To complain about my child's swimming lesson

[MissesBloom]

My ds (4) has just started swimming lessons with a new swimming school and we are 2 lessons in.

The first lesson I noticed it seemed to be quite a big class he was in, with most of the other children able to swim to a higher level than my ds. There are 4 classes going on at the same time in the same pool with numerous teachers at different ends of the pool.

Anyway this week on his second lesson they were using pool noodles which ds has used a couple of times but this time he was put onto his back. He is unsteady on his back. He can't swim unaided at all. He ended up struggling and losing his grip, went under the water and couldn't get back up. I've no idea how long he was under as it always seems an eternity, but was horrified that the swim teacher hadn't noticed and was in the middle of the pool with some of that other kids. There was her and a young teenage girl helping at that lesson. Neither of them could see him. He was in the shallow end but this still comes above his head so he couldn't just put his feet down.

I ended up running across the poolside with my baby in my arms screaming to the nearest teacher I could get to that he was under. By this time the teacher had seen me yelling and got to him just after me. She pulled him out. He was OK it happened quite fast but I'm really really concerned now because if I hadn't been watching him they wouldn't have known. They gave no apology or explanation.

My son is fine and it hasn't knocked his confidence. My question is should I complain and if so how? I'm useless at making a complaint and I always end up making myself somehow sound like I'm being unreasonable or being almost apologetic. I want to let them know they need to keep a closer eye on him as a non swimmer and I'm unhappy about what happened.

Or on the other side of it am I overreacting? Does this stuff just happen and should I just forget it and worry if it happens again? No idea what's OK and not OK really.

I'd move to a different pool. We tried 3 or 4 before we found one we were happy with

I would look for other lessons. Even if there is only one pool locally, there may be more than one swimming school using it.

DD is 5 and sounds to be at a slightly higher ability than your DS (she swims confidently with a noodle but is a bit hit & miss without), and I'm pretty sure this couldn't have happened in her class.

There are 8 children in DD's group with one teacher and one helper/trainee teacher. They take it in turns to swim across the pool in twos - each being watched/helped by one of the two adults.

I also think that learning to swim at an early age is a good idea - but not if the teacher could possibly fail to notice a child being underwater for more than a second.

Like Pollyanna said, what if you had to go to the toilet, or get something or change babies nappy, your son could have drowned because the swimming teachers were not using proper methods and supervising. I think even though its a swimming lesson, there should be a lifeguard in every pool. That was close, I would complain to management, next time a child might not be lucky, it takes a few seconds. This was gross negligence.

He could have drowned. He should be wearing arm bands if he can't reach the bottom, and there should be a life guard.

My dad's brother drowned in a swimming pool when he was 12. Similar circumstances - he couldn't swim and went under, no one noticed for a few mins.

I would complain and send him elsewhere.

those ratios of pupil to teacher are fine, if they were not out of their depth and there was a lifeguard

I have to say, we've never had lifeguards present for lessons and as I said above we have tried 4 different swim schools/pools. So I don't see that as an issue personally

admirable and useful to be able to swim....but perhaps a little young? And hard work for you too, with baby. Maybe leave it for 6 months.

Your child went under the water while they knew he couldn't swim.

There is no life guard.

I would be removing my child.

My son attended a swimming school and there was 4 in the class with an instructor. The manager of the swim school circled the pool during lessons to prevent something like that happening.

My kids started lessons at ages 3 and 4. They learnt in a local leisure centre and started out in water they could stand up in. The ratio was 1:4 plus a lifeguard. Your setup sounds concerning.

I would remove him from the lessons and ask for my money back and go elsewhere.

I used to have a swim teacher qualification (long expired) and this breaks so many rules that I would not be happy.

Where my kids go they have max 10 in a class with teacher on the side and an adult in the water. I think for the younger group (non swimmers) the group is smaller than that.
There is always a lifeguard on duty.

There should always be someone on the side. If all adults are in the water, no-one spots a child go under (as you saw)

I think this set up is danagerous.
As PP said, it isn't that he went under, it is the lack of correct supervision.

As pp have said, this school sounds dodgy.

Yes, it's good for him to learn to swim, but that doesn't mean taking any class available.

With a non-swimmer:
the teacher should be in the pool
child shouldn't be out of his/her depth
there should be at least one lifeguard (non-swimmers or not).

Our set-up is similar to yours, private company using a school pool, but all of the above conditions are in place. I would not leave my child in water where they didn't meet those minimum safety standards.

Bottom line: move schools.

DD does swimming at school and there is no lifeguard but for health and safety purposes there should also be another adult around at the side at all time. Plus the children are not out of their depth (which makes a huge difference). It cant run without 3 parent helpers - (2 in the changing rooms, one for girls, one for boys and one at the side) in fact it is usually 4 but can run with 3

If you have children out of their depth you should have someone at the side watching to make sure no one gets in trouble

That must have been awful to watch. I would take him out that class and put in a complaint.
Maybe take him somewhere yourself (where he can stand in the pool) to play so he can get some confidence back in the water.
Look for lessons where they work through the different stages so Stage 1 is basic stuff blowing bubbles in the water and floating. Also look for lessons where the instructor is in the pool with the children at a pool where your son can reach the bottom.

