Swim school praised

By Sarah Schwager
A NARRE Warren resident has praised Beaconsfield Swim School for allowing children of noncustodial parents to have irregular lessons, and is urging other swim centres to follow suit.
Chris Lucey said when his daughter, Madeleine, was threeyearsold he started searching Casey for swimming schools where she could have lessons but could not find a place that would accommodate the varying needs of a single parent.
“It was important for me for Madeleine to learn how to swim,” he said.
Mr Lucey said they were told by all the swim schools they approached that they would still be charged for the full term but could have makeup lessons, which he said was impossible as he only had Madeleine every second weekend.
“Surely there are other people in this situation,” Mr Lucey said.
“They are more interested in charging money than teaching the child to swim.”
But he said Beaconsfield Swim School was very willing to accommodate their needs.
They offered five lessons a term for ‘the modern family’, rather than 10, he said.
Mr Lucey said as a noncustodial parent, it made sense to pay half fees as it was too far away for his expartner to come to Beaconsfield to take Madeleine to swim lessons.
“It’s so common to have families in this situation,” Mr Lucey said.
“There’s a lot of single parents out there.
“The focus should be on what’s good for the child.”
Madeleine is now 10 years old and has been swimming for seven years.