Swimming Lessons

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
General terms and conditions
All clients are expected to abide by these terms and conditions. In the unlikely event of failing to do so, a customer may be requested to cease lessons with Faversham Swim School (FSS). A refund will not be eligible in these circumstances. 
•    Clients are responsible for their children at all times (except during a lesson where the child is NOT accompanied by an adult carer) and must inform the instructor prior to the lesson of any concerns they have. 
•    Clients must accept that at times there will be physical contact between the instructor and their child, in a professional, caring manner. 
•    Swimmers should not enter the pool until the instructor says it is safe to do so and must tell the teacher if leaving the pool before the end of the session. 
•    Clients should aim to arrive at the Pools no more than 15 minutes before the lesson and leave no more than 15 minutes after the lesson to help improve changing room comfort. Swimmers should not wait at the poolside more than 5 minutes before their lesson begins. Where the swimmer is a child they must be collected from the pool no more than 5 minutes after the lesson has ended. No child will be released without an appropriate responsible adult.
•    Parents, Carers and Siblings not in the same lesson are not permitted to wait on poolside during swimming lessons. There is seating available within the café and if there is a suitable swim session open to the public are welcome to attend this (in line with our standard swim T&Cs).
•    Photography (other than by any professional photographers that are pre-notified about) is not permitted at any time.  Clients will be asked to agree to the consent form via Swimsoft for their child to appear in any photographs or video taken by our authorised photographers and shared on social media or for marketing
•    Clients should inform the instructor of any health issues that may be relevant. 
•    There is a strict nappy policy for those children not yet fully toilet trained. Nappies (including disposable swim nappies) must be disposed of in the correct disposal units. 
•    Swimmers should shower before entering the pool and remove loose-fitting or sharp jewellery and hair clips, plasters, tie back long hair and wear a swimming hat. Make-up and body lotions should be avoided as these significantly deteriorate the pool water quality.
•    Swimmers must not eat or chew gum during lessons or consume alcohol prior to the session.
•    No outdoor footwear, car seats, pushchairs or buggies are allowed poolside.
•    Smoking is strictly forbidden within any pool building
•    Clients must follow staff instructions at all times, including in relation to entry and exit to the pool and car parking. Abuse to any member of staff either verbal or physical will not be tolerated and will be reported to the appropriate authorities at the sole discretion of FSS. 
•    Faversham Pools make every effort to maintain the pools, poolside area, changing rooms, toilets and washing facilities and ensure these spaces are clean and tidy. Whilst every care is taken to ensure your safety, we do not accept any liability for injury to a swimmer or user. If you have any concerns about the condition of the pool premises, please let a member of staff know as soon as possible and we will deal with it in a timely manner.
Lesson bookings
At FSS the terms are approximately 6 to 8 weeks in duration in term time only.  When a class is booked, full payment is requested to secure the place for that term. Classes may be joined at ANY point in the term (and clients pay for the classes remaining). Once payment is received there are no refunds given irrespective of the reason. There are no discounts offered on the lessons for more than one family member or based upon the amount of lessons committed to. 
You are not committed beyond the half term currently underway or agreed by payment confirmation and will need to re-book to secure a place on the next half term’s lessons. We will use the swimsoft app to keep track of and communicate a swimmers progress and this will be the guide for their progression through different levels. When lessons are re-booked or progress is made to a new level or class, this may be subject to a change of time and / or instructor. We cannot guarantee that future lessons will remain at the time previously set or with the same instructor, and we reserve the right to change the timing of lessons or the instructor at any time during a course of lessons. Where this is the case we will seek to give as much notice as possible.

Payment
All fees must be paid in full in advance of the start date of the course. Swimmers may not be allowed to participate in any swimming lessons until the fees are paid in full. We will notify you of any changes at least 30 days before payment changes are due. Payment can be made via Debit/Credit card or direct debit only. For a direct debit you are committing to a variable direct debit for that month’s amount of lessons. 
Payment is made via the Swimsoft app or at the Pools Reception. Payments should not be made directly to teachers under any circumstances and your lessons may not be deemed paid if payment is made to the teachers directly.

Refunds & lesson credits
Once payment has been made for courses, no refunds will be given under any circumstances.
No refunds will be offered in the case of circumstances outside the control of FSS such as Government lockdowns, restrictions relating to Covid-19, adverse weather conditions, power interruption, and ‘acts of god’ outside of our control. In these circumstances credit will be given to the pupil for the next available lesson(s) at the discretion of the management.
If a client is unable to attend lessons due to sickness or holiday, FSS is unable to refund lesson fees, as fees are taken on the basis of securing the length of term agreed at the time of booking – typically this is a half term comprising of 6 to 8 weeks.
In exceptional circumstances, for example when a swimmer has a broken limb, the client may be given the option of carrying lessons over to a later date if lesson availability allows. In such cases, each request will be considered individually and at the discretion of the management.

Ability
Any initial lesson with FSS is an assessment where our swimming teachers will ensure the swimmer is in an appropriate class for their ability. Please be aware that changes in a class may result in a different day or time being offered. Please also respect FSS decision with regards to the ability or class selected for the swimmer. This decision is final and we reserve the right to cancel and remove the participant without a refund or a credit note if the parent or client does not accept this decision. 

