Youth clubs

[dontcompare]

AIBU to think youth activities e.g. gymnastics, guides, cadets etc won't open until may half-term?

Anyone has a more optimistic view?

One of my friends reckons her gymnastics club will be starting up on 15th April. I remain optimistic that kids will be back trampolining on the same date.

I don't know where this date has come from though.

Guiding, cadets, scouting might as our scout group has been able to run, albeit outside, between the national lockdowns. They're lucky enough to have their own hut and outside area though. Not every group is this lucky.

Our scout group will be switching from zoom meetings to outdoor meetings straight after Easter.

Mhm mid April is sooner than I thought. I'm just not sure why they can't open when all the schools are going back. So many groups will have been vaccinated by then

The National Youth Agency (the leading charity for youth work) have said that youth groups and organisations can reopen for indoor face-to-face meetings in the week commencing the 12th April. Most youth organisations follow the guidance published by them in conjunction with the Government.

Whether the organisations themselves want to reopen is a different matter.

Scouts...at the moment outdoors for 15kids from 29th March, indoors from 12th April. Obviously those might change.

@Iamnotthe1

The National Youth Agency (the leading charity for youth work) have said that youth groups and organisations can reopen for indoor face-to-face meetings in the week commencing the 12th April. Most youth organisations follow the guidance published by them in conjunction with the Government.

Whether the organisations themselves want to reopen is a different matter.

That's good to know.

It's pretty draconian though. 6 more weeks. Poor kids.

I've just booked dd in to gymnastic club first week of Easter

I'm a guide leader. We are hoping to do outdoor sessions after Easter. But I doubt we will be able to return inside, as we don't have room for them to social distance.

We did a few indoor sessions in October. Some groups met outdoors all through July, August, September

@dontcompare

Mhm mid April is sooner than I thought. I'm just not sure why they can't open when all the schools are going back. So many groups will have been vaccinated by then

However the youngsters won't have been vaccinated, and the leaders may not have been. If the general rate is low enough, maybe it will be okay, but if they have a case within a youth group there's very little difference to before vaccination started.

My DD's activity involves 40 kids from probably at least 15 schools. I think one of the helpers will have been vaccinated, but the two main leaders probably won't have been. So the only difference from last September is that one person there is protected. Even in terms of them taking the virus home with them, relatively few of the parents will have been vaccinated.

We don't really know how much the spread will go rise when the schools go back, but I do think it would be wise to wait until after Easter so that we can see.

Equally, it's important to point out that, in schools, social distancing within a bubble doesn't exist. In youth organisations, they should be social distancing so there are implications for numbers, spaces, etc.

There's also the fact that some youth organisations will be dictated to by the setting they meet at. If the community centre, church building, etc. isn't open for groups then it's not even possible. They are also often staffed by volunteers, depending on the group, and there may well be people who don't see this as a necessary risk to take at this time.