Introducing Baby Swimming Lessons in Sheffield: A Guide to Infant Swimming for Children

Matthew Sprague: My son enjoys the lessons here and the staff seem really nice. The facilities are generally clean and I like the way that the classes are small (6 kids to 1 teacher) .However, a few grumbles1, Customer service is terrible. They never reply to emails and when you speak to them in person you get fobbed off and nothing happens.2, it's not cheap. £60 a month for 1 x 30 minute lesson a week. Also, there have been a couple of instances where the lesson has been cancelled and trying to get a refund is a nightmare (see point 1).3, they are slow to progress students. My son has been at the same level for ages and he's getting bored of doing the same things every week. Maybe this is so they can extract the maximum amount of money possible?Update 14/05/2023So my son has been doing level 4 and has nearly completed it. His teacher was Brandon who was absolutely brilliant. Brandon had a really good rapport with the kids and my son was starting to really enjoy the lessons again.So what do they do? Take Brandon off that class!! So now my son doesn't want to go anymore. Think I'll get him through level 4 then stop going. I'm not sure who makes these decisions but it's ludicrous.BRING BACK BRANDON!!!

Emily: My son progressed 1 stage in 18 months. He had different teachers each week for 4 months and went backwards with his swimming ability, he disengaged with the swimming because he was bored and being taught differently by different teachers, he didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing. He lost confidence with his swimming ability There is a ‘star of the week’ award which should take turns each week, however this isn’t monitored and he hadn’t got that for weeks which is very noticeable in a small group.Overall it’s very overpriced and I would not recommend to anybody, we have now left.

Charlotte Young: My little boy goes here and his teacher Lacie is fantastic he has just moved upto swim 2 and she's the best he has had. Reviewed him regularly and made the classes fun but also makes sure they learn new techniques and attempt to swim.

Rosanna Moore: Been overcharged. Have sent 10 emails and tried contacting by phone over the course of 5 weeks. I have received one phone call back, which I missed and then returned and no further contact. Awful. Avoid.

S B: Nice baby lessons. Need more baby changing tables please. can be very busy between classes and changing baby on the floor mats with you and baby getting cold is awkward and as facilities are mixed gender, you then need to still move to a cubicle for changing yourself

Ihab Hanoon: Great teachers , very knowledgeable and skillful.

Hannah Harriman: My daughter has been in the same class for nearly 18 months now, absolutely no where near progressing up levels. They repeat the same exercises over and over again and don't teach anything new. Complained to Swim and they totally ignored my email.It's impossible to also get refunds on occasions where the company has shut the pool outside of the agreed contract.For £55 a month, don't bother wasting your money.

Shereen's Aloe Lifestyle: My daughter has attended here for the past few months. She has progressed 2 stages in this time period which I think is great. I do interact with staff and make sure my daughter is doing what she needs to be doing. My daughter also goes swimming for fun at other venues and practises out of her lesson.Overall, I have found the staff very welcoming and they genuinely do want to help.With only a maximum of 6 kids to a lesson I think its great and you get what you pay for. It's unlike other places where there are loads of kids, the staff get in the water and help as much as possible.I have older kids who had lessons elsewhere and find SWIM much better.Of course there's the odd issue here and there but there is with any place these days..the staff are more than happy to resolve any issues..

Joseph Thorpe: Inconsistent swimming tutors, told one thing prior to lessons to then turn up and be told something totally different. When concerns are discussed with management staff you get nothing but lies. Lied to on at least 3 or more occasions for a period of over 6 months. Called them out over the lies and it is followed by even more lies, the main culprits are the manager and one particular member of the management team who both work at Swim Sheffield.I have received calls after 9pm on an evening regarding some issues which also seems unprofessional, the staff try and turn everything around on the customer and make out as though we are in the wrong…. What ever happened to the customer is always right! Attempts made by the centre to keep us quiet by offering a free months membership. At £55 per month, you would expect the best customer service and it was far from that!Would NOT recommend this centre.

Lydia Norton: Staff with no enthusiasm, awful with my terrified son, don’t respond to complaints and made my son more terrified of the water. Plus lessons constantly being cancelled for my nephew. 2 classes for £60 due to staff absence which is a regular occurrence. It would be cheaper to take them yourselves to a different pool.

