UPDATE (Nov 09) Following a meeting in October, Bromley Mytime have conducted a survey (as we suggested), unfortunately it was conducted quietly and aimed at the wrong people (ie. we know of some private classes not involved with the 50 week programme who were asked their opinion as were general swimming pool users of any age, whilst the parents of children who actually attend and pay for the new programme were not consulted! Why Could it be they know how we feel We have found out that at some pools, long running classes have had to be stopped or merged due to lack of children attending - could it be that the 50 week programme is not quite the success story Bromley Mytime would have us believe.....! It will be interesting to see the analysis of their survey! We have a second meeting scheduled in for mid December to discuss this petition and their survey results. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD...! ************************************************** Swimming lessons in Bromley pools, used to be such an enjoyable experience. You chose your preferred teacher/day/time, booked the class and enjoyed the 38 week hassle free, term time only programme. This all changed in May 2009 when an unsolicited 50 week programme was forced on us fee paying parents by Bromley Mytime (a Leisure Trust answerable to Bromley Council) without one second of parental consultation. This new 50 week programme now means: A) Not only do you now have to pay for lessons during school holidays even if you can't or don't want to attend, do you realise that classes will also be run on ALL bank holidays including Good Friday and Easter Monday B) If you attend parent & baby classes (where you have to get in the pool) and have an infant school age sibling, then during school holiday periods you will need to arrange alternative child care as for Health & Safety reasons unaccompanied children are not allowed to be left poolside. Bromley Mytime's suggested solution to this if we can't find child-care is to either pay to use their creche facilities where available (under fives only) or pay to enrol older children on one of their Buzz sessions! C) During the holiday Bromley Mytime will not guarantee that you will get your usual teacher. It is a well documented fact is that pre school age children thrive and boost their confidence through routine and familiarity (ie the same teacher, not swapping and changing). If you paid for lessons during the summer holiday were you happy with the consistency of teaching Part of Bromley Mytime's reasoning is that consistency and continuous assessment is why the 50 week swimming programme was introduced. We see no reason why, in particular for pre school age children, the programme cannot remain at 38 weeks, with an option for those parents who want to attend during the summer holidays to pay separately for this. If like us, you feel you were blackmailed into paying for swimming classes over the summer period that you could not (or did not want to) attend just to keep your preferred slot then please sign this petition and feel free to add comments. Even as a parent who may have removed their child from the Mytime programme we would welcome your signature and comments. This petition will be emailed to both Bromley Council and Bromley Mytime at the end of November 2009. This is your chance, if you like us you have been left angry and frustrated over the summer, to make Bromley Council and Bromley Mytime sit up and listen to what we parents really want and express our concerns about this programme.

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