TERMS & CONDITIONS

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

All Parents, Guardians and Swimmers are expected to abide by these terms and conditions. In the unlikely event of failing to do so, they may be requested to cease lessons with Gems AquaStars Swim School Limited. A refund will not be eligible in these circumstances.

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1. Parent, Guardian and Swimmer Standards Policy

a.  Parents/Guardians are responsible for their children at all times (except during a lesson where the child is not accompanied by an adult carer) and must inform the teacher prior to the lesson of any concerns they have.

b.  Parents/Guardians must accept that at times there will be physical contact between the teacher and their child, in a professional, caring manner. 

c.  Parents/Guardians should inform the teacher of any health issues that may be relevant. (See section 7. Medical Conditions).

d. Swimmers should not enter the pool until the teacher says it is safe to do so and must tell the teacher if leaving the pool before the end of the session.

e. Swimmers should not run on poolside. When swimmers are waiting for their lesson they should wait sensibly and avoid walking around the poolside as it is potentially dangerous and distracting to teachers and other children in the class.

f. Parents/Guardians and Swimmers should aim to arrive 10 minutes before their lesson time, unless pool specific procedures say otherwise. This helps to keep lessons running smoothly and prevent disruption that is caused by latecomers. Applicable where Parents/Guardians are permitted on poolside (subject to pool).

g. Parents/Guardians must stay poolside during their child’s lesson.

h. Parents/Guardians and waiting Swimmers must keep noise to a minimum on poolside so children can hear instructions clearly and teachers can run their lessons safely. In some situations, we may ask spectators to step away to ensure lessons can run safely and effectively.

i.  There is a strict double nappy policy for babies and children not yet fully toilet trained. This includes a disposable swim nappy layered with a neoprene swim nappy over the top. Nappies must not be left on the pool premises and must be taken home with you. Do not use regular nappies.

j.  Swimmers should remove all loose or sharp jewellery, tie back long hair and wear a swimming hat. Swimming hats are compulsory in all Learn to Swim Stage classes for children school age 4 years and over.

k.  Food is not permitted on poolside or in the changing rooms. We understand that there are exceptional circumstances but please avoid eating in the pool environment. Any mess that is created as a result has to be cleaned by teachers in their personal time.

l. Gems AquaStars Swim school is a nut free swim school. To keep all of our swimmers and their families safe, ALL swim sessions at ALL pools must be nut free. Foods containing nuts must not be brought into or consumed in or near the buildings.

m.  All Swimmers should remove any plasters prior to entering the water to reduce the risk of them coming off in the water and interfering with pool filters.

n.  No makeup or body lotions should be used prior to getting into the water as it can deteriorate the water quality and result in problems with the chlorine levels. 

o.  Smoking is strictly forbidden within any pool building or school grounds.

p. Do not access any other areas of our pool sites including play areas. Our agreement with the schools and businesses only permits us to use the pool and immediate pool area and Gems AquaStars Swim School Limited cannot accept responsibility or liability for children outside of the swimming lesson or designated pool area.

q. Gems AquaStars Swim School Limited bears no responsibility for any loss or damage to a Parent/Guardian’s vehicle or property whilst in the pool’s grounds.

r.  Abuse to any member of staff either verbal or physical will not be tolerated and will be reported to the appropriate authorities at the sole discretion of Gems AquaStars Swim School Limited.

s.  Parents/Guardians must ensure all personal information, contact information and bank details are kept up to date in the Parent Portal (gemsaquastars.courseprogress.co.uk/login).

