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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be pissed off they’ve cancelled swimming lesson again?

26 replies

CancelledAgain · 26/05/2022 20:08

For the second time this half term.

It’s year round and they don’t charge me if they cancel the lesson, but they already only assess the DC every 4 weeks so it seems to take ages to move up a stage, and it’s DCs assessment week this week but the lessons cancelled. They cancelled the lesson last time on an assessment week for DC.

So DCs two friends aren’t in the same assessment group but are in the same stage so they’ll be assessed as normal next week or the week after and DC has to wait 4 weeks until the 24th June, DC also missed the assessment 29th April because they cancelled the lesson then too, so by the time they’re assessed it will have been almost 2 months since the last assessment. They don’t assess the kids outside of their assessment week to move up, so no progress will be made on the stage between now and next assessment then they’ll jump 20-30%ish if that makes sense? The lesson is 30 minutes then every 4 weeks it’s 45 minutes as 2-3 children stay back for their assessments. They don’t do any assessments in August though at all. So there’s only 2 assessments left before the end of the school year.

Leisure centre have apologised and we’re on the waiting list for another teacher in the same stage because this never happened in other stages (they cancelled 1 assessment lesson once in Stage 1, and cancelled 1 lesson that wasn’t DCs assessment week in Stage 2). Leisure centre have apologised and said it’s a personal reason for the teacher the last cancellation was due to the teacher being on holiday.

They rang me today, and I said I was considering a complaint as it’s the second assessment lesson in a row cancelled the man on the phone sympathised and said he understood and I wouldn’t be charged.

AIBU? It’s a council pool and the only pool that does the swim England lessons locally, I have looked into others but they all are either more expensive or follow a private assessment criteria. Also DC is in a group with their friends and loves going so don’t want to unsettle them.

OP posts:
SaraLMog · 26/05/2022 20:13

No, u're not being unreasonable. It's a pain in the ass, to be quite honest and u are right to be cheesed off about it 😤 Regardless of whether they're charging u or not, they need to sort out their staff so the children are getting marked as and when they should X

Bundlesofchocforme · 26/05/2022 20:16

How old are the dc? Are they bothered. If young and dc not fussed, I’d let it go. Much more important that it is fun and they are learning a life skill than racing through to keep up with friends.

CancelledAgain · 26/05/2022 20:17

Bundlesofchocforme · 26/05/2022 20:16

How old are the dc? Are they bothered. If young and dc not fussed, I’d let it go. Much more important that it is fun and they are learning a life skill than racing through to keep up with friends.

@Bundlesofchocforme 7 almost 8, they love lessons but love them more since joining stage 3 because they have friends in the stage.

OP posts:
ChairCareOh · 26/05/2022 20:28

This reply has been deleted

Withdrawn at the user's request

Bunnycat101 · 26/05/2022 23:46

Could they not just do an assessment next week? It seems very inflexible. They just update our scoring every week. The last time mine moved up, the teacher just spent a couple of minutes at the end of a lesson checking a couple of the skills that hadn’t been covered regularly and then moved her up.

so they really need a full on assessment at stage 3. You can tell the kids there are confident to do the 10ms versus the ones still clinging onto the side or putting their feet down every 2 seconds.

OwlinaTree · 26/05/2022 23:51

Assessment every 4 weeks? They are not giving much time in between to actually learn and practice the skills there! 2 hours swimming and then assess it?!

LittleOwl153 · 26/05/2022 23:54

I would ask for the assessment session to happen next week if you think it's going to make a difference... I.e. that they might move up.
If not whilst I'd be passed off I agree I would leave it. However if next assessment lesson is cancelled I would complain and insist that assessment takes place even if that is out-of sync with 'their week'.

Are all the kids in the group assessed in the same 4th lesson? Just reading you said 2-3 kept back? Does that mean that a different 2-3 kids are assessed each week from the same group? If that's the case then I'd expect the assessments to just get bumped on not the same 2-3 kids missed out and the others in the group still assessed...

HeddaGarbled · 27/05/2022 00:33

I expect they’re short-staffed, as so many places are.

