Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Dear Valued Customer,

Please be assured that we would never put the health of your child, you, your family or our staff at risk, and as a responsible swim school business we are closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and operating in line with the UK Government’s official advice. We have also sought advice from Swim England, the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA), and Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group (PWTAG) who are also monitoring the UK Government’s response with regards to school closures and small gatherings in relation to swimming lessons:

As of 16th March 2020 there is no current advice that says people should avoid small gatherings, going to school, childcare or indeed swimming lessons. In fact, Public Health opinion is that it is generally safe to go swimming at this time – the water and the chlorine within swimming pools will help to kill the virus, but we simply need to be sensible with pool users’ interaction like we would in any other social environment currently. Therefore, we would like to reassure parents/carers, that swimming lessons will continue to take place where pools are available, until this advice changes. However, we would strongly urge everyone to familiarise themselves with the Government’s advice regarding hygiene, recognising COVID-19 symptoms and self-isolation for those at risk.

This being said, we do understand that some individuals are already having to self-isolate or implement social distancing to protect themselves and vulnerable members of their families. In this case, we do not want you to miss out on your classes. If you email us with more than 48 hours notice of your class we will honour make up classes when normal service resumes (apart from for classes due to take place this afternoon 17th March where the necessary 48 hour notice is not required). This is so that we can staff the classes appropriately and ensure the longevity of the programme going forwards.

If you do not give us the necessary notice that you do not wish to attend we will presume that you are attending and therefore you will lose that lesson should you not attend.

Star Swimming Academy value your custom immensely and thank you for your continued support throughout this difficult and ever changing situation. We understand the pressures of the current times and want to support all our families as much as possible and as such we have made the decision to implement this policy in the short term contrary to our normal make up class policy. However please bear in mind that for this to work we very much require your co-operation and understanding.

As a swim school business, we will always put the health and safety of our staff and customers first and we are currently doing all we can to ensure the highest standards of hygiene and in line with recommendations, we have been liaising with all pool partners who have all ramped up our cleaning and cleansing routines. We also need your help as personal hygiene – as is always the case – when out of the water is of the upmost importance:

• There is soap and hot water in the changing rooms for handwashing, and as normal practice we highly recommend children shower before and after swimming.
• Disinfect (anti-bac) your hands after you’ve pushed and pulled door handles or touched your locker.
• Experts also advise to wash and maintain clean swimming kit and towels, using a high 60-degree wash to kill any bugs.

We also urge children or parents/carers who may have a slight cold (not coronavirus) to not come to class to minimise the risk of spreading any germs. (This is good practice anyway and may be a very valuable lesson we all learn from this current shared experience.)

In the event the UK Government or local authority advises us to close one or all of our pools we will of course follow the rules and suspend lessons for the required period of time. We will reopen when we are advised to do so and when it is considered safe for staff and customers alike.

We are a small family business and we call upon our customers at this time to remain calm and continue to support us. If families are not at risk, do not fall into the high-risk category and their children are still attending school, preschool or after-school clubs but choose to stop swimming then our business will be impacted. Sensible, calm and rational, decisions will prevent this from happening. We urge you to keep up to date with the latest information from Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England.

There is no question these are worrying times, but together with calm and sensible responses and accepting sound advice from official government authorities, we will all get through this. Panic and hysteria are not the way forward.

Thank you in advance for your continued support.

Stay safe and keep well!

Kind regards,

Star Swimming Academy