STAFF at the Embassy Swimming Pool in Skegness are celebrating after achieving a nationally recognised quality standard.

The swimming pool run by East Lindsey District Council, has been put through its paces over the past 18 months working towards QUEST accreditation.

QUEST defines industry standards in facility operations, staffing, customer service, service development and review as recommended by the British Quality Foundation. Areas scrutinised include policies and procedures, promotions and marketing, health and safety, cleanliness and the programme of activities.

QUEST is a nationally recognised quality standard designed by the leisure industry for the leisure industry. The Embassy Pool was awarded a score of 74% and commended, following the recent intense two-day inspection.

East Lindsey District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Councillor Adam Grist, paid tribute to the staff for making this achievement possible: "The Council is delighted to have the first of its six leisure facilities achieve QUEST status. Other Council run leisure centres will now look to follow the Embassy Pool’s lead and embark upon the same process and implement the same comprehensive operational systems and standards. This is a fantastic achievement that clearly demonstrates the Council’s commitment towards service improvement within sport and leisure facilities."

The Embassy Pool provides swimming lessons, a variety of training courses and public swimming, as well as a whole range of swimming activities for all ages and abilities and state of the art fitness suite, which was also simultaneously assessed during the accreditation process.

To achieve this level of success, the facility staff have undertaken additional training to improve the service they provide to customers.