Covid-19

Back to Lessons Information

Back to lessons information

This document will hopefully answer any queries you may have and give you detailed information about returning to lessons.

Cleanliness/Hygiene/Water Quality

    1. Swimstart has always followed best practice. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, we have followed and implemented all the guidance which has been published by the industry’s Governing Bodies – Swim England; PWTAG (Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group); RLSS UK (Royal Life Saving Society) and the STA (Swimming Teachers Association).
    2. Please do not attend for lessons if you or any members of your household are experiencing symptoms of Coronavirus.
    3. The pool building has had a deep clean from an external contracting company.
    4. When opening the pool ready for lessons in the morning, we clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the pool environment, ensuring a recurrent and regular cleansing regime for all areas used by our swimmers and their families.
    5. A Hygiene Officer will be present for all lessons. The Hygiene Officer will give entry to the pool, make sure that all requirements have been complied with before arrival (Covid-19 Medical Questionnaire completed in advance), issue shoe covers and ensure face coverings are worn whilst in the building by accompanying adults.  Face coverings will be available to purchase for 50p if you forget or don’t have your own.  The Hygiene Officer will be wearing a face shield and have personal access to all necessary PPE which may be required for first aid etc.
    6. The Hygiene Officer will direct you to a Changing Station where there will be a blue plastic box to place your child’s belongings in.
    7. After your lesson has finished, please leave the blue box at your changing station for the Hygiene Officer to collect and sanitise ready for the next person to use.
    8. The changing room will be used only by the Hygiene Officer.
    9. We have removed (quite some time ago) frequent touch points such as light switches. Our lights are operated by movement and so turn off and on automatically.
    10. Two new sinks have been installed and the old sink has been upgraded and replaced.
    11. The waste bin by the sink has been replaced with a foot operated bin, again, to ensure nothing’s touched that doesn’t need to be.
    12. Hands must be sanitised upon entry to the pool building by all pool users.
    13. There are many new sanitising stations in the pool building. The dispensers, which will be filled with sanitising gel, are all touch free, again reducing the number of surfaces which are touched. Just wave your hands under the flashing red light and the gel will be dispensed.
    14. Unlike previously, when our primary disinfectant was the UV light system, the Regulations have now changed to combat Covid-19. For as long as the pandemic continues, our primary disinfectant will be chlorine which is running at slightly higher levels than previously and the UV light will be our secondary disinfectant.  The UV system kills nasty bugs but with a special light and not additional chemicals.  The UV light leaves no additional residue in the water.  As per PWTAG, with adequately disinfected pool water, the main risk from Covid-19 is through airborne respiratory transmission from a person carrying the virus to others within a critical vicinity – not from waterborne transmission.  In accordance with PWTAG guidelines, the evidence shows that the physical effect of the pool water with the correct free chlorine and PH value should inactivate the virus within 15 to 30 seconds.  The dilution of the virus in the pool water volume will also reduce the risk of exposure and transmission.

The water itself is tested in accordance with the guidelines, by an external contractor, for the presence of bacteria and the inlet and outlet pipes for the water are also tested.  The pipes to the shower heads and the showerheads themselves are regularly disinfected and also tested by an external contractor to avoid the presence of legionella bacteria.

Risk Assessments

    1. The pool building, the pool itself, staff locations for each activity and each type of lesson, cygnet, duckling, tadpole, otter and stingray, have all been risk assessed by a qualified officer. The recommendations from the risk assessments have been implemented fully.

Before, During & after Lessons

    1. Social distancing must be observed whilst in the pool building.
    2. We have implemented a one-way system for entering and leaving the pool building.
    3. All class sizes have been reduced.
    4. Changing Station areas have been set up around the pool. You will be directed to your Changing Station upon arrival at the pool.  You are requested to stay in the vicinity of your Changing Station during the lesson.
    5. Swimmers are asked to shower at home and arrive at the pool “beach ready” with their costumes already on and a dressing gown/overhead towel/poncho etc on top with sliders/flip flops/crocs on their feet.
    6. The Hygiene Officer will help the children into and out of the pool as the lifeguard will stay on the opposite side of the pool from the changing stations during the lesson.
    7. The instructor and lifeguard will comply with the requirements of the guidelines and the risk assessments during lessons. The lessons may look a little different but you shouldn’t notice any real changes from before Covid-19.
    8. After the lesson, swimmers should have a very quick shower, if required, using the shower gel dispenser installed in the vicinity of the showers, put on their dressing gown/poncho etc and leave the pool. Please do not bring your own shower gel or shampoo. The guidelines advise that we need to limit what additional items are brought into the pool building.  Please put their dressing gown/poncho etc on over their costumes (or quickly remove their costumes), their sliders/flip flops on their feet and then leave the building, exiting via the fire exit at the bottom right hand side of the building.  Please don’t go back towards the changing room.  Please deposit your shoe covers in the box provided near the exit door.
    9. The lifeguard will then sanitise the changing station areas. The instructor will sanitise the armbands and floats used during the lesson.  When the sanitisation has been completed, the next class will be allowed to enter the pool building for their lesson.

Cygnet Lessons ONLY (Baby & Parent)

    1. The cygnet classes now have 45 minutes allocated. This allows an extra 15 minutes at the end of the session for parents and babies to get changed after their lesson, to leave the building and still give us time to sanitise the areas before the next sessions start.  Please try to have exited the building within the 45 minutes allocated as the next class will be unable to enter the building until it is empty and has been sanitised.
    2. We would prefer the babies to arrive with their swim nappies and costumes on but if they needed to be changed and a new swim nappy put on before they got in there would be time to do that and we’ll be providing changing mats as before which will be sanitised between uses using our new disinfectant. Parents wont have to wear a face covering in the pool but will need to wear one on entering the pool building.  The covering can be left with your clothes when you climb in the water.  Parents will have to distance from other parents whilst in the water.  The instructor will brief parents about the format the lessons will take and any do’s and don’ts before the first lesson starts.  Please take any dirty nappies home with you.  We have nappy sacks available if you forget to bring one.

Swimmers/Parents & Carers at the Pool

    1. Only one parent/carer per child can attend the lesson.
    2. One child can stand with their parent/carer whilst the other (brother/sister) has their lesson. You may need to move changing stations from one lesson to the other depending upon which station you’re given initially.
    3. We do not have any space for prams to be brought into the pool building. Prams can be left at the doorway as previously or on the pathway to the door at the bottom of the pool.  The Hygiene Officer will confirm where you may leave your pram if you are unsure.
    4. The parent/carer must wear a face covering in the pool building & shoe covers on their feet.
    5. Parents/carers must turn away if social distancing can’t be observed ie a child passes you on their way to or from the pool.
    6. Parents/carers are requested to stay in the vicinity of their allocated changing station during the lesson.

Direct number for the Hygiene Officer at the pool

07858 392425