Swimming at Joy Lane Primary School

Welcome to Joy Lane Swimming Pool!

Our Facilities

Situated near the sea, Joy Lane Primary School recognises the importance of swimming as a vital life skill. We are fortunate to have a 16-meter-long indoor heated swimming pool, along with a separate training pool specifically designed for younger children. The pool is heated to a comfortable 30°C, with a depth ranging from 0.9 meters at the shallow end to 1.5 meters at the deep end.

The Staff, Governors, and Friends of Joy Lane Primary School are committed to ensuring that every child at the school can swim at least 25 meters by the end of Year 6.

Our swimming pool floor was recently refurbished, thanks to generous donations and successful fundraising efforts. This has enabled us to maintain a high-quality facility that benefits not only our students but also the wider local community.

Our Staff:

At Joy Lane Primary School, we are proud to employ a full-time swimming coach, Mr Rob Dowling, who oversees and teaches swimming lessons at the school. Mr Dowling is an ASA Level 3 Club Coach with 25 years of swimming teaching experience. In addition, he is a qualified and experienced primary school teacher, having taught for several years in Folkestone and Rainham.

All other swimming instructors are fully qualified professionals with a minimum ASA Level 2 qualification and are fully DBS-checked. For any questions regarding swimming lessons, you can contact Mr Dowling via the school office at swimschool@joylane.kent.sch.uk.

Every lesson is supported by a staff member trained in Pool Rescue and First Aid, ensuring the safe delivery of all swimming sessions.

Our team is experienced in teaching a wide range of abilities, from non-swimmers to advanced club swimmers. Beyond regular lessons, the pool is also used for enrichment activities such as school galas, beginner life-saving lessons for children, and additional swim sessions awarded as class rewards.

Our curriculum:

We are committed to making swimming an essential part of our curriculum. Every class swims for three terms each year.

• Nursery children have the opportunity to swim throughout the year.
• Children in Years 4, 5, and 6 swim during Terms 1, 2, and 3.
• Children in Years R, 1, 2, and 3 swim during Terms 4, 5, and 6.
• For children in Oysters (Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2), swimming alternates between terms.

At Joy Lane Primary School, children swim in their class groups, which are further subdivided into ability groups. Each group is assigned a dedicated swimming instructor for the year to ensure tailored instruction.

For our children in Oysters, we have created a social story to support their access to the swimming pool environment. This resource can be accessed below:
Going Swimming - Social Story

At the end of each class’ swimming lesson, instructors select a Star Swimmer of the Week based on effort, ability, and attitude.

Assessing swimming at Joy Lane:

Joy Lane Swim School assesses children using a set of criteria developed by our experienced swimming staff. For an overview, please follow the link below:

Joy Lane Swim School Awards Year R - 3

Joy Lane Swim School Awards Year 4 - 6

This programme is specifically tailored for primary school children, ensuring they work towards the National Curriculum requirements for swimming strokes and distances. It also helps pupils build water confidence, develop essential lifesaving skills, and understand water safety.

For our after-school lessons, we continue to use Swim England’s stages assessment system. These stages are designed for smaller groups of swimmers with similar abilities, allowing for focused instruction and progression.

If you would like more information about swimming at Joy Lane Primary School, you can read our

Swimming Booklet for Parents and Carers.

Additionally, you can review our Joy Lane Swimming Policies, which include the Emergency Action Plan, Normal Operating Procedure, and Risk Assessment.

Costs

As a school, we heavily subsidise the ongoing running costs to ensure that our pupils receive high-quality swimming lessons in a warm, clean, and well-maintained pool. To secure the long-term future of swimming at Joy Lane Primary School, it is essential that all families in our school community contribute towards the cost of their child’s lessons where possible.

The cost for swimming lessons is £15 per term, equating to £45 for three terms of swimming (approximately £2 per lesson). All payments must be made in advance via Arbor.

If you would like to discuss swimming payments privately, please feel free to contact Mr Ashley-Jones, Head of School, or one of our Family Liaison Officers.

After-School Swimming Lessons

Joy Lane Swimming Pool also offers after-school swimming lessons for pupils of Joy Lane Primary School and the wider community. These lessons cater to children aged 3 to 11 and run Monday to Thursday from 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM.

The cost of the lessons is competitively priced at £10.50 per session, with a maximum of six children per group. All lessons are delivered by friendly, experienced staff, many of whom the children at Joy Lane Primary School will already recognise from their daytime swimming sessions.

Parents/carers are welcome to sit poolside and watch their children’s lessons. Additionally, there is free on-site parking available for your convenience.

For further information or to book lessons, please contact Katie Dean via email at kdean@joylane.kent.sch.uk  or swimschool@joylane.kent.sch.uk.

We believe swimming lessons should be fun, inclusive and motivating, giving everyone the opportunity to fulfil their potential as a swimmer.