 

2. Payment by Direct Debit

a.  ​We work on an annual fee spread evenly over 12 monthly direct debit payments. The amount of weeks is dependent on pool:

i.  We swim 47 weeks of the year at our Broadland High School, Holiday Inn Ipswich Road, Holiday Inn Airport, Langley Prep School, Mulbarton Swimming Pool and Swanton VC Primary School pools.

ii.  We swim 44 weeks of the year at our Colman Junior School pool.

b.  If a lesson is cancelled by Gems AquaStars Swim School Limited, it will be deducted from the following month’s Direct Debit. (See section 5. Pool Closures).

c.  Direct Debit payments are collected on the 1st of each month.

d. Payments are collected through London & Zurich, which may appear on your bank statement as L&Z.

e.  Failed Direct Debit payments will result in removal of the swimmer(s) from the system and swimmers will need to go through the sign up process again. Therefore, please ensure your bank details are up to date in the Parent Portal (gemsaquastars.courseprogress.co.uk/login).

f.  Direct Debit payments secure your child’s place to swim.

 

 3. Refunds & Lesson Credits

a.  We do not offer refunds, holiday breaks, class swaps or catch-up sessions if you are not able to attend the lesson. Because the yearly cost is averaged over 12 equal monthly payments, payment is required every month regardless of attendance. This payment secures the Swimmer’s space in their class. Credit is only given when the lesson is cancelled by ourselves as detailed below.

b.  You are entitled to a full refund of any money paid before lessons start, otherwise 30 days notice must be given. (See section 4. Cancelling Lessons).

c.  Once lessons have commenced, no refund will be issued. 

d.  If the pool must close (for maintenance, staffing etc.) you will never be charged for that session. The value of the missed lesson will be automatically deducted from the next month’s Direct Debit. (See section 5. Pool Closures).

e.  If lessons are cancelled and it is deemed to be outside of the control of Gems AquaStars Swim School Limited, such as Government lockdowns, adverse weather conditions, power interruptions and ‘act of god’, no refunds will be given. 

f.  We do not offer refunds or credit for lessons missed due to illness, family commitments or holiday. 

g.  The only times we will offer refunds for any classes is in cases of medical emergencies or broken bones as advised by a doctor. (See section 7. Medical Conditions).

 

4. Cancelling Lessons

a.  If you wish to cancel your place, we require 30 days’ notice from the 2nd of the month in order to cancel the following month’s direct debit payment.

b.  For example, if notice is given on 2nd June, your June payment will be your final one and your child(ren) would swim for the remainder of that month. We would then cancel the direct debit and this would not be taken the following month or any months thereafter.

c.  If notice is received after this date, one further payment will be due.

d.  To cancel, please email us directly at gemsaquastars@outlook.com. Do not cancel by Facebook message, text message or by stopping your Direct Debit, as this doesn't automatically cancel your membership on the system and payment will still be due.

 

5. Pool Closures

a.  In the unfortunate event that the pool needs to be closed and a lesson cancelled due to technical difficulties or health and safety concerns Gems AquaStars Swim School Limited will go through the following steps:

i.  ​​Upon cancelling the lesson we will log this on our system ‘Course Pro’. You will receive an email and an SMS text message from the online system informing you of the cancellation. 

ii.  Our closure will also be announced on Facebook (facebook.com/gemsaquastars). This is why it is imperative that Parents/Guardians are following so that our messages are being received.

iii. You will not be charged for that lesson. The value of the cancelled lesson should be automatically deducted from the next month’s Direct Debit.

Due to system cut offs, if the cancelled lesson is within approximately the first two weeks of the month, the value of the cancelled lesson should be deducted from the next month’s direct debit. If the cancelled lesson is after the first two weeks of the month, the value of the cancelled lesson will be deducted from the following month’s direct debit. 

The exact cut off date is decided automatically by our system and is not a set date; therefore this will vary from month to month. 

