Dear Families,

Please be assured that my team would never put the health of your child, you, your family or my teachers at risk, and as a responsible swim school business I am closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and operating in line with the UK Government’s official advice. 

Text Box: “As of 17/03/2020 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, I would like to reassure parents / carers, that swimming lessons will continue to take place where local pools are available, until this advice changes. However, I 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.”

I have also sought advice from our national swimming governing body, the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) who are also monitoring the UK Government’s response with regards to school closures and small gatherings in relation to swimming lessons:

Text Box:

As a swim school business, I will always put the health and safety of my teachers and customers first and my team are currently doing all we can to ensure the highest standards of hygiene and in line with recommendations, we have 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 toilets 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.

I 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 cease swimming, we will of course follow the rules and suspend lessons for the required period of time.  I will reopen when I’m advised to do so and when it is considered safe for staff and clients alike. If we have to close for several weeks then we will stop and start again, and keep you informed.

I am a small business and I call upon my customers at this time to remain calm and continue to support OSSLSS and its team. Please continue to rebook for the next term to secure your child’s place. If swimming lessons are to cease, fees paid, will automatically be credited towards lessons from the date that we resume. 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, which provides advice on:

What to do if you have symptoms

Number of cases

Risk level

Recent government action

Diagnosis and analysis

Further information

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. 

Thank you in advance for your continued support.

Regards,

Jessica Thorne

Managing Director

OSS Leisure Swim School Ltd