Lockdown 2.0 – can our parent and baby classes run face-to-face?
Thank you so much for all your messages of support over the last few days. We know the lockdown announcement hasn’t filled anyone with joy - and has also been riddled with the usual level of confusion that follows every one of our government’s press conferences (next slide, please).
With recent guidelines changing for parent and baby support groups we have been inundated with messages of support about how we should be able to continue to run classes under the current rules.
Which is great. But…
1. This is dependent upon our venues actually opening – and the vast majority of our venues aren’t. This poses obvious issues and we’re not really up for dancing in the car park. In November.
2. We have planned and are ready for this scenario and you’ll have seen it in the terms and conditions when you booked. If we were to start looking for alternative venues, for example, it could take weeks. We can be online straight away, so you won’t miss a beat.
3. The guidance specifies that if you can work from home, you should – while we absolutely 100% would prefer to dance with you in person, we CAN operate remotely. We can deliver classes online and we would urge you to join us for these classes, even if you have previously not enjoyed Zoom. If you can’t make class, we’ve made it available for 6 days as a recording so you can really get to grips with the routines 😊 (silver lining.)
4. Our instructors are all parents and have to think about their own health and wellbeing – some of our instructors are pregnant, or have household members undergoing immunotherapy, or are also NHS workers, or have family members working in COVID wards. This is the same for many of you attending our classes.
This is not by any means meant to be a sob story, however we feel as though it is vital to be able to protect each other, as well as our class members, as much as possible, particularly as rates are on the increase.
5. It is only 4 weeks – we can do this. We can be strong. We can meet on-screen and continue to build friendships and communities that help provide the necessary support. If the lockdown does continue beyond 4 weeks, we are more than happy to reassess our options and we absolutely will.
Please believe us when we say we would like absolutely nothing more than to dance with you and your little ones at this tough time. However, at the moment, we are willing to do what we feel is the moral and ethical thing to do to protect you, your little ones, and our team.
We are adding extra classes to the timetable – quizzes, yoga (for you and your little ones) and more, to help you find joy during these difficult times.
Another bonus is that we won’t be as restricted on numbers as in the face-to-face classes, so you are more than welcome to bring a friend to dance with you on screen. See? There’s a silver lining to every cloud!
We can’t wait to see you and we hope you’ll join us in the virtual world.
Lots of love,
The DLAM Fam team
Xxx
Please also see the latest update from the ICAP (Institute Of Children’s Activity Providers) which reiterates our decision.
https://mailchi.mp/a138eb3c66fe/icap-8359304?e=d9c013605f&fbclid=IwAR1qCh6M4qG7dcYtWWRCHR5M2y-G_KHCPr3-Iee-stACGFx_MtUr-oDmt-s