Covid 19 Rules and Regulations

Lessons will be re starting the term ‪from Wednesday 29th July‬ and we will just continue where we left off as we previously closed on the Tuesday.

This is a live document and the rules and regulations can change at any time with goverment guidelines.

Above is out handy youtube video to show you our Covid Safe pool

With the new ‘6’ rule coming in place on the 14th September regarding gatherings we thought we would do a post to put your mind at ease as our classes will still continue as normal.

While social gatherings of more than six people will be banned in England from 14th September, the government’s confirmed that organised sports and activities that have been through return to play protocols can continue, as can organised outdoor sports and physical activity events such as parkrun, which is due to return next month.

Car park and Arriving to the pool

1. You will need to wait in your car or in the car park if you arrive more than 10 minutes before your class start time. You will not be able to wait in the reception or viewing gallery if you arrive early.

2. You will not be allowed access into the building until 10 minutes before your lesson start time. If you do not need the full 10 minutes to change etc, please arrive with as little time before your class as possible.

3. Only one adult per child will be allowed access into the building. If you have siblings who have a lesson on the same day, where possible, we request only one adult attend.

4. We would advise the use of a car instead of walking to the pool or using public transport, just in case of bad weather. If you use public transport and do have to arrive early in bad weather, please call ahead so we can make a suitable space for you inside the building, the number is on the front door of the reception facing the car park ‪01268 415834‬. If there is no answer please wait under the new outside canopy, or if the weather is really bad, please head into the viewing area making sure you maintain a social distance from others.

5. An under cover cleaning station is at the bottom of the ramp, and we ask that everyone, before entering the building, use this station to sanitise their hands.

Reception area

1. We have a new reception desk at the pool with a clear plastic screen to help protect our swimmers and staff. This desk does not have a lower section anymore which has created more space for our staff to help with social distancing.

2. If you do need a lower desk we now have a pull up table just as you come in on your right and, if you need assistance with this, please let a team member know.

3. As much as we all may want to have a chat, we do not want to over crowd the reception area so please do not think we are being rude with just a quick hello to everyone, and we would ask that if you do have any questions that are non-urgent, please email, text or call during this time rather than speaking to a receptionist, again this will help with social distancing in the reception area.

4. We have removed the £5 minimum card spend so if you need to purchase any items, drinks etc please, where possible, use a contactless card to pay.

5. All purchased items will be cleaned with an anti virus cleaner before passing them onto a customer.

6. A box of tissues and a hand sanitiser will be available to swimmers on the reception desk.

Viewing area

1. Only one adult per child will be allowed access into the building and only one seat will be available in the viewing area for you, this is to help with social distancing.

2. We have a bigger shoe rack in the viewing area. We request, for easy exit and entry, you wear shoes that are easy to take on and off eg flip flops. If you are happy to keep shoes with you this with help with a faster exit.

3. Chairs will be cleaned throughout the day by staff members, however, we will have a cleaning station in the viewing area which will include - anti virus spray and hand sanitiser for swimmers who wish clean their chair before use.

Changing area

1. All swimmers will now get dressed and undressed in the same cubicle and swim bags MUST be left in your cubicle. Only towels and robes can be brought to poolside if needed. (Keep handbags with you if you have personal items in them - but where possible leave personal items at home). Please make sure this rule is followed so no swimmer uses your cubicle while your in the building.

2. Please, where possible, arrive in your swim wear and please remember that swim nappies do not hold in wee, so it’s best for non toilet trained swimmers to put these on when you arrive at the pool.

3. SwimMania staff will clean the facility throughout the day but we also have a cleaning station with - hand sanitiser, tissues, anti virus spray and a bin for you to use if you wish.

4. The play pen and baby seats have been removed, also most of the high chairs, but one high chair will remain in the disabled toilet. (Please leave this in here incase parents need to use it)

5. We only have a few high changing beds available now for your use. Please do not leave any clothes on the benches.

6. Please do not leave valuables unattended.

7. You will only be allowed access to the changing area/facility a maximum of 10 minutes before your lesson.

8. As soon as your class is over we need you to exit the facility as soon as possible, ideally within 15 minutes of the end of your lesson this will help with over crowding.

