Mother wins swim lessons battle

A mother from Barnsley has won her fight to ensure her son - who has Down's Syndrome - can have swimming lessons at his local leisure centre.

Elaine Doran was told she could not accompany eight-year-old Samuel in the water during lessons at Hoyland pool.

She claimed this prevented him joining normal swimming classes.

Now the pool has agreed to provide extra training for its staff on how to teach disabled people and has awarded Samuel £1,500 in compensation.

Samuel had already had lessons in a class for disabled children and his mother thought he was ready to join a mainstream group.

It's a happy outcome all round Mark Crutchley Barnsley Premier Leisure

Mrs Doran suggested she went into the water for the first few lessons to give Samuel confidence in the new class but she was told this was not allowed.

She took her case to the Disability Rights Commission who paid for a local firm of solicitors to negotiate with Barnsley Premier Leisure (BPL) which runs the Hoyland leisure centre.

Mark Crutchley from BPL said they had managed to come to an agreement that involved swimming coaches knowing how to deal with disabled people in mainstream swimming classes.

Legitimate grounds

"We have retrained our staff so Samuel's mother can go in the water with him," he said.

"It's a happy outcome all round."

Mrs Doran said: "Our fundamental argument was that there were no legitimate grounds for Samuel to be excluded from lessons in the first place.

"Once they fully understood that, the management at Barnsley Premier Leisure have worked with us to achieve this satisfactory solution."