The fact he was happy to carry on says he wasn't in that much trouble so that's good that his confidence hasn't been knocked. I nearly drowned at his age and I remember it quite vividly, I was too ill to have kept going as the pool water burns the inside of your lungs and it is sore for days not just minutes, ds has also had a near miss at a hotel pool when he decided to trot off to the slide when I had my attention taken away for a moment and the life guard had also wandered away. I had to sprint and dive in when I spotted the very top of his head above the water. I learnt the same lesson as ds did, when mum says wait, she says it for a reason. From this your ds will have learnt and so don't pull him out, he is learning a life saving skill. Keep an eye on him for a few lessons to put your mind at ease. He'll likely have learnt a bit more caution from this experience and that's no bad thing.

no way would I have a non-swimmer 4 year old in a pool out of his depth without one-to-one supervision. add to that no life guard and its a recipe for disaster.

I would be insisting on a different setup or my money back and potentially reporting somewhere official.

I got there quick. I was watching him more or less the whole lesson so saw as soon as it happened. He definitely didn't have the experience you unfortunately had phalenopsisgirl. That's terrible. I don't know if I hadn't been there what would have happened however as they had NO idea that he was under.

I've called and left a message. She's not got back to me yet. I am going to give it one more go but only under the circumstances that they move him into a pool where he can stand. If this isn't possible he won't be going back to that swimming school.

I'm sure there are numerous other places I can sign him up. Have tried local leisure centre but he wasn't really progressing (but at least he was safe). I'd love to have him do one to one lessons if we can afford it.

I now realise that perhaps this set up isn't usual (as in without a life guard).

with regard to the lifeguard
It could be another adult on the side, whose role is to watch, rather than an actual lifeguard, but there must be an adult standing. If all th eadults are in the water they simply cannot see if a child gets into trouble.

But, if it isn't a qualified lifeguard, then one of the teachers should be qualified, in case there was an incident.

Well the plus side is that it sounds as if your son wasn't overly phased by it (but you don't want to be on edge every time your son goes swimming as it is easy to transmit that fear unwittingly).

At that age a great many kids just aren't the right size or shape to float so I think it is very important to have smaller classes and preferably somebody poolside (so high enough up) to spot if somebody isn't just spluttering but genuinely in need of some help. DD swam mainly underwater for much of the duckling stages.

We were lucky to find lessons that were normally 3 groups so one teacher was out of the pool teaching 2 or 3 older chiildren stroke technique and another 2 were teaching small groups of 2-5 beginners. When they were 5 or 6 they did spend a lot of time out of their depth (largely because one child preferred to walk, rather than swim, but they were all pretty good at staying afloat/holding onto the side at that stage). It might be worth asking for recommendations from parents at school?

1 to 1 lessons are brilliant, but I would wait until your DS can swim a confident doggy paddle (so they are just refining technique) if he isn't scared at all.

I'm fuming now. Just got a call from her asking me to remind her who my child is. She asked if it was my little one who got tangled up in the ropes. She basically said it was fine he didn't really go under. I said he absolutely did and another parent witnessed it too. She basically made out it was fine, when I asked her why she didn't see him go under she admitted she saw me coming over and only realised then! She said that there is no lifeguard because they are in the pool and are lifeguard trained.

Ive asked her to move him to a class in a pool where he can stand. She spent 10 mins telling me that he is more confident than I give him credit for and he doesn't need to be moved

Sorry baby posted for me

In the end I got him signed up to the other class but I'm angry I still never got an apology. I said I'm not prepared to sit and panic at every class. She also offered to let me sit on a chair next to his Lane, because it would put my mind at ease. I said it makes no difference if I end up in a position where I have to jump in after him and have a baby in my arms!

Anyway she's agreed and said she'd rather me be happy but that I shouldn't be moving him down a class.

I'd get your child into a swimming club. They are far better at teaching, have smaller classes and lots of helpers. They teach the children how to swim all four strokes correctly and if they do well they can go on to compete. All three of mine have learned with a swimming club and they are excellent swimmers.

they are breaking good procedures from 2 perspectives.

1. As swimming teachers it is good practice to have an adult on the side
2. As trained lifeguards they should know you need someone on the side.

This to me is so basic that I am shocked.

Doolally - sorry, couldn't disagree more.
My kids learnt in a local pool, it was excellent, really good teachers, really nice pool, not to shallow and not too deep.
Good class sizes and plenty of support.
They have all been taught all 4 strokes properly through the Swimming Association badges.
The kids I know who go to the swimming club are really pushed. It is all about times, they must go faster, and there is huge pressure.

Obviously it varies from club to club and from lesson to lesson, as this thread shows, but I wouldn't say that clubs are better per se, just that your club has worked out well for you.

I wouldn't go back to that school.

Our local authority has 2 teachers in the pool with stage 1, and last week was 4 kids. They look like they're having fun and playing games! There's a lifeguard on duty too.

I think it varies too. I know people who've had the same problem at our local swimming club (in the council run leisure centre). I think it depends on the teacher and the procedures put in place. Funnily enough before this I didnt realise the need for a lifeguard. Now I think it's far safer to have someone else watching on the outside of the pool for incidents.

Apparently I know nothing though and the issue is not that my son isnt safe, its that IM not confident according to this teacher