Mr frisku: I have been sending my daughter there (even she stopped going now that she started school)since it opened and she has learned swimming there, teachers are friendly and professional especially Millie which made my daughter’s learning to swim a great experience

Harriet Willis: If you’re thinking of using these, don’t. The staff are lovely but management is non existent and ignorant.The lift has been faulty for months at the Sheffield branch with no attempt made to fix it. I have been trapped in the lift several times whilst my young daughter had to wait on her own for me.Requests to fix it are completely ignored. A degrading experience.

Junade Yousuf: 5 stars to Bradley C the teacher who has been brilliant. Given two stars less as the payment scheme is not good. If you miss a lesson due to whatever reason you still have to pay. Email responses can take days.

Chelsea Cairns-lowe: My children have attended Swim since it opened. The facilities are clean and the staff are friendly, however my eldest son has only progressed one level since being there due to their failure to regularly assess him. I have to prompt/ask them to assess him and even then they have forgotten to do it or update it on his profile. It’s very expensive and lessons are just 30 minutes long. They mostly do the same thing each lesson with variations depending on which instructor they have. which instructor your child has makes a huge difference to their progress. Some instructors are brilliant (Paul) ! Whilst others seem out of their depth. If you want your child to learn to swim quickly this isn’t the place.

Kimberley Marshall: I am updating my previous review. Honestly I love the facilites and the people are nice. However, the crucial part of teaching children to swim is hit and miss and pure luck if you pick a session with a consistent teacher. The turnover or trouble finding staff is really troubling and unsettling for the children. I have been going since it opened and it has been the same issues. I think this why there are so many mixed reviews. My best advice is to go but ensure you sign up to a lesson with a regular teacher and hopefully there is consistency. Otherwise expect a different teacher every week and little progress.

B Thornton: Absolutely shambolic experience. My son has been attending lessons here for just under a year. During this time the price has increased and I am now paying £52 a month. For this price I would expect exceptional teaching, continuity and most importantly my child should be learning to swim.This is not happening due to the high turn around of staff, I find it increasingly worrying that a place like SWIM should have such issues retaining staff when they are charging such high prices. My only assumption is there are fundamental issues within the structure of the business where staff do not want to stay and work here. When discussing this with the manager she brushed this off by saying this is just the way the leisure industry operates. My son has now had 3 swim teachers who have left and we had to change another teacher due to her lack of skills when dealing with children. Swimming lessons are supposed to be fun, whilst also inspiring confidence in the water. This quality was severely lacking with this teacher.I’ve finally had enough today after another one if his teaches has resigned after 6 weeks of my son being in her class. How can a rapport develop and accurate assessment of his swimming take place when the swim teachers are either on holiday, sick or have just up and left?Another gripe is they insist on doing ‘star of the week’ which is farcical and totally disheartening when the teachers chop and change so often. There is no continuity and my son is left feeling like he is not good enough because no one monitors who this ‘award’ has been given to. It feels totally counter productive and instead dissuades a child from wanting to try to achieve an unobtainable goal. Please stop doing this as the classes are too small to leave children out, especially when there is low attendance and shaming 2 kids out of a class of 3 is really quite an unnecessary and an uncomfortable experience for a six year old to encounter each week.I honestly would not recommend this place and generally feel that this has been an expensive mistake. My son had a real desire to learn to swim and tried his best during his lessons but no longer wants to take part due to the repetitive nature of each class and the lack of progress made.

Laura Taylor: Swim! Lessons are loads of fun. I can see the difference each week in my daughter's ability and confidence.

john crossley: Started both our boys when swim opened. Just seems like it's all slipping now and loss of interest. Warm up is always late, Sometime kids have to do it alone. They is no consistency between teachers. And once kids pass no room to progress as all classes above full. Have raised all the above points with staff but never have a response.

David Anson: My son did 2 lessonsWorking on backstroke the teacher wasn't paying attention to mine and others children so didn't shout to watch out for the edge and cracked his head twice found a new place to go now but seems ok but not for the price can go elsewhere for half the money they charge

Morgan F: Seems generally reasonable. Bit on the pricey side, but clean, efficient and warm for the kids, staff are good fun, facilities are good. If there was any form of grumble, it would be that the lessons are very robotic/repetative, and theres not much chance in the 30 min lesson per child for 'focussed attention' as there are 6 in most groups, this results in progression being slower than one would generally hope for (especially for the price).