It seems a bit obsessional to be so focussed on assessment. If your son is enjoying the lessons and learning and improving, and will get to do the assessment in due course, I think you need to step off the treadmill.

justfiveminutes · 27/05/2022 04:58

Why is it cancelled?

Seems a bit off to complain if it is cancelled because the instructor is ill, had a car accident, is attending her mum's funeral.

Sometimes cancellations are unavoidable.

I would just ask if they can assess next week instead, although I personally wouldn't care whether they 'moved up' or not. It's swimming not A levels.

2reefsin30knots · 27/05/2022 05:59

I'm also not sure why you are being obsessive about it. Is it because you are sure DC should move up and therefore the following 4 weeks lessons will be a waste of money as nothing new will be learned? If so, I'd take that particular point up with the swim school and push for DC to be assessed with the next group.

Your DC is not at a very high level for their age anyway (my DS was doing 7hrs a week with swim team by 8, and there were plenty of other 8yos in his squad) so TBH I think you may as well just relax about it. Let him enjoy it and don't worry about the pace.

Rosehugger · 27/05/2022 06:09

The point is I guess he wants to move up with his friends if he has a chance. Much more fun to.do an activity with a friend.

TBH, mine stopped swimming aged 7/8, once they could swim pretty well and I breathed a sigh of relief that we no longer had to bother with lessons.

Teateaandmoretea · 27/05/2022 06:37

Your DC is not at a very high level for their age anyway (my DS was doing 7hrs a week with swim team by 8, and there were plenty of other 8yos in his squad) so TBH I think you may as well just relax about it. Let him enjoy it and don't worry about the pace.

Well yes, my experience of swim club (and my two are in one) is it attracts some crazy people. 7 hours a week at 8, they can’t even do galas till 9😂. Swimming lessons are more important for kids at lower levels not less. Some people just love a weird brag.

yanbu op, I’d be tackling them on their ridiculous roolz around assessment weeks. I’d also ask what your dc needs to do to move up. That way you can practice it and it generally speeds them up. My younger one was in stage 2 at one point and they hadn’t noticed that she could swim. It’s something it definitely pays to be a bit pushy in ime.

JustMarriedBecca · 27/05/2022 06:48

Ours just work through it and are assessed every week. I'd not be that arsed though. There isn't anything new in stage 4, just an adaptation of the skills at stage 3. We were in stage 3 for ageeeees (age 7) but whizzed through stage 4 because she was so competent from stage 3.

And not being with friends, making new ones, no bad thing.

You sound weirdly stressed about progress.

Darhon · 27/05/2022 06:53

Due to the very thorough way they teach swimming now and insisting in face in the water and the correct technique from stage 1, most kids can swim very competently by stage 4/5 and thereafter it’s really refinement of the technique and building stamina and speed so they can start skimming out the ones for swim school. So I’d keep him in the lessons, swim over the holidays and hopefully they will be in stage 4 soon and nearly at competence.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 27/05/2022 06:57

My dds lesson was cancelled for the second week in the row. Its very frustrating.

(As for saying the child isn't in a high group... many kids are behind due to the pandemic and teacher shortages causing waiting lists. 8yo in stage 3 is very normal at the moment)

Foolsrule · 27/05/2022 07:03

Sounds like the local pool we went to. Huge groups, outdated methodology, one crazy woman in charge who thought she was the queen bee. Learnt very little. Moved to a private gym, class sizes of 5, flew through the levels and all DC great swimmers now. As with all things, you get what you pay for.

CancelledAgain · 27/05/2022 08:07

LittleOwl153 · 26/05/2022 23:54

I would ask for the assessment session to happen next week if you think it's going to make a difference... I.e. that they might move up.
If not whilst I'd be passed off I agree I would leave it. However if next assessment lesson is cancelled I would complain and insist that assessment takes place even if that is out-of sync with 'their week'.

Are all the kids in the group assessed in the same 4th lesson? Just reading you said 2-3 kept back? Does that mean that a different 2-3 kids are assessed each week from the same group? If that's the case then I'd expect the assessments to just get bumped on not the same 2-3 kids missed out and the others in the group still assessed...

@LittleOwl153 thats right different children kept back each week for their assessment, each set of 2-3 children is an assessment group number (we're group 4) and thats the week in the month your assessment lesson is.