9. No food of any kind is permitted before or after class to help swimmers exit the facility quicker. If you need to feed your little ones we ask that you do this in your car as we cannot overcrowd the changing area or viewing gallery. (If you do not have childcare for siblings or you have back to back lessons you may feed them whilst one sibling is in class).

10. If you use a baby mat we request that you bring an extra towel to put over the baby changing mat.

11. The showers will be out of bounds for all swimmers to help with social distancing and over crowding. We recommend a pre shower before class and that you shower after class at home.

Toilets

1. Toilets will be cleaned regularly throughout the day.

2. Please wash your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds once you have been to the toilet.

3. Toilet brushes will be removed from toilets.

4. Children’s portable toilet seats will be removed, so please bring a potty if you need one or even your own children’s seat if you want one to go over the top or the normal toilet seat.
 

5. If you can, please try to make sure swimmers have been to the toilet at home before leaving for the pool. (We know this isn’t always possible)

Poolside entry

1. To avoid over crowding in the viewing area you are asked to wait wiif the swimmers are under 5.  Once swimmers are through the pool door, turn left onto poolside and walk the long way round the pool behind the netting and towards the emergency exit door. The first swimmer and adult on poolside will wait at the number 1 sign on the net side of the pool. Swimmers coming in after you will then line up after the first swimmer with social distancing in mind. Please follow the arrows and use our wall markings to help you social distance. This is to avoid over crowding in the viewing area.

2. Please note that NO outside shoes may be worn on poolside.

3. Please wait for your teacher to advise you when it’s safe to make your way round to the steps to enter the pool.

4. Adults not getting in the pool will then exit the poolside walking towards the steps and head to the viewing area or you can wait in your changing cubicle or your car if you prefer.

5. If you choose to wait in the car while a child swims, please let the receptionist know. Please make sure you arrive back into the facility in time to collect your child.

6. The bars on the steps will be cleaned by the teacher before swimmers enter the pool.

7. No seating will be on poolside, however, if you do require a seat while you wait for class please ask the SwimMania team as you enter the building and you will be accompanied by a member of the team using a different route onto poolside. (seats can be provided if younger swimmers can not wait in the viewing area if you swim in the adult and child class)

Poolside exit

1. Swimmers will exit the pool using social distancing and head right to the poolside exit door.

2. If you need to pick up your swimmer from the big kids classes, please wait in your seat till you see them exit and are close to the door then meet them within the changing area if they require assistance. This will help with over crowding in the corridor leading to the pool.

3. The bars on the steps will be cleaned by the teacher once all swimmers have exited the pool.

Lessons

1. You will notice the teachers will do more circuits of the pool rather than lengths during some classes to help with social distancing. When doing this in the baby/toddler lessons please make sure you do not get too close to swimmers in front of you, remember social distancing. If you do catch up to someone and need to over take please do this with social distancing in mind.

2. During the baby classes, unfortunately, teachers will not be able to perform underwater pushes during play time like we used to for now. However we will still practice underwater swims in other ways during class. We may not introduce this to everyone right away as some kiddies may be a little more nervous coming back so this will be gradually done. So don’t panic if for a couple of weeks teachers do not do this skill. It’s important for all the swimmers to ease back into the classes and enjoy the water.

3. We have many risk assessments in place and teachers will mostly remain in the water for the classes when teaching at our pool but, will maintain social distancing to swimmers. We feel this is safer for some of the swimmers especially as we have deeper water. However teachers may jump in and out of the pool depending on the activity, ability or age of the class.

4. Teachers will not manually help the children as much as they did prior to lockdown. Teachers have had training on best practices to help the swimmers progress. We have also brought lots of items to help with this such as woggle connectors which increase the size of the floats so teachers can help the swimmers from an appropriate social distance.