SYLVIA HAMILTON: Excellent swim school, highly recommend

Mari Bullock: In 6 lessons,Pete gave excellent groundwork to a complete beginner, in learning and improving front crawl. Thank you very much!

lottie h: Beth is awesome - child was behind on lessons due to covid and she has brought him on leaps and bounds in a few weeks already. Delighted and highly recommended.

Colin Marshall: Fantastic location and Pete is an excellent patient coach who is very good at refining his classes to ensure that I make measurable progress at each session.

ted morge: Very good instructor and great communication. Worth the lessons!

preeti nehte: Overall, my experience with Pete was fantastic, and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking to improve their swimming skills. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced swimmer, Pete has the expertise and patience to help you reach your goals. Don't hesitate to book a lesson with him – you won't regret it! #SwimLessons #HighlyRecommend #NaturalTeacher #Motivating #GreatExperience

Archytas E: If you're looking for a swim instructor who's not only skilled but also a natural teacher, look no further than Pete! I recently had the pleasure of taking lessons with him, and I was helped immensely by his ability to break down complex drills into smaller, more manageable steps. His teaching style is both motivating and encouraging, and he made me feel at ease in the water. Highly recommend.Ajit

Afia Amin: Pete has been very helpful. He gave me confidence to swim and really pushed me to do well. I think the chrages for lessen need looking into tho bit too much.

Swpnil Patel: I've been having 1-on-1 weekly swimming lessons with Pete now for about 3 months as an adult beginner. I've seen regular progress from struggling to do a length of the pool at the Mercure to recently being able to effortlessly glide through with a basic backstroke. Pete has demystified swimming for me, and in each lesson broken things down in a step by step process, so I always feel like I'm progressing and never in the metaphorical deep end. I would highly recommend lessons with Pete from Swim Now.

Aliyah S: I had my first taster session with Bethany and I was excited but also really nervous. I got in the pool and felt much calmer thanks to Beth and during my first taster session lesson I learnt different techniques that were explained at the start and I also managed to go up and down the lane and was just about swimming with Beth’s help and Beth was great helping me along the way! Can't wait for my next lesson. ☺️

Vaqas Razakat: I've had a great experience learning with Pete as a beginner swimmer. The lessons have all been well thought out and clearly explained. And most of all, have developed my confidence in the water in such a short period of time.

Matthew Hunter: Pete, my son’s instructor, is totally brilliant. He is clearly really enthusiastic about teaching and the results are clear to see.Can’t rate Swim Now, and Pete in particular, highly enough.

Rosa Duran: Pete is a really good instructor, both patient and professional. I’ve learnt a lot and gained much more confidence in the water. Highly recommended.

Alun Price: So at 62 and retired I was inspired to snorkel but I didn’t like putting my head underwater. Pete built up my confidence using goggles and showed me how to use the snorkel equipment. I could already do freestyle swimming but Pete taught me breast stroke which is quieter around the fish. I’ve just returned for a holiday and did snorkel several times and cannot wait to do more. Here are some photos

Ross Coipel: Pete has been an excellent teacher and the place the lessons are held is very nice! Would 100% recommend

Mingtong Jiang: My instructor, pete, is a very patient instructor. He would explain every move patiently, as English was not my first language, he would explain the moves patiently and speak at a slower pace. Even though I did a lot of moves wrong, he would encourage me to keep trying and would correct my mistakes as well. Besides that he was very enthusiastic and made me very interested in swimming

Aliyah Razzaq: I’ve been having lessons with Pete for a few weeks now and he’s amazing, explains everything so well and has built up my water confidence

Magda Hussein: I’ve been having my lessons with Pete who has been an amazing teacher. I’ve been surprised by how quickly I have been able to learn things all while feeling comfortable with the way things are progressing. My confidence has increased immensely and he’s been helping me meet all the goals I set for myself when I first started!

Ting Cheung: Pete’s a great teacher and we always come out the lesson feeling like we’ve improved on our techniques. The lesson has been flexible to accommodate for our busy schedules too. Highly recommend ☺️

Jacek B: Pate is very professional, friendly, supportive and patient.Would highly recommended Pete!!!

Amraj Singh: Been learning to swim with Pete he’s a really calm and patient teacher, takes his time to breakdown the techniques needed and has made me feel a lot more confident already in a few lessons. Can’t recommend him enough ☺️