Lesson Changes
In the event of an instructor being absent for a group or private lesson, the FSS may change the instructor to make sure that the lesson is covered, and no refunds will be given for lessons because of a change of instructor. In the unlikely event of a “last-minute” lesson time change, we endeavour to notify the client via phone call, SMS or email as soon as possible.
FSS will always try to reschedule any lesson that has not been able to take place, and the client will always be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

Pool Closures
In the unlikely event of the pool not being available for use due to technical difficulties or health and safety issues Faversham Swimming Pool will go through the following steps:
1. Our initial response will be to endeavour, where possible, to reschedule the lessons at the same venue for the nearest available slot. This may need to be at a different time and/or a different day due to pool availability.
2. When alternative slots at the same venue are not available due to classes being full, we will offer credit notes to the next available lessons. 
3. In the unlikely event that a pool is unavailable on a term basis (in excess of one week), on public health or other grounds (including pandemics) or acts of God and it is not possible to reschedule the classes at the end of the term, credit will be applied to the future lessons. Refunds cannot be offered under these conditions.
Clients will be notified of changes by one of the following: SMS and email or phone call.

Arriving at your lesson
For health & Safety reasons FSS requires swimmers do not go to the poolside more than 5 minutes prior to the commencement of the lesson. FSS requires swimmers to use lockers provided to store personal property. FSS is not responsible for any loss, theft or damage to any user’s property. Where the swimmer is a child they must be collected from the pool no more than 5 minutes after the lesson has ended. No child will be released without an appropriate responsible adult. Parents and Guardians must spectate only from the café. We will not allow groups of parents to congregate on pool side as this is a health and safety risk.

Medical Conditions
Clients must declare via registration on swimsoft to any existing medical conditions that they are aware of that the swimmer taking lessons has, particularly those which may be communicable. The client must agree to inform FSS of any changes in any medical condition or psychological condition as soon as they are aware of them. All information will be kept strictly confidential. Acceptance onto lessons will be informed by our assessment of the medical conditions disclosed and is at our discretion, in line with our equality’s responsibilities. Instructors should also inform us of any medical conditions they may have which could impact on their ability to teach.

Illness
Should the child or the adult taking the child into the water have, or develop, any known or suspected medical condition they must consult their doctor before taking them swimming and inform FSS. All information received is treated in confidence and with sensitivity. Clients must never bring the child swimming if they have any illness such as an ear infection, diarrhoea, chicken pox, impetigo, conjunctivitis or a bad cold. They must wait until the doctor has given the all-clear before returning to classes.  In the instance of sickness and diarrhoea the child must have been clear of all symptoms for at least 48 hours before attending a lesson. 
Swimmers should also keep up to date with and follow all government public health guidelines.

Keeping you safe
We take the safety of our swimmers very seriously. Given the inherent dangers associated with swimming all those attending FFS class or lesson and/or using our facilities must obey any instruction or command issued by swimming teachers, lifeguards, duty mangers or senior staff members. In the event of any swimmer, parent, guardian, sibling, or other associate refusing to obey an instruction from a member of staff or behaving in an unruly manor towards a member of staff, or any other person causing damage to pool premises, furniture, fixings, or equipment, the swimmer shall not be permitted to continue with lessons. In such cases FFS will remove the swimmer and they will not be accepted for any future courses. No refunds will be issued in this instance.

Use of Mobile phones and photographic equipment
It is forbidden under any circumstances to use mobile phones, photographic or video equipment at the poolside or in changing rooms. None of the listed equipment is allowed during swimming lessons. If FSS or a staff member has reason to believe you have breached this policy your child and/or you will be removed and you will not be allowed to attend any future FSS lesson. FSS reserves the right to refer any matters of this nature to the relevant authorities. 

Personal Information
FSS store personal information including names, addresses, dates of birth and contact details and is covered by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Read more on our privacy policy page.

Withdrawal of service
Faversham Swim School at our discretion, may refuse entry to a client to our lessons if it is felt that the client’s behaviour is in any way disruptive or unreasonable. 

Safeguarding Policy & Procedures
We follow Swim England’s Wavepower Child Safeguarding policy & procedures.

Changes to Terms and Conditions
From time to time FSS may update its terms and conditions by publication to the website www.favershampools.com. 

Dispute resolution
We hope you will be delighted with our service. In case of any dispute please write to us at Faversham Pools Management Committee LTD, Leslie Smith Drive, Faversham, Kent, ME13 8PW
Your correspondence will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member for all aspects of customer service.

Faversham Pools and Faversham Swim School Data and material
Your use of any information or material on this website is entirely at your own risk. We shall not be liable and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any products or services or information available through this website meet your requirements.
Our website contains material which is owned by or licenced to us. This material includes but is not limited to the design layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in the accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions. 
You may not create a link to our website or document without prior written consent from FSS or FP. Therefore, unauthorised use of this website or any content therein may give rise to a claim for damages against you and/or may be a criminal offence.