Catch-up lesson and holiday allowance policy

Catch-up lesson and holiday allowance policy

Great Waves Swimming Academy encourages swimmers to attend their swimming lesson regularly to ensure consistency and continuity of progress. We understand that at times lessons may be not attended due to illness or personal circumstances and have options in place to accommodate for missed lessons.

Catch-up lesson policy

Great Waves Swimming Academy will offer a maximum of one catch-up lesson per swimmer, per term (autumn, spring and summer term), equating to three in total over the academic year, if there is availability to do so. 

A catch-up session is a service that goes the extra mile and as per our terms and conditions, any missed lessons are still charged to secure your space. Great Waves Swimming Academy is under no obligation to refund or credit any missed lessons.

This limit is in place to ensure that we are able to fairly offer everyone who requests their one catch-up per term an option in a timely manner. 

It is also necessary to limit the impact that catch-up lessons may place onto the class teacher and other swimmers in the lesson.  We, therefore, feel it is necessary to offer a clear structure for requesting, organising and attending a catch-up lesson.

For the best interest for every swimmer in the session and to avoid distribution of the session plan or class flow, we have placed the following catch-up lesson parameters and procedures in place:

How to organise a catch-up lesson

We will be pleased to organise a catch-up lesson for all swimmers. We  have a strict procedure for organising catch-up lessons to ensure efficient organisation and availability to offer as many swimmers as possible:

1. Catch-up lessons will not be organised over the telephone, at the poolside or by emailing us directly.  To organise your catch-up lesson, you must complete our online request form, which can be found HERE.  The request must be submitted before your missed lesson to qualify for a catch-up lesson.
2. Catch-up request form will gather information on the lesson missed, the reason for the absence (to monitor for COVID and infection control) and your preferred times, locations and days. Please be aware that we are unable to guarantee your preferred location and see catch-up terms and conditions for more information.
3. Once the catch-up request form is sent, you will receive an email from the team within 5 working days, please be aware the office is closed over the weekend.
4. You will receive an email from the team to provide one specific session, at the next earliest opportunity or if the catch-up is COVID related, once self-isolation finishes.
5. There will be a date and time that we require your written confirmation of the catch-up.  After this point, the session will be offered to another swimmer.

If we are unable to meet your preferred days, timings or location, we will offer an alternative session that is as close as possible to your online form selection.

If you are unable to attend any of the sessions offered, we regret that we are unable to reorganise that particular lesson and offer a catch-up session.

 COVID – If a swimmer is COVID positive and self-isolation impacts more than one lesson, organisation of an additional catch-up lesson will be at the discretion of Great Waves Swimming Academy.

Catch-up lesson terms and conditions

• One catch-up lesson per term (autumn, spring and summer term), equating to three in total.
• Catch-up lessons can not be rolled over to new terms or unused catch-up lessons can not be banked for future use.
• Please be aware that if the catch-up request is submitted after the missed session, we regret that we are unable to offer a catch-up lesson on that occasion.
• We are unable to organise catch-up lessons more than 7 days in advance of the intended missed lesson.
• We will always endeavour to offer a catch-up lesson, however, we are not able to guarantee a session. Catch-up classes depend entirely on absences being known in advance, your child’s swimming ability and your preference of days and times.  Some sessions will be more popular than others and we regret that certain sessions will already be operating at full capacity.
• Catch-up lessons will not be organised over the telephone or by the poolside.  To request a catch-up lesson, the request form must be completed.
• In the event that a suitable catch-up session is unable to be organised, Great Waves Swimming Academy will not offer a refund, credit or holiday allowance for the missed session.

Holiday allowance policy

Great Waves Swimming Academy offers a unique service providing every swimmer with two holiday allowance lessons per academic year. A holiday allowance offers two lessons per swimmer, per academic year to be cancelled and not charged, whilst maintaining and securing your lesson space.

Holiday allowances are designed to be used for lessons where there is prior notice of the absence, which would not be suitable for a catch-up lesson, i.e a holiday or family event.

The policy for holiday allowance is strictly as follows:

1. Strictly a maximum of two holiday allowance sessions per academic year (September – July) and can be taken at any point during the academic year.
2. Agreement in advance of the intended holiday allowance session must be sought by emailing Great Waves Swimming Academy before the 21st of the month prior to your holiday allowance session, for example, a holiday allowance on 15th March, would require notice by 21st February.
3. Holiday allowance lessons will not be organised over the telephone or by the poolside, requests must be submitted in writing via email.
4. No retrospective application for a holiday allowance will be accepted. This is to ensure that the session requested for holiday allowance can be utilised for example for catch-up sessions, so prior notice must be given.
5. Holiday allowance lessons can not be rolled over to a new academic year.
6. Holiday allowance sessions will be detailed on the monthly invoice that the holiday allowance falls within.