Terms & Conditions – Strokes Swim School Essex

Terms and Conditions for Customers

Cancelling your place

We need to know as soon as possible if your place will not be required for the following term, to avoid charging you for an unwanted place. All lessons are booked for a whole term and cannot be cancelled partway through a booked term.

Fees in advance

Fees for the next term are due before the end of the existing term to hold your place. If fees are not paid before the start of the new term, places will be released. We send all parents a payment cut-off date with reminders.

New customers joining the swim school have 4 days to pay in full from the date of their invoice. A 50p service charge will be added to your invoice each term.

Hardship cases

We are sympathetic to hardship cases and those with large families (manager's discretion), but you must contact us in plenty of time for us to help. We will sometimes allow deposits or payment plans to hold each child's place.

Fees are non-refundable

We do not offer refunds. Places are held for the whole term, so once booked and paid the place is secured for your swimmer. By booking lessons you agree fully that no refunds will be given under any circumstances, and that this is a binding contract between Strokes Swim School Ltd and yourself once payment is made.

In extraordinary circumstances, we may be able to freeze payment on your account for the swimmer to use on their return.

Changing days

Movement through the swim school is permitted once a place is booked and paid, subject to availability. There are certain periods during the term when swimmers cannot move, as we will be working on badge assessments. Movement is at the manager's discretion.

Teachers and lesson allocation

When booking a course of lessons with us, you are booking onto the programme itself, rather than a specific teacher. While we always aim to provide consistency, teachers may change throughout the term, or leave the school, and this is outside our control.

Cancellations and missed swims

If any lessons are cancelled due to school closures, pandemics, accidents or emergencies outside our control, we may choose to hold a catch-up or replacement lesson in the school holidays or at the end of term. We do not offer refunds for missed lessons unless we genuinely cannot offer an alternative. This is at the discretion of Strokes Swim School. If you cannot attend the replacement lesson we provide, please contact us right away to check whether other dates are available.

Code of conduct

Strokes Swim School Ltd has the right to terminate lessons if rules are not adhered to, and we would be under no obligation to refund customers going against these rules.

Please drive with extreme caution on site — cars are parked at owner's risk.
No smoking on site.
Valuables left in the changing area are at owner's risk.
No outdoor footwear to be worn on poolside.
No food on poolside. Chewing gum is not allowed during lessons.
No running on poolside.

Photography

No photography is permitted unless permission is given by the teaching staff and by the parents or guardians of other pupils in the class. Photography is never permitted in changing areas.

Changing rooms

Children over 8 years should change in the correct gender changing room. Adults may only enter same-gender changing rooms.

Responsibility

Strokes Swim School will accept no responsibility other than for pupils in a lesson at the time of their booked session.

Health and hygiene

Children should tie back long hair, blow their nose and use the toilet before a lesson. Children under 8 should be supervised when using the toilet.
No jewellery is allowed in the pool. All jewellery must be removed before entry.
Children with contagious illnesses (measles, conjunctivitis, chicken pox, COVID-19, etc.) must not attend. Swimmers suffering from diarrhoea or vomiting must not swim for 48 hours after the episode.
Verrucas must be covered with a swim sock or a cream that forms a protective layer.
Any medical conditions, disabilities or special needs that could affect your swimmer while in our care must be declared upon booking. Parents must also advise the teacher directly before entering the water.
Inhalers, epi-pens and any other required medication must be brought to every lesson.
Young children still using nappies must wear appropriate swimwear. All nappies must be taken home for disposal.

Poolside spectators

Parents and guardians watching from poolside must keep well back from the pool edge. Strokes Swim School Ltd is not responsible for parents or spectators. All spectators must be respectful and keep voices to a minimum.

School pools — note

Strokes Swim School operates out of school swimming pools. Although we do our utmost to keep conditions suitable, the ultimate responsibility for the condition of the building rests with the school. Any concerns about cleanliness, health and safety, or building maintenance should be directed to the school involved.

GDPR Information

What data we store

Strokes Swim School will save all pupil and parent contact information as required, including email addresses, contact numbers, dates of birth and home addresses. This is essential for safety and to keep you updated with important information, such as lesson closures.

Medical information

Strokes Swim School will store all medical information provided at the time of booking. This is held on a secure, password-protected system accessible only to Strokes administrators and teachers. It is also printed on class registers for teacher reference. Parents must keep us updated with any ongoing or new medical information.

Photography

By paying for swimming lessons at Strokes Swim School Ltd, you are giving permission for us to take photos and videos of swimmers for advertising and marketing purposes. We will always ask verbally before taking photos. If you do not wish your child to be photographed, please let us know in writing via email and advise the photographer on the day.

Third-party services

We use the following third-party companies to help run the swim school. Each has its own privacy policy.

Morsolutions (morsolution.com) — our day-to-day management system, which stores swimmer information, tracks progress and enables direct communication.
GoCardless (gocardless.com) — our Direct Debit payment provider. Swimmers provide personal and bank details directly to GoCardless, who process termly payments on our behalf.

Any queries regarding these terms should be directed to Joni Hales via the contact page.