What do you pay for your kids' swimming lessons and what instructor:child ratio is it?

[Lexilicious]

DS is 4 and is at the stage of sort of doggy-paddling confidently for stretches of 5m or so, sometimes with a noodle float under his arms. He is taught in a small group of three, so two thirds of the time he is hanging onto the side waiting his turn - he's too young to be using that time to watch the others and learn from them. We pay termly, I think it works out about £7 for half hour lessons. When he was using a rubber ring they used to actually get more swimming time because they could drift and paddle about in the float when the other kid was being focussed on. Now it seems like less learning for the same money.

Wondering whether this is standard and what others pay? This is an ASA-registered club, they do the badges and certificates and we've no actual complaints (DS has definitely improved from being a total clinger-on in just a year). Just want to judge whether we could be getting slightly better value, or if there's any mileage in asking for a 1:2 ratio to be set by the teachers.

We pay £4. 4yo dd is in a class of about 8 with 2 instructors in the water. They swim in pairs and wait when not swimming. I think its good to learn to wait.

Ds is 1 and goes to the same instructors. He is in the water with dh, there are 2 other babies with their dads and 1 instructor is giving direction from the poolside.

£24/month, lessons run year around except for a 2 week break at Christmas. I'm not sure about Stage 1-2 (for age 3-5), but Stage 3 class (mostly age 5-6yo) has up to 12 in it!! Too big, would prefer 8 as max.

We pay about £6 per class (paid termly).
Dc2 is 3 and there are 6 kids and 2 instructors in the water.
Dc1 is 6 and there are 5/6 to one instructor on the side

DS £5.75 a lesson in blocks of 12, private gym, 8 in class, 2 instructors - one instructing from side, one helping in water. He is 5 and is in the water without me.

DD £5.35 a lesson in blocks of 12, local pool, one instructor, parents in pool.

It was a nightmare finding classes for both of them at times that fitted round work and school.

Both places include free use of the pool at other times to everyone having swimming lessons

My DS is 7. We pay £35 for a set of 10 half hour lessons. The ratio is 1 to 8.

£8 per session (half hour) ratio is 1:4. For the younger ones/those who are not able to swim at all, it's officially 1:4 but more often than not there are two instructors so it's actually 1:2, or they will have 6 in that group so 1:3.

we can pay for 1:1 at £14 per half hour.

8 in a class sounds horrific!

About a fiver a class. It's paid monthly and lessons run all through the year. DS is 6 and in Stage 3.

There are about 6 children in DS's class but there's no waiting around, they mostly seem to do lengths together although it's a bit hard to see as I'm not allowed on poolside and have to peer in from the gallery!

Thanks for all the responses, seems really variable! We definitely need the type of lesson where the instructor is in the pool with them, and it sounds like our £7ish a lesson is pretty average. Maybe we are just in a session that is at the heavy end of popularity, and if we picked earlier or later in the day it might be quieter.

We pay £10 for 30 mins, instructor in pool and two children working at same stage. DS did used to do the 'council' run classes which were dirt cheap but absolute crap- 8 to 10 kids in a class, 2 classes in the small pool at a time and the instructors on the side, barking instructions which most of the kids didn't hear as they were too busy pissing about, having had to wait up to 5 mins for their 'turn'.
The lessons now aren't cheap but are much better value considering how much more progress DS is making.

£138 for a term, so I think it works out at about £10 a lesson, however the shorter terms are the same price, but the ratio is 1:3 for beginners with instructor in the water, and when they get more advanced the ratio is 1:4 with instructor out of the water.

I pay £45 per dc, for 10 half hour lessons - so £4.50 per lesson. It's an ASA level scheme.

Ds1is 5 and has just gone into level 3. Ds2 is 3 and has just gone into level 1 from the water confidence class.

£4 for half an hour one instructor to 10 kids.

Learning to swim can be pretty slow at age 4.

I pay about £35 per term, which I think is 11 lessons. They work out at roughly £3 per lesson anyway. There are 10 children in DS2's group, with 2 instructors per group. They have a 3rd instructor to do the paperwork on the weeks where they do assessments. He is in Stage 4.

£4.50 a lesson for half an hour in a group of six with one instructor at the side.

£34 a lesson for x2. So £17 each. That's a private lesson 30 mins