Children
Nappies
Children under 3 must wear a waterproof nappy or swimming pants. This helps us make sure pools are kept safe and clean, and reduces pool closures for all customers. You can buy Huggies Little Swimmers swimming pants at the pools.
Check your child's swim nappy regularly and change at least once an hour.
Standard or disposable nappies may not be worn in the pool. This is because:
- both standard and disposable nappies absorb a lot of water and become very heavy, which increases the risk of the baby or toddler sinking
- waterlogged disposable nappies fall apart in the water and can affect the performance of the filters.
Young children must be supervised at the pool
Under 3 years old
Children under 3 years old can only be in the water with an adult (a person over 16 years old).
Under 5 years old
All children under 5 years old have to be kept within arms reach of their adult supervisor (a person over 16 years old).
Under 8 years old
Children under 8 years old must be carefully watched by an adult (a person over 16 years old).
Breastfeeding
We welcome breastfeeding anywhere public at our pools.
Lifeguards and pool staff
To keep swimmers safe, all our pools meet the national PoolSafe standard and we have qualified lifeguards on duty at all times.
Remember to follow all instructions given by our staff and displayed on any safety signs and notices.
Saunas and steam rooms
The minimum age to use the saunas and steam rooms is 16 years. No children are allowed in these rooms.
Illness
To help prevent other swimmers getting ill, stay away from any swimming pool for at least 2 weeks after an illness with diarrhoea and tummy upset.
Public lane space
Public lanes are provided for the quiet enjoyment of individuals who are at the pool to swim in the lanes for fitness, recreation, or relaxation. The lanes should not be used by groups unless the lane has been booked. A group is defined as 3 or more swimmers.
Individuals who swim in public lanes must not dominate the lane or use equipment that may impact other users of the lane.
Private coaching
Coaches or Learn to Swim instructors are unable to provide private instruction to customers, either paid or non-paid, without permission from the pool's management.
Lane/pool hire
Groups can hire lanes to train together for a similar purpose.
We charge a fee for this service and require a minimum number of swimmers: 6 people for 25-metre and 33-metre lanes and 10 people for 50-metre lanes.
Hirers must ensure that the minimum numbers are maintained throughout the booking, otherwise we may need to cancel the booking (with 2-weeks' notice).
We can support new groups while recruiting swimmers over a period. This would include a plan in place to get the numbers up to maintain the booking.
We consider all requests against existing bookings and will only approve if adequate space for public swimming is still available. We will do our best to consider booking requests during peak times or where space is limited, otherwise we will provide alternative times when possible.
Individuals from booked groups should not access public lanes at peak times. Squads or groups who have designated lanes at our pools should not access public lanes at the same time as booked groups.
Groups must not interfere with public lane space provided for those who wish to swim or aquajog for their own quiet enjoyment.
Public lane availability is communicated online. Groups (3 people or more) are not permitted to access public lanes at any pool and should hire a designated lane through our booking process.
We will ask groups to provide a health and safety plan and we will discuss the requirements for any activity we may consider high risk.
Groups or organisations that wish to hire lanes for training purposes must follow our booking process.