Dear Parents/Swimmer,

We welcome your children to Sarah’s Wisdom Garden’s Swimming club. We are thrilled to have your children (or you) joining us in this session. We hope that your learning experience with us will be the way you hope it would be. Following are some of the important instructions to be noted.

• All items, including footwear and diaper, must be labelled before sending if the mothers are not accompanying the children.
• No jewelry is allowed in the pool. Sarah’s would not be responsible for the loss of any small or unlabeled item.
• Children should reach 15 minutes before the start of their class in order to avoid rush at the pool.
• Only unattended children younger than 5 years of age would be assisted in shower, toilet, changing of clothes and packing of swimming bag. Children being dropped off and picked up by mothers or accompanying mothers would be the responsibility of their own mothers. The staff at the pool is there as lifeguards and so cannot leave the deck to attend to children’s needs.
• Children would only be thoroughly rinsed under the shower and dried by staff for attended children. Proper shower is to be taken at home. Accessories are also to be applied at home.

It is highly recommended to apply water-based, water-resistant SPF 80 sunblock on the skin.  Oil based sunblock will not be allowed as it clogs the sand filter and reduces efficiency to provide clean water.

Please note that if the swimmer (adult or child) has any medical condition, major or minor, using any medication especially with a sedative effect, you have to consult with your medical specialist and are obligated to inform the institute in written form, and make sure it is safe for you or the swimmer you are enrolling, to swim.

• Please inform if you/your child has a history of any of these:

• Frequent tummy bug
• Eczema
• Asthma
• Heart disease
• Epilepsy
• Respiratory disease
• Summer thrush
• Hernia
• Fungal infection
• Fainting

Rules for Entering the Pool:

All swimmers must:

• Take a shower
• use the toilet if needed
• After each swimming lesson, all swimmers should do the following at home:
• Take a bath
• Shampoo their hair
• Apply body moisturizer

Chlorine and Skin Care:

Swimming is a vitally important life skill and an enjoyable family activity. No child with eczema should be excluded from learning to swim. In addition to being a very important skill to master, swimming is a reasonably skin-friendly form of exercise as it doesn’t involve getting too hot and sweaty (and therefore itchy).

Many different environmental irritants can trigger eczema, and swimming pool water is no exception. Some people with eczema may experience irritation or drying of their skin; others experience no negative effects (especially if they wash well with emollients and apply moisturizers after swimming).

Chlorine is a strong disinfectant, added to sanitize our water supplies and swimming pools. Chlorine can also cause dryness, but since it is a bleach, and recent research in eczema has recommended diluted bleach as a way of reducing bacteria on eczematous skin, it is not all bad! It is beneficial for inflamed eczema as it kills the bacteria responsible for infections.

Privacy Note:

The school, Sarah’s Wisdom Garden, is collecting the personal information requested in this form in order to: – obtain lawful consent for your child to participate in the activity; – help coordinate the activity; – respond to any injury or medical condition that may arise during, or as a result of the activity; and – update school records where necessary. The information will only be accessed by authorized school staff and will be dealt with in accordance with the confidentiality requirements. The information will not be disclosed to any other person or agency unless it is for a purpose stated above, the disclosure is authorized or required by law, or you have given permission for the information to be disclosed or for any other purpose that the institute feels necessary. Pictures/videos made by the school would not be used or shared without the consent of the parents.

Activity Risks & Insurance:

Please note that the school does not have personal accident insurance cover for swimmers. If your child is injured as a result of an accident or incident while participating in the activity, all costs associated with the injury, including medical costs are the responsibility of the parent/carer. It is up to all parents/carers to decide what types and what level of private insurance they wish to arrange to cover their child. Please take this into consideration in deciding whether or not to allow your child to participate in this activity.

Important instructions and Attendant’s policy:

• Do not bring your children to the pool if they’re suffering from influenza or any other contagious infection.
• Shower areas are available at the premises. If you send accessories (such as shampoo, soap or cream) and inform the office, the staff would use these products for your child if unattended.
• Kindly send all items sent from home (bags, towels, accessories) labelled with full names to avoid mix-ups. Do not send two pairs of shoes with children.
• What not to do:
• Do not apply creams, deodorants, perfumes before coming to the pool.
• Do not come to the pool if you are sick or have any open wound (it can cause infection on the wound).
• Do not take any pictures at the pool. If you want to capture your child’s moments, you can request the management and they would send you your child’s picture or videos. Taking pictures by the parents at the pool in NOT allowed.
• Fathers are not allowed sit inside the institute’s premises while their children are in for a swim. However, they can wait outside in the car or if otherwise discussed and agreed with the management. Picking up and dropping off from inside is allowed except if it is ladies time or if otherwise communicated.
• The mothers can sit at the pool side if they desire but if they would like to leave the children in the institute’s care, they need to inform the management so their children can be taken care of in their absence.
• The mothers would be responsible for changing their children, taking them to the washroom and/or changing their clothes and shower themselves. They would also be responsible for their own and their children’s things. However, if need be and if the staff at the pool is free they can help the mothers if requested.

What to expect while swimming:

Following is generally true for children who cannot stand in the pool (height wise) and some points for new learners in general.

• The first step is to get rid of water phobia / anxiety.
• The second step is to let them explore in the water body. Let children play in the water and move about (with floaters / tubes / noodles)
• The third step is to teach children breath control.
• Once the children can hold their breath for a duration of a time, that shows they are ready for floater removal and swimming with their heads inside.
• The next step is generally more time consuming as children need to build stamina to be able to properly learn free style swimming, which is moving the hands above the head turn by turn and breathing during the stroke.
• New swimmers find learning under water swimming, and swimming while remaining below the water surface, difficult. The method to enable them to go down while swimming is to get them to try and touch the floor with different body parts, for example, hands, chin, head etc.
• The next step is to get the posture correct. This not only helps them move properly but also enables them to learn proper swimming styles.
• Learning other styles, breast stroke, backward stroke, butterfly stroke etc. This is generally easy for bigger children as they can stop in the middle and rest, and smaller children can only go from one end to the other without putting their feet down.
• Learning how to stay afloat upright in the middle of the water.

Attendance policy:

• Every session comprises of twelve classes which is equal to twelve hours in each session. If the class is cancelled by the institute due to any reason, the child’s session would continue till the twelve classes are completed. However, if the swimmer misses a class due to any reason, the child/swimmer would be marked as absent and the class would not be compensated for.
• If a swimmer has to travel it is recommended that they register on weekly basis or if travel is decided later then they get their monthly package changed to weekly package. The absence due to travelling would be marked otherwise.
• Attendance is maintained in an attendance register.
• Class missed by ladies due to natural reasons would be compensated for.
• If you want your children to rejoin in the next session at the end of their session, you are requested to intimate the office at least three days before the end so that your slot is reserved or so that someone else can avail the slot.
• There is no refund policy. Fee once paid would not be returned or compensated in any other way except if travelling. Refund would be made after the ticket is shown. Refund would not be made for any other purpose.

About the Pool Maintenance:

• • The pool is maintained through a sand filter system.
  • Routine cleanup through a pool vacuum robot and manual cleaning is performed each day.
  • Pool water is chemically balanced to keep the chlorine and Ph levels as per international standards.
  • Flocculant and clarifiers are used as needed to keep the water in pristine condition.
  • Proper checks are performed to gauge the water health level.