For example, if your cancelled lesson was before approximately the 12th March, the credit should be reflected in your direct debit in April. If your cancelled lesson was after the 12th March, the credit may not be reflected in your direct debit until May.

iv. ​Parents/Guardians will be updated if the pool will be closed for more than one week.

v.  Please add noreply@coursepro.co.uk and insight@commsportal.co.uk to your email contacts/address book to ensure you don’t miss any important email updates.

 b. If a child vomits or has a fecal accident in the pool we are required to evacuate and close the pool immediately for both the current and subsequent lessons that day.

i.  We will contact Parents/Guardians by SMS text and email as soon as possible to inform them of the pool closure.

ii.  We will contact the pool manager to inform them and essential cleaning will take place.

iii. The value of the missed lesson will be automatically deducted from the next month’s Direct Debit. (See point 5.a.iii for information on direct debit reductions).

iv.  Parents/Guardians will be notified if the pool will need to be closed for the following day’s lessons.

v.   Understandably children can become ill suddenly without much prior warming and accidents can happen. However, it is imperative that you do not knowingly bring a sick child swimming as not only does it have a knock on effect for other people’s lessons, but requires a large amount of maintenance and can risk spread of infection to others.

vi.  For children who are not toilet trained, we enforce a strict double nappy policy (see section 1.e. above) to avoid leaks.

 

6. Lesson Changes

a.  In the event that a teacher is late or absent we will always make Parents/Guardians aware via emails/SMS text messages and our Facebook page.

b.  We endeavour to provide a cover teacher in the event of absences, however if it is not possible to provide a cover teacher the session will be cancelled and your direct debit adjusted the following month to reflect this.

c. We will try to communicate a temporary teacher to Parents/Guardians by email, though on occasion this may not always be possible particularly if this is a last minute change.

d.  Sometimes a permanent change of teacher can occur due to personal reasons or a business decision. We will always communicate this change to Parents/Guardians by email.

 

7. Medical Conditions

a.  Parents/Guardians must declare to our admin team any existing medical conditions that they are aware of that the child, or adult if taking lessons, has which may be communicable or possibly be harmful or not to another person. 

b.  The Parent/Guardian must inform Gems AquaStars Swim School Limited of any changes in any medical condition, SEND or psychological condition as soon as they are aware of them.

c.  All information will be kept strictly confidential. 

d.  Teachers should also inform us of any medical conditions they may have which could impact on their ability to teach.

e.  Parents/Guardians must never bring a child swimming if they have illnesses such as an ear infection, sickness or diarrhoea, chicken pox, impetigo, conjunctivitis or a bad cold. 

f.  If under the advice of a doctor, swimmers must wait until the doctor has given the all-clear before returning to their lesson.

g.  In the instance of sickness and diarrhoea the child must have been clear of all symptoms for at least 48 hours before attending their lesson. 

 

8. Photography and Social Media

a. Parents/Guardians may ask the teachers if it is ok to take photos or videos and the teacher will then make a decision as to whether or not it would be appropriate. 

b. Please do not sit and film your child whilst you are watching without asking or if permission is denied.

c. If given permission to photograph or film your child, please do not include any other children in these photos or footage.

d. On occasion we welcome a photographer to take photos of your children in their lessons with an option to purchase these photos.

i.   This is a free service.

ii.  You are able to opt out of having your child photographed.

iii. You are under no obligation to purchase the photographs.

iiii. You will be given the choice whether you are happy for us to use these photos for marketing purposes, for example social media, emails and advertising.

e. On occasion we will film and/or photograph lessons for promotional material.

i.  We will ask Parents/Guardians for consent before we undertake any filming or photography. 

ii. You can update your filming and photographic preferences in the Parent Portal (gemsaquastars.courseprogress.co.uk/login) at any time.

 

9. Personal Information

a. Gems AquaStars Swim School Limited store personal information including names, dates of births and contact details and are covered by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

b. We do not hold financial details.

c. Once a swimmer has left us we keep the details for approximately 6 months before removing their details from the system.

 

10. Lost property

a. Where possible any lost property will be collected by teachers and held for a week or put in the individual pool’s lost property bin, if available.

b. If lost property is not collected at the next session it will be thrown away. If there are items of value they will be held longer.

 

Updated 08/10/26