In October 2014, we launched Gladstone’s Learn2 course management tool at our two leisure centres as part of a wider overhaul of our learn-to-swim scheme.

One of the main advantages of Learn2 is that together with the ASA National Plan, which we introduced simultaneously, it enables children to be moved up a class as soon as they are ready. Under the old system a child would have to wait until a dedicated assessment week before being identified as ready to move. Swim co-ordinators would then allocate them a space in an appropriate class, before giving the parent a call or handing them a move slip. If parents were hard to get hold of, or did not want the allocated day or time, this often led to delays – and with swim co-ordinators not always being available, the process could become very frantic.

With Learn2 all of this is avoided. Now parents get an automated email when their child is ready to move, and can go onto Home Portal to choose a class themselves. As well as being easier for parents, it significantly reduces the number of calls we get on this topic, and it’s much easier to keep track of availability in classes. Our swim co-ordinators now spend around 23 per cent less time dealing with class movements, allowing them to concentrate on signing up new swimmers. As a result, we’ve been able to add new classes and have increased our number of swimmers by 15 per cent in the past nine months.

Another problem with the old system was that parents often commented that they did not know how their children were doing in class.

With Learn2 the swimming instructors record attainment using portable poolside devices, which are linked into Home Portal, meaning parents can now track their children’s progress at their leisure.

We also use the system to keep a more regular record of why children leave, so we can deal with any underlying issues promptly.

Overall, Learn2 has significantly reduced the administration burden of managing our swim scheme, as well as being popular with parents.

Active Northumberland uses a wide range of Gladstone products across its 18 sites, which range from dual-use leisure facilities to a disabled riding centre.

We’ve been very impressed with Learn2. We brought it in last September as part of a complete overhaul of our swim development programme, including the introduction of 46 weeks of lessons, continuous assessment and direct debit payments, and it is has already helped make the process much more efficient. The fact that Learn2 is linked to Plus2 has made it much easier to migrate people to direct debit, and the system is designed to support continuous assessment.

It’s also resulted in significant time and cost savings. Thanks to features such as the active waiting list and automated movement alerts it’s now simpler to move participants around. This means we no longer need to hold re-enrolment days, which included putting an extra receptionist on shift and the swim coordinator working extra hours. The system also enables reception to deal with enquiries and add people to the programme.

Our swim instructors are now confidently using the poolside devices; 74 per cent of participants are registered on Home Portal and 56 per cent are actively using it; and, overall, there is much less admin and paperwork for everyone. We will be looking to roll out the product to our dryside courses in the future.