Getting Ready / When Will We Open?
We are re-opening for Open Sessions on the Trampolines on Monday 27th July!
The Clip’n Climb will come in the following week on Monday 3rd August.
Toddler Bounce and the new Toddler Play Area will not be open at the moment. We will open these as soon as the Government allows.
There will be a lot of changes to what used to be normal, so please have a read below to see what to expect.
Capacity Management
Last year we did everything we could to encourage everyone to book before they came for a bounce. We made it as simple as we could to book online and when we were busy it was super important as we did end up turning people away if we were fully booked.
Over the next few months booking online will be even more important as we are going to be limiting the numbers on each session to make sure that you can come in knowing you can keep a reasonable distance from the next family.
As part of the booking process we would like to encourage all participants to have a completed waiver before attending the site – (don’t worry if you have visited us already during the winter of 2019/20, your waiver should be up to date).
We have moved around the lockers and briefing areas so that you can keep some distance between you and the next group.
We will start with around 16 participants on the trampolines and 12 on the Clip n’Climb (for context the official capacity of the trampolines is around 100) and build from there depending on feedback, what feels reasonable and Government guidance.
Soft Play / Toddler Play Area
Before lockdown we had plans to invest in a large state of the art Soft Play facility. We still have plans but the current situation means it is going to be delayed for a while. But we know that this is such an important thing to have for our local families. So many of you have children over and under 5 years and want them all to be entertained at the same time.
The Government has unfortunately specifically left Soft-Plays out of the lock-down re-opening plans at the moment.
But, in the mean time we are going to turn our 100m2 sprung floor into a “Toddler Play Area”.
Once we can open it up, this soft play area will be open from 15mins after the trampolining starts until 30mins after the session finishes (so it’ll perfect for those that have children over and under 5). Afterwhich we will ask your whole group to leave the centre so we can give the places a clean and get the next group in.
In this way we will be able to open this soft play area up but also manage the capacity carefully. Please keep in mind that, for the safety of the toddlers, to enter the soft play area your child must be BOTH 7 years old less AND less than 125cm tall.
Opening Times & Staff Bubbles
A big risk to the business going forward is the “track and trace” system. Although we are super happy for the system to be in place as soon as possible it means we have to be careful about staff getting too close to each other for long periods of time. So we are putting receptionists into “bubbles” that work together. That way if one has to isolate we don’t have to isolate the whole team and shut.
What that means is we would like just one team to work for the whole day. But we used to be open from early to late every day. Which is a bit much to ask the team to be in for such a long shift. So we are looking initially to reduce our opening hours. This will be confirmed closer to opening but we will open around mid-day in the week and from around 10am on weekends
We are sorry to make this change and as soon as we can we’ll go back to normal opening hours.
Cleaning
Before opening back up we are doing a big spring clean. It’s such a great opportunity to do it when no-one is around, and it’ll be nice for the place to feel fresh.
During the day when we are open we will be actively cleaning more than we used to in certain areas like the changing rooms, lockers and briefing areas.
Hand sanitiser will be available throughout the centre. Particularly near things that you cannot avoid touching such as doors.
We cannot guarantee that everything you touch in the centre will be perfectly clean. We cannot clean the foam blocks between every use for example, so can’t keep the centre to the standard of a hospital or a clinical setting. But we can give you the best opportunity to keep your hands clean, by providing hand sanitiser and soap, and ensure the capacity is low enough that you can keep some distance from your friends and fellow bouncers.
One Way Systems
In order for us to manage the groups we will be operating a one-way system through the centres. This is mainly so that when the last group are leaving and the next group are arriving they do not have to barge past each other. We are setting up some of our fire doors as the new exits to help with this.
There will be signs around the centre, and staff will guide you but please be aware and help us to keep this system working.
Face Masks / Coverings
So for now you don’t have to wear one. Some of our staff will wear them at different times, like if they are in face to face communication with a customer or if they are cleaning.
We want you to know that if you feel more comfortable wearing one in the centre then that’s fine with us.
In some countries now facemasks are mandatory in public spaces, and we may change the rules depending on government advice, guidance or regulations. But we will all have to remember that just wearing a mask does not protect us. Keeping your distance and good hygiene are the best methods to keep you and everyone else safe.
Clip n Climb
The Clip n’Climb will be the last activity to open here at Freedog Swindon. The reason is that it is vital that our staff can make sure that harnesses are on correctly and that they can teach the participants to clip themselves in. As this is likely to bring them into close contact with some members of the public (particularly children) we will need to implement a PPE system that protects them and our customers. This may take us a little time to train and develop so bear with us.
When we do open it will be on a lower ratio than before (starting at 12 participants) so you will be able to keep your distance when climbing or resting between climbs.