OP posts:
yellowsuninthesky · 27/05/2022 08:11

Your DC is not at a very high level for their age anyway (my DS was doing 7hrs a week with swim team by 8, and there were plenty of other 8yos in his squad

there's really no need to show off, some kids start lessons later and progress more slowly. That isn't the issue here.

OP I think you could phone again and make two points - your dc keep missing out on their assessments weeks and that isn't fair, they should be more flexible if they are the one cancelling the lessons - but also, we don't get lessons cancelled because they find cover. And they have signs up saying they want new swimming teachers, so they are short-staffed too but they still make it work. So what are they doing about ensuring cover?

yellowsuninthesky · 27/05/2022 08:12

Foolsrule · 27/05/2022 07:03

Sounds like the local pool we went to. Huge groups, outdated methodology, one crazy woman in charge who thought she was the queen bee. Learnt very little. Moved to a private gym, class sizes of 5, flew through the levels and all DC great swimmers now. As with all things, you get what you pay for.

Actually our "council" pool is probably the most expensive locally (though probably not once you factor in petrol and parking costs to go to other pools in the area).

(in inverted commas as actually run by a company like Places for People, Everyone Active etc but it was council run when we moved here)

Dinoteeth · 27/05/2022 08:25

Your DC is not at a very high level for their age anyway (my DS was doing 7hrs a week with swim team by 8, and there were plenty of other 8yos in his squad) so TBH I think you may as well just relax about it. Let him enjoy it and don't worry about the pace

What a bazaar statement, your kids not very high level for their age, so don't worry how slow they are going.

Current kids have had 2 years of covid crap access to pools, we still have to book the local pool for a weekend swim. Progress is slow and all the more reason for op to be concerned. Swimming is a life skill.

ForestofD · 27/05/2022 08:59

We ended up having 1 to 1 lessons and in the long run it was cheaper. We took her out of the group lessons in September as she was making little to no progress. She'd finished all her levels and was a super confident swimmer by this April. She'd done all of the life saving stuff, what to do when you fall in the sea etc. The next stage was join the swim team and she wasn't interested in that. No more lessons, certificate taken into assembly, all happy!

I did have to take on extra hours to cover it because is was £18 per session but as I didn't have to pay for half terms, Christmas etc, it turned out to be cheaper than her scraping along for another couple of years. Also, the closest swimming pool is miles away, so paying for petrol, parking etc was mounting up.

Glittertwins · 27/05/2022 10:23

It's been a while since we did swim lessons and didn't have assessment weeks but it is frustrating if yours is and the friends are moved up whilst your DC isn't through no fault of their own.

Seven hours a week training for an 8 yr old will lead to burn out even if the majority of time is glorified swim lesson standard. We're at one of top English clubs and our squad at that age does under half that per week.

Teateaandmoretea · 27/05/2022 10:51

@Glittertwins mine admittedly are in a smaller club but I’m frequently baffled by the claims of some in terms of hours swimming. At ours they could potentially do 4.5 if they were in the highest squad possible for their age (I don’t think there are any 8 year olds in there though post covid) AND you were dedicated enough to do 4 a week when the expectation is 3.

balalake · 27/05/2022 11:01

Seems inflexible especially as cancellation may be for a genuinely unforeseeable event.

I'll spare my views on leisure management for another time.

LittleOwl153 · 27/05/2022 13:01

CancelledAgain · 27/05/2022 08:07

@LittleOwl153 thats right different children kept back each week for their assessment, each set of 2-3 children is an assessment group number (we're group 4) and thats the week in the month your assessment lesson is.

OK given this I would complain because it isn't fair that the same 2-3 kids are missing out 2 assessments on the run. They should bump the assessments on so that the kids in the 4th group actually get assessed in line with the rest - even if that means that those 2-3 kids don't get assessed together so 1 kid from group 4 joins each of the following 3 assessments. What a way to demoralise the kids.

Given their age I would expect a stage to take around 6 months so waiting for now 3 months before an assessment is poor as they should be showing some significant progress in that time and the teacher/management shouldn't hamper that.

Do you pay extra for the assessment week or is their month's lessons 3 standard plus 1 assessment - and they've just refunded 1/4?