Swim Schools can be a hot potato if using a residential pool

Residential pools are a “hot potato” being used for Swim Schools says Cresta Leisure owner Tim Bareham

Boasting unrivalled commercial pool building credentials, Cresta Leisure has been closely involved with the phenomenal growth of swim schools in the UK.

The marriage of convenience began some six years ago when Cresta exhibited at a commercial leisure exhibition. “We were positioned next to the demo pool at LIW where hundreds of children and aspiring swim school teachers were promoting the virtues of babe and toddler swimming,” Cresta’s Tim Bareham recalls. “You will appreciate that this has been quite a ‘hot potato’ with many swim school teachers providing swimming lessons in residential pools which are frequently unsuitable,” Tim points out. Tim’s keen interest encouraged him to get involved with a working group within the Swimming Pool and Allied Trade Association (SPATA) and the Swimming Teachers Association (STA), to establish guidelines for the provision, standards and requirements for pools suitable for swim schools. Triggered by Tim’s involvement, a SPATA member factsheet was published which highlights the basic requirements for a swim school. Significantly, it informs the reader that in EN-15288-1 a swim school is considered a Type 2 pool and will require circulation and filtration that meet commercial standards.

At Pools and Leisure (Ireland) we will only build a swim school or teaching pool to these strict guidelines laid down by SPATA and the STA and we would not recommend using a residential pool for teaching swimming lessons