5. During the play time section of the adult and child classes, swimmers will no longer be able to share toys they will be given their own individual toy to play with each week. Teachers will mix the toys up so on some weeks you will be surfing on surf boards, playing with drums, making music with maracas and so on. We will still keep the play time section during your lesson as we think this is such an important bonding time and a fabulous reward for the swimmers. We will also be using our speaker much more to bust out some music during our classes to keep our lessons super fun.

6. Swimmers will also not share toys during any structured activity so for example with 5 speckled frogs each swimmer will have their own lily pad with their own 5 frogs! (Thank goodness we love a good toy bulk buy!)

7. All our toys will be thoroughly cleaned after each use so toys are never shared. Toys/equipment will be placed in mesh bags which will go into a cleaning solution in a box on poolside. Toys/equipment will also have an extra over night clean.

8. Swim England and STA our governing bodies guide states - “ Equipment should be cleaned in-between use. Submerging equipment in adequately disinfected swimming pool water will reduce the risk of transmission of enveloped viruses.”  We will adhere to this.

9. Visors - You may notice some of the teachers will wear visors for some of the time in the pool. They may wear them on and off depending on the class throughout the day, especially if they have to get close to a swimmer to help them if they are in difficulty or need assistance with progression.

10. Teachers or a team member will now take registers at the start of each lesson rather than at the end of the day.

11. We will no longer have the spare goggle collection at the pool. Please teach your children at home how to put on goggles and please try these out In the bath or shower so they are water tight. We sell goggles at the pool or you can also purchase them online from amazon and other retailers.  We will not be able to lend goggles or to help the swimmer to put on or adjust their goggles during lessons. (Goggles are not essential it’s only if you want to use them).

12. Teachers and our assistants will try their best to socially distance all the children in the pool. This it’s going to be new to the children and a lot of them will be very excited to see their swimming friends so it may take a few weeks for swimmers to get used to this new normal at class.

13. Arm discs will be cleaned after each use.

Siblings

1. We request only siblings that have a lesson on the same day come to the pool with you. If you have a sibling who doesn’t swim please try to find someone to look after them this could be at your home or, if old enough, asked to stay in the car, with a responsible adult, while they wait for their siblings class to finish.

2. If you have no other option than to bring a sibling into the facility, the sibling must stay with you at all times or until you enter the water. If you have to get into the pool eg for a baby class the sibling must sit on poolside by the windows or in the viewing area and not walk around the building. We recommend bringing a tablet or activity pack to keep them occupied during this time. We cannot look after your child / take them to the toilet etc whilst you are in the water.

Double lessons

1. If you swim in the pool when two lessons are running at any one time in the water then your lessons for the for now will now be fortnightly. This will mean one week you have a class and the next week you will not, so your class will be fortnightly lessons instead of each week.

2. We have to do the fortnightly lessons to help us with over crowding in the viewing area and we can therefore maintain social distancing.

3. This will affect weekend swimmers and swimmers that swim ‪at 4pm‬ or after on a weekday only. If you swim Monday to Friday 9am till 4pm you will have a weekly lesson. 

4. If you swim during the week day mornings and early ‪afternoon till 4pm‬ this will not affect you and you will have a weekly lesson as normal.
5. If you swim at a double lesson time we know this isn’t ideal having a lesson every other week, however, we hope this won’t be for too long, just till social distancing measures start to ease. Teachers will continue to work hard with swimmers to help them progress.

6. We will send out an email in the next week which states what dates you are swimming and when your rebooking time will be.

SwimMania Team

1. Before returning all staff have taken part in a Covid 19 meeting where we have gone through all policies in place as well as a humongous risk assessment, Health and safety policy and a new Covid safe PSOP (pool safety operating procedures).

2. A lot of the staff have also taken part in a Covid Officer training course for the leisure industry. Zoe, the owner of SwimMania, along with two other UK swim schools, was part of the team that helped with the planning and discussions regarding this course before it went live to the leisure industry. 

3. All staff have taken part in a first aid refresher for in and out of the water.

4. All staff have had a competency test by a qualified outside assessor to show our staff are qualified to a high standard when it comes to first aid.
5. All teachers and assistants have had a meeting on best teaching practices to following during Covid 19.

