Background
- North Tyneside crash course intensive swimming programme stretches across all four pools during the school holidays (this is subject to swimming teacher availability).
- The child must be 5 years old to attend a crash course. This is so there is consistency with the Learn to Swim evening lessons. If a child passes a crash course, they will be ready to access the LTS programme.
- The aim of crash course lessons is to allow a junior, who is unable to attend once a week Learn to Swim lessons in the evening, the opportunity to develop their swimming skills in a shorter period of time and have an introduction to the swimming lessons.
- The crash courses have no waiting list and are therefore allocated on a first come first served basis, booked through reception. The crash course lessons range from stage 1-10 and the stages are decided by the swimming representative in each pool facility depending on the demand.
- Lessons held are set at no more than 10 children per lesson (8 maximum at Waves due to the size of the small pool). As the lessons run during school holidays, they run at designated times in each pool to not impact on the public swim and any holiday sessions which may be running.
Booking information
- Places are allocated on a first come first served basis. Places can only be guaranteed once payment is secured. No places can be pre booked without payment in place. Places can be booked right up until the morning of the start of the lessons.
- If someone requires a place mid-course and there are places available, this can be granted with the agreement of the swimming teacher and the Team Leader.
- North Tyneside Council has the right to cancel lessons where facilities may become unavailable (e.g. pool failure/closure), if payment has already been made, additional lessons will be credited.
- While we make every effort to ensure continuity of teachers for the duration of the course, we cannot guarantee children will have the same teacher throughout.
- We operate a no refund policy on swimming courses once booked - if your child has an unforeseen medical problem and is unable to attend a significant part of the course, please contact us to discuss (extra sessions will not be credited for lessons missed due to any other reason such as holidays, or short-term illness’ etc).
Frequently asked questions
Q. I only want to do a few days of the crash course lessons why do I have to pay the full price?
Once somebody books into the lessons we are unable to offer this place out to another child. Therefore even if you are only able to attend part of the course, the full course must be paid for.
Q. My child has passed stage 1 on the crash course lessons, are they eligible now for the Learn to Swim evening lessons as they have been waiting to get a place for a while?
The crash courses are not a natural progression on to the LTS programme. The child will still be required to register for the Learn to Swim programme via our ‘register your interest’ form. If they are currently on stage 1 on the waiting list, we will adjust their place to stage 2 and update their records.
Q. What is the difference between the crash courses and the Learn to Swim lessons?
The crash course is run every day for several days in concession. The advantage of this is that the child may learn quicker as there is some consistency and repetition of skills from day to day rather than week to week. How quick a learner they are will determine if they are able to pass all the criteria taught in the stage. It may be that they do not pass a crash course or for the higher stages they attend the crash course to assist them complete a stage they did not pass in the Learn to Swim Programme, there is no guarantee a child will pass a crash course.
Q. Do I need to inform the swimming teacher if my child is currently on a Learn to Swim evening lesson or been on a crash course before.
If your child is already in our Learn to Swim programme, a crash course can be used to help develop/improve their skills, and help them to practice areas they may be weaker in. Please ensure the crash course teacher is aware your child is currently enrolled in our Learn to Swim programme.
A child who is currently in our Learn to Swim programme and attends a crash course at a different leisure centre part way through school term (ie at half term), may not be awarded a pass/fail at the end of the crash course. This allows their lead teacher (Learn to Swim programme) to evaluate how the crash course has helped them develop their skills against the rest of the terms learning. If the crash course is at the end of the term, please ensure the swim teacher is aware of where your child takes part in lessons so this can be communicated across sites.
Q Why are the crash course lessons smaller in numbers than the prebooked lessons?
The crash course lessons are smaller in number than the pre-booked lessons as the teachers find the lessons with smaller numbers learn more in a shorter space of time. As the crash course lessons only have a maximum of 5 lessons (normally averaging around 5) rather than 10/14 in the LTS lessons, the smaller numbers allow for the teachers to spend enough time with the children in a week in order for them to cover the same amount of learning material that they would cover in a whole term of swimming. These smaller numbers give the children the same opportunity to learn and give the children the same amount of support as children taking part in the Learn to swim pre-booked programme.
Q. Why are the lessons run so early in the morning?
As the lessons are held in the school holidays, they run early in the mornings so the pool is quiet and the lessons are not disrupted by the public swim sessions. Some of our centres run lessons up until 12pm or at 3pm in the afternoon, therefore if a child cannot attend first thing in a morning, a later time may be available.
Q. What happens at the end of the crash course?
The swimming teacher will advise you if your child has passed the stage. If it is a stage 1 lesson and your child has not passed please register your interest for swimming lesson on the NTC website, using the swimming lesson interest form. If your child is already registered there is nothing you require to update us on, and we will contact you when a space becomes available.