First swimming lesson checklist

Are you or your child due to start their first swimming lesson and not sure what to do? We're here to help.

Before the day of the first lesson

• Check how to get there

Being able to get to where the lessons are taking place is, obviously, very important but this can sometimes be overlooked. What most people will check is how to get to the venue itself (which is good to know!) but what about once you get to the venue? If lessons are taking place in a leisure centre it's usually pretty straightforward how to get to the pool, and if you're not sure you can ask at the reception desk. For lessons taking place in a different type of venue, such as a school, it's not quite as simple. If it's your first time attending the venue it's a good idea to check if there's a specific way to access the pool, if it's not provided by the swim school. If you need to contact the swim school to check, keep in mind that they might not be able to respond that same day, especially if it's the weekend, so allow plenty of time to get the information you need.

Directions for how to get to our venues can be found in the welcome email.

• Check if anything specific is needed

Some venues require swimmers to wear/avoid specific items. For example, some venues may require swimmers to wear swimming caps or for younger swimmers to wear specific swim nappies along with regular ones or for swimmers to wear goggles instead of masks that cover their noses. As with the venue directions, if you're not sure if you need to bring anything specific then check with the swim school. Usually it will be specified somewhere (website, welcome email, etc) and if it's not then you don't need to bring anything other than swimming gear. If the swim school uses equipment there will be equipment provided at the venue.

Day of the first lesson

• Arrive in plenty of time

Give yourself plenty of time to get to the venue, especially if you've never been there before. Allow for things such as traffic or roadworks and to familiarise yourself with the area. Are there one way streets into the venue? Are there multiple ways to access different parts of the venue? Also allow time for potentially getting lost. Some swim schools may have someone you can contact at the venue in case you do get lost so it would be a good idea to keep that number handy just in case!

We have a poolside phone that you can contact at St Leonards (the grounds can be a bit of a maze!) but not at Queensferry as there are attendants at reception.

• Relax!

You've made it to the lessons on time, the hard part is over! Now you can relax and let your child enjoy their time in the pool. Or if it's yourself attending lessons, you can relax and enjoy the experience. It can be quite nerve racking leaving your child with someone new or trying something new but remember the swim school staff are there to help so please feel to speak to them to put your mind at ease.