The carer/guardian is responsible for the swimmers in their care at all times. Do I need to get in the water with my child for their lesson? No, our Learn to Swim lessons are fully instructor lead. Parents/carers are able to sit and watch the class whilst staying nice and dry, unless you sit close to the pool - that's a splash zone! Our maximum ratio for lessons is 3:1 (4:1 for lane swimming). Do you offer parent and child classes? Our Mer-Babies classes are for parents and babies/toddlers, where carers do need to be in the pool with their child. These classes are named "Mer-Babies". Do I need to tell you that we will be absent if we cannot make a lesson? We ask that you let us know via your online portal where possible, this helps us with our staffing and planning of the lessons.

Can I pay for a block of lessons in full upfront? We do offer termly payments on request. There is no difference in the per lesson cost overall. Termly invoices are generated 7 days prior to billing, your payment will be automatically requested from your card details on your account (managed by stripe). You can remove your card details from the portal at any time. Can I pay monthly for lessons? Monthly payment via direct debit (GoCardless) is our most common payment method. Paying for lessons monthly makes the cost more manageable, compared to paying a lump sum upfront. GoCardless (our service provider) covers you under the 'direct debit guarantee'. It's super easy to set up automatic monthly payments from your online portal and gives you piece of mind that you don't have to manually make payments each month. Direct debit payments are collected on the 1st of each month for the number of lessons in that month. You will receive an invoice 7 days prior to your monthly payment being collected. Any credit you have on your account will be deducted from your next invoice, either monthly or termly depending on how you pay for lessons. What if my payment fails due to lack of funds in my account? First of all, don't worry, these things happen. Please keep us in the loop and let us know if you need more time or need to use another payment method. GoCardless will attempt to take your payment a couple of days later. The maximum amount of attempts is 3. After this point, you will be required to pay via an alternative method i.e. credit/debit card. Please be aware that if you have run out of 'paid' lessons, we may ask for payment to be settled before your swimmer attends any more lessons. Failure to pay/contact us may result in loss of place in our lessons. What is a 'term of swimming'? We run 3 terms per year (in line with most schools) excluding any school holidays and bank holidays, where we do not swim. Winter term - September to December Spring term - January to March Summer term - April to July There are usually between 10 and 13 lessons per term. You can view all swim and holiday (no swim) dates in your online portal. Do you offer crash courses? We aim to be able to offer intensive courses during the school summer holidays only, dates can differ each year depending on pool schedule and availability. Intensive courses are an additional and optional service that we provide. These lessons are NOT included in our term time lessons. Emails will be sent out with details of any intensive lessons we have planned so you can book onto these if you wish (only to customers with a Swimphony account and who have allowed marketing emails).

