Soft Play’s back in action at Edinburgh Leisure

Soft play centres reopen today

Edinburgh Leisure’s three soft play centres, Clambers at the Royal Commonwealth Pool, Scrambles at the EICA and Tumbles at Portobello will finally be reopening their doors to customers today, Monday, 19 July 2021. 

Bookings for members went live at 9pm on Tuesday, 13 July and for non-members on Wednesday, 14 July.

Claire Rusack, Leisure Manager at the Royal Commonwealth Pool and Clambers said: “It’s been such a long time coming after an extended lock-down, which meant that we weren’t able to open as originally planned on 7th June, but we’re delighted that we can finally welcome back our youngest of customers and their parents and carers to let off some steam. 

“So, for anyone with little ones who need to burn off some energy, make sure you’re not disappointed by pre-booking in advance for any sessions you want to attend via the Edinburgh Leisure app or website.  And if you think you might be a regular customer, you might want to consider buying one of our soft-play memberships.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions Edinburgh Leisure has had to adapt their offering with pre-booking done via the Edinburgh Leisure app or website only for all visits, either 8 days in advance for members or 7 days for non-members. No parties or special events can be booked at this stage.

All three venues will follow the same daily opening times from 9.30am-5pm, Monday to Sunday, with five pre-bookable slots of 60-minutes each to accommodate deep cleaning between each.   At the start of each month, the frames will be treated with a 30-day virus protection.

Adults will book a table for a maximum of six people, which will include adults, children, and babies.

Adults can remove face coverings while seated at the table but will be required to wear them at all other times, especially when moving around the space. A café service will be available throughout all sessions.  However, we are running a restricted menu at this time.

To adhere to Government guidelines, there will be no adults or staff allowed in the frames. 

However, adults can enter the frame to support a child with additional support needs. All adults entering the frame or walking around the soft play area must wear a face covering.  Space in baby areas where adults are present, will be limited, due to physical distancing.

Currently, frame capacity has been reduced to 40% of normal operating capacity, and ball pools and modular items have been removed.

The cost of a 60-minute session is: free for 0-6 months; £4.40 for 6 months – 2 years; and £6.80 for children 3 years and over.

And for regular soft-play attendees, there is an option to buy a membership, offering great value.

A monthly membership costs £16.70 for one child; £28.00 for two children; £33.80 for three children; and £39.50 for four children, which can be used at any of the three Edinburgh Leisure soft play centres across the city.

The Edinburgh Leisure app can be downloaded from the Google and App stores.

For more information, visit:  www.edinburghleisure.co.uk

A Sense of Freedom?

Scotland moves to Level 0

What you can do at Level 0 in Scotland:

  • you can meet friends and family socially in groups:
    • of up to 8 people from 4 households in your home or theirs – and can stay overnight
    • of up to 10 people from 4 households in an indoor public place like a café, pub or restaurant. Hospitality settings will be required to close at midnight
    • of up to 15 people from 15 households outdoors
  • under 12s do not count towards the total number of people meeting outside or indoors
  • you do not need to physically distance from family and friends in a private home or outdoors. However, your gathering should maintain at least 1m distance from all others
  • you need to maintain at least 1m distance from other households in all indoor public settings
  • you can travel anywhere in Scotland
  • you can travel anywhere in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands – before you travel you must check the travel rules in those countries
  • you can provide informal childcare, for example to look after a grandchild
  • up to 200 people can attend weddings and funerals
  • you can take part in any sport or exercise activity, including adult indoor contact sports
  • tradespeople can carry out any work in your home such as painting, decorating or repairing
  • you should continue to work from home where possible. 

What can open at Level 0

Places and business that can open at Level 0 include:

  • cafés, pubs and restaurants
  • all shops and stores
  • all close contact services including hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons
  • all sport and exercise
  • tourist accommodation
  • all visitor attractions
  • all public buildings like libraries and community centres
  • all entertainment (apart from nightclubs and adult entertainment)
  • stadiums and events – with maximum numbers

What must close at Level 0

Places and business that must close at Level 0 include:

  • nightclubs and adult entertainment

Move to Level 0 is ‘encouraging milestone’, says business chief

Scotland moves to a ‘modified’ Level 0 from tomorrow, Monday 19th July.

Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce said: “The confirmation that Scotland will move to Level 0 on 19th July marks another encouraging milestone towards the full re-opening of Scotland’s economy and business’s ability to recover.

“The fact remains though that the modified framework deviates away from what businesses had been preparing for and moving the goalposts at this late stage will cause uncertainty, negatively impacting on business confidence and recovery.

“The postponing of the phased return of offices will be a bitter blow for employees and employers alike, many of which had been getting ready to welcome employees back into offices from next week. T

“his will also sound alarm bells for those town and city centre businesses, reliant on office worker footfall and custom, who now need to wait another month until those workers start to return.

“Scotland’s hospitality sector, one of the hardest hit by restrictions, will be concerned that anticipated restrictions were not lifted, including little reprieve for the night-time economy, with challenging restrictions on trading remaining.”

On changes to rules for self-isolation and quarantine, Liz Cameron said: “A greater four-nations alignment on international travel restrictions and self-isolation is positive, however, until all restrictions are lifted many businesses operating in Scotland’s travel and tourism sector simply won’t be able to open.

“The international travel industry is vital to Scotland’s wider tourism and hospitality sectors, and it’s essential that financial support for these businesses is not only continued but enhanced to allow them to fully recover when restrictions do finally lift.”

On moving beyond Level 0, Liz Cameron said: “Our view is clear that we should continue on the path set out towards the lifting of all restrictions on the 9th of August as planned.

“The role of the Scottish and UK Government must evolve to enable businesses and communities to operate with autonomy, according to personal circumstances, business preferences and sectoral requirements.”

STUC General Secretary, Roz Foyer, said: “We welcome the more cautious approach set out today by the First Minister. The trade union movement has consistently called for a cautious approach to easing restrictions, based on the data in conjunction with vaccine uptake.

“Many workers will be breathing a sigh of relief at the continuation of mandatory use of face masks. However, for hospitality staff, many of