6. We have two Covid officers in place within the team who will stay up to date with government guidance and all of our own documents.

7. The owners and managers have been working hard to make sure we have a high standard risk assessment, health and safety policy and PSOP (poolside operating procedures) just for Covid 19. We have been speaking to many swim school owners and from what we have found during our readers here we have one of the most advanced documents going.

Our air handling systems

The air circulation systems within pool halls are designed to undertake at least four complete air changes every hour. Alongside this addition of fresh air our pool hall air circulation systems are designed to remove the air above the surface, which in turn should assist in removing airborne transmission of viruses. There is also anecdotal evidence that suggest that higher temperatures and humidities we have in pools can play a positive effect in reducing transmission of airborne particles.

Information, rules and clarification

1. Only one adult per child.

2. Please leave siblings at home or with a responsible adult in the car if you can.

3. No food at the pool to help with quick entry and exit of the facility.

4. Please sanitise your hands before entering the building, and use the hand washing facilities whilst in the building.

5. Please use the cleaning stations safely and do not let children use any of the anti virus sprays. Please return all sprays as soon as you have used them.

6. Do not enter the building more than 10 minutes before class.

7. Please leave as quickly and safely as possible after your class, and no later than 15 minutes after your class has ended.

8. No spare goggles available. Please teach children at home how to put on goggles. Please try these out In the bath or shower so they are water tight. We sell goggles at the pool or you can purchase these online from amazon and other retailers.

9. No face masks to be worn in the pool (water) as when they are wet you cannot breath efficiently. Visors can be worn in the pool if you would like to wear one (not provided by SwimMania). Children can not wear masks / visors in the pool (in water) as they will be putting their face in and out the water etc. Masks can be worn round the building if you wish to wear them and can always be hung on poolside hooks if you wear them on the poolside before class.

10. Safety will always to be our number one priority.

11. If you are having any Covid 19 symptoms you must not swim or come to the facility and follow government guidance on what you need to do to stay safe within your home. If the SwimMania team are concerned you or your child has Covid 19 symptoms a team member may check your temperature and you may be asked to leave the facility immediately. If this is the case we have additional policies in place to deal with this matter.

12. Please stay up to date with government guidance regarding Covid 19.

13. Please remember to social distance throughout the facility.

14. Please respect the SwimMania staff and listen to any advice you are given. Constant rule breaking will be taken seriously.

15. No showers will be available to help with social distancing and to help swimmers leave the building quickly.

16. Please get dressed and undressed in the same cubicle and leave clothing in this cubicle while you swim to avoid any other swimmers using your cubicle.

17. Please come ready to swim if you can.

18. Any Family MUST stay together in the facility.

We know this isn’t all ideal and it’s not normal but it’s going to be the new normal for now to keep you guys and our staff as safe as they can be. If you have any concerns regarding any of the rules and policies above please let us know. 

The SwimMania team have upped the cleaning standards to even higher than before so if no receptionist is at the reception they will probably be cleaning so please get in touch with us if no receptionist is available via email, Facebook messenger, text or phone.

The teachers will carry out assessments over the first few weeks and will move swimmers if they need to. Remember if you have been practicing at home in a paddling pool that’s great but don’t forget sometimes the younger swimmers can be more confident in a paddling pool as they can often touch the floor. Being in deep water like our pool is often a different ball game so please do not panic if the swimmers are more nervous in the pool on returning than they have been at home. Additionally if you haven’t practiced at home please don’t worry our teachers are great at what they do and will get the kids back to normal in no time. Not all swimmers will go back to how they were previously before we closed, so again please do not worry about this it’s to be expected after a big break. We know a lot of swimmers will be anxious to get back in the pool especially the weaker swimmers and young children but this is pretty normal after a big break and our great team will help you and them every step of the way.

Please remember with the Government guidelines as well as our own rules in place these can change at anytime but we will continue to keep you guys posted.

If you have any questions at all please let us know. We are here to help you every step of the way.