How long will it take my child to learn to swim? Every child has the potential to learn to swim. First and foremost, we will only progress a child at their own pace. If they can’t do a certain activity, we will work on progressive stages of that activity with your child until they can master it. From your online portal you will be able to see a real time view of your child's progress through the Learn to Swim framework from Swim England. Every child is different, some progress rather quickly and are natural swimmers, others can take a little longer. But don't worry if this is the case, all of our lessons work on each child's progress and ability individually so they can reach their full potential - at their own pace. Safety is at the forefront of our teaching, your child will learn how to be safe in the water, as well as learning how to swim and be active for life. We regularly hold 'water safety' lessons where children can experience 'falling in', in a safe environment. They can even experience being saved by a lifeguard and how important their role is (they don't just blow a whistle to tell you to walk). Swimmers can also have the opportunity to wear PJs for these safety lesson, as lets face it you probably wouldn't be wearing your swimwear, should you accidentally fall into water. Our stages for fully instructor lead swimming lessons start at the Duckling stages designed for children aged 3 to 5years, our parent and child classes (Mer-Babies) are suitable from birth up to 3 years. These 4 Duckling stages build the foundations for our Learn to Swim framework, growing water confidence, water safety and a love of being in the water. Our Learn to Swim stages 1-7 are where we then start to build on those foundations learned in the Duckling stages and begin to really see our swimmers progress their swimming strokes and skills. The higher the stage a swimmer is working towards the harder the stages are. Please be aware they will take longer to pass than the early stages, this does not mean your child has stopped progressing. When do you assess children to see if they are ready to move up a group? Our assessments are ongoing and happen every single lesson. If we feel a swimmer is ready to move up (even before the end of the term), we will have a conversation with you and let you know. Sometimes this could mean changing their time/day/venue to ensure that the swimmer is in the best class for their ability and progression. But don't worry! We will work with you to find the best suitable solution. Do you do distance tests? Our distance awards start from 5 metres. 5, 10, 15 & 20 metres can be any style of swimming (even doggy paddle!). We believe its important to celebrate swimmers' success with their unaided swimming, whatever their style! We often have a little go at swimming unaided in most weekly lessons, there isn't a particular distance test day where we do this. Distances of 25 metres and over are a little more advanced and are required to be held in lanes. The criteria for 25 metres and above is that the stroke should be to swim England standards. My child swims in a section and has got their 20 metre badge, can they try for a further distance? Children swimming in a section of the pool (as opposed to a lane), are limited to being able to achieve up to their 20 metre badge. This is due to the standards expected when swimming 25 metres and above and the length of the pool when swimming in a section (width of the pool). When your swimmer is ready, we will move them up and into lane swimming, where they will be able to work towards the higher distance awards. We only move swimmers up to a lane when they are ready. If they are not ready this can be a real set back and knock to their confidence as it is a big difference from swimming in a section. It's really important that we move at the swimmer's pace and distance test achievable goals. We often include distance testing during our summer intensive courses, you don't have to join the course for your swimmer be able to have a go an their next distance award. Details of distance tests and intensive courses will be sent out in an email. Awards As swimmers pass through the stages they earn badges and certificates, as well as distance awards for each milestone they reach. Certificates and badges are available to purchase. You will receive a 'pass' email notification once a goal has been achieved, informing you of the achievements and inviting you to purchase the certificate and badge, if you wish. The cost of the awards will be noted on your notification email. You can purchase as many or as little badges as you wish.

At Mer-Fin Swim we work towards Swim England Learn To Swim Stages 1-10 Awards. We also work towards achieving Rainbow Distance Awards, Water Safety, Duckling and Discovery Duckling Awards. Once a stage or a distance has been achieved, you will receive an email notification to inform you and to invite you to order the badge and certificate for their success. We maintain a varied, fun and engaging and challenging swimming programme! How do you keep track of the swimmers progress? Our Instructors use electronic tablets to mark attendance and view/record the progress of all swimmers in their classes. This can be viewed by you anytime from your online portal. What is Swim England? Swim England is the National governing Swimming body. It is the organisation that sets guidelines for teaching and coaching all elements of swimming and aquatic sports. Swim England has set the outcomes for the Learn to Swim Programme - learn more about each Swim Stage HERE.

I need someone else to bring my child to their next lesson, do I need to tell you in advance? You do not need to let us know if another guardian brings/collects your swimmer, as long as your child is happy and we can see that they know the person looking after them. Can I bring my family & friends to watch the lessons? This can differ from venue to venue depending on spectators spacing availability and any restrictions that are in place at the time. Please check your online portal for any restrictions, however we do advise to keep spectators to a minimum to help avoid congested changing rooms, poolside and any other communal areas within the venue. Additional spectators can also have a negative effect on your swimmer as they will be tempted to look for/at them during their lesson. We all want your swimmer to be listening to their instructor and learning.

