FAQ: How Do The Availability Pages Work (Parent & Baby Lessons)

Our previous FAQ post covered How Do The Availability Pages Work (Children’s Lessons). We now bring you guide of how to book for parent and baby lessons at our various locations.

Availability Online

You are able to view all the spaces we currently have available on our website before contacting us. Visit the Find Your Pool section of our website. You can then select the relevant venue and view the term-time availability PDF there. Anything not listed on the page will have already been booked. The page will list the day, time and instructor of each space we still have available. This will give you the information you need to request a booking. Along with this information, there are two further columns:

  • Age Guide
  • Number of Spaces

These are extremely important to keep an eye on when sourcing your spaces. If you choose the wrong time for your child’s age group, you will inevitably delay your booking. You may even miss out on your preferred space.

An example of the different options that may appear on the availability sheet

To break down some of the examples above:

Monday 11:30

This is with instructor David at Kensington.  Listed as “OPEN SPACE”, with 4 spaces remaining (minimum 2 children required).  This is because there aren’t any children currently booked in the lesson yet. Sometimes we can only open the bookings if there are a minimum of 2 children booking in.  The number of spaces listed in an open slot could be 4 or 5 depending on where you are booking. The minimum requirement can also change, depending on venue or when you are booking.  We will accept a booking in an open space for any age group if all booking requirements are met. Also note the Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 lessons are listed with 4 spaces available, but no minimum requirement.

Monday 09:30

A slot with instructor David at Kensington.  Listed as “18 – 24 months”, with “0” under the number of spaces.  This means the space is reserved for children that are aged between 18 and 24 months. However, it is fully booked and no further children can join the class.

Tuesday 10:30

With instructor Gisa at Kensington.  Listed as “12 – 18 months”, with “1” under the number of spaces.  This means there is one space remaining for a child aged between 12-18 months.  If you want to book one of these lessons, we advise getting in touch ASAP due to the limited availability.

Wednesday 11:00

With instructor David at Kensington.  The lesson is for children between the ages of 24-36 months, and currently has 3 spaces open.  This means that we have plenty of space for up to 3 more children.  You may wonder why there wasn’t a minimum requirement for this lesson. It is because the booking was probably taken a couple of months in advance. We rarely have booking restrictions when booking that far ahead.

Wednesday 09:30

A class with instructor David at Kensington.  The lesson is for children between the ages of 3-6 months, and currently has 3 spaces open.  We do not have much demand for this age group. Thus it is likely that we will only have one lesson available, if any at all. The time we are offering for this age group may be unsuitable for some clients. If we have space, we will try to offer alternatives. However, there will likely be a minimum booking condition.

Group Classes VS Private Lessons

SwimWay offers parent and baby lessons for children aged 24-36 months. However, you may notice that we also list 1:1 lessons as available for children aged 2-3 years.  This is because sometimes children aged between 2-3 years are ready to move up to the children’s lessons.  However, we will only offer 1:1 lessons.  1:2 lessons are not suitable as children under 3 years of age require more support in the water. Managing two children under 3 years without assistance from the parents becomes a health and safety hazard.

Not Ready For Private Lessons

Sometimes babies reach the age of 3 years but are not ready to move to children’s lessons yet. This could be due to them just needing a little more time with a parent/guardian still present. Or simply because the afternoon lesson times are not suitable for the client yet.  In these cases, we can sometimes allow these children to continue swimming in the parent & baby, depending on availability.  We cannot allow the different ages to affect other children in the class, so we are cautious about this. Sometimes we will only offer this with a minimum booking condition.

Booking

SwimWay will initially book according to age groups (3-6, 6-12, 12-18, 18-24 and 24-36 months). We do also take into consideration previous swimming experience. If our instructors think a different class will suit you better, then we will call you to discuss.  Do not worry if your child is booked into a class one above or below your child’s age group.  We will always take experience into consideration. You will be booked into a class that suits abilities, as well as age.

Hyperlinks

Lastly, don’t forget to click any hyperlinks! They will take you to our website where you can view more information about the venue and the instructor.

That’s it!  We hope this guide helps you, and the next step is to…

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR AVAILABILITY!