What happens if the pool has to close? In the event that a venue has to close the pool due to maintenance or unsafe levels/temperature for example, you will be notified at the earliest opportunity by email and by text message. It's really important that we have your up-to-date contact information for this reason. You can edit this information at any time from your online portal. If the pool closes and my lesson is cancelled, do I get a refund? We do not issue refunds for pool closures. Instead the value of the lesson will be added to a credit account in our system (Swimphony) that will then be automatically deducted from your next invoice. Alternatively we may be able to offer you a 'catch-up' lesson, if you prefer (subject to space being available at another time/day. If you are leaving our lessons at the end of a term for example and you have credit remaining on your account, we will either send you a refund for this value or offer the additional lessons to that value, at your preference and request. What if my child is ill? Will they miss out? We understand that children often become unwell and we appreciate it can be frustrating when missing out on lessons. We ask that if your child is poorly, please do not bring them to their lessons. The likelihood is that they will be feeling tired and not get the best out of the lesson. We reserve the right to refuse a poorly swimmer if we believe they are not fit to attend. This is for their own safety and well-being. Please be considerate to others and do not bring your child to a swimming class with anything that could be infectious, such as chickenpox (which is considered infectious until all the blisters have dried up). It would be really helpful to us if all absences, unwell, holidays, unavailable due to appointments etc were recorded from your online portal. Where possible, we will try our best to accommodate a 'catch-up' lesson so they don't miss out. This service is always subject to availability and we cannot guarantee that the catch-up lesson available will be the same lesson 'type' that you usually receive (i.e. group class, 2:1 & 1:1). To enquire about a 'catch-up' lesson, please contact us with your request and days/times that are suitable for you to attend. Menstrual cycles and swimming You or your swimmer does not need to miss out on lessons due to the regular occurrence of periods. Swimmers can still attend lessons during their period with the use of either tampons, menstrual cups, period swimwear* or any other product that does not allow leaks. Sanitary pads are not appropriate or permitted. We are not able to provide alternative lessons, credits or refunds for menstrual cycles. Absences due to discomfort of a menstrual cycle will be treated as 'unwell' and will fall under the same procedure for catch-ups as any other absence (excluding broken bones). *Links provided are for information purposes only, Mer-Fin Swim is not associated with any other these products or Amazon. Do you always offer 'catch-up' lessons for missed classes? We do our very best to ensure that children don't miss out on their lessons. However this gesture of goodwill depends on the availability we have in line with our class numbers, staff availability and of course, when you are available to attend. It could be in the way of a double lesson on their usual swim day or an alternative day for that one off lesson. We cannot guarantee that the catch-up lesson available will be the same lesson 'type' that you usually receive (i.e. group class, 2:1 & 1:1). We do not offer 'catch-up' lessons for non attendance because of 'event dates', such as mothers', fathers' Day and Sundays that fall within bank holidays if your lesson happens to land on one of these days. Please be aware that 'catch-ups' are limited to 1 per swimmer, per term. This is to allow availability for all swimmers who might require 'catch-ups'. My child has broken a bone! Will they lose their place? Do I still have to pay whilst they can't attend? For swimmers who have had an accident and have broken a bone, they will most likely have to wear a cast for a number of weeks. In this case, please email us and supply us with a hospital/doctor's note for the injury. We can then pause your payments and reserve your child's place in their class for up to 6 weeks. You will need to contact us at your earliest convenience to let us know so we can action this for you.

All of our lessons are automatically re-enrolled, you do not need to book again or let us know that you would like to continue lessons into the new term. You may find that you receive a 'lesson move' email notification, this could be a result of your swimmer moving up or a change of time due effecting circumstances. We aim to keep any amendments as close to your original booking as possible. If you decided you do not want to continue lessons with us for the next term, an email will be sent out to all customers in the lead up to the end of the current term, detailing the cut off date to cancel your re-enrolment. You need to let us know by email that you do not wish to continue - this is not something you can do yourself from the online portal.

To cancel your place in Lessons, you must provide Mer-Fin Swim with not less than 4 weeks’ written notice by email to admin@mer-finswim.com. Any Lessons which are due to take place during this notice period are still chargeable, whether or not attended, and payment for such Lessons are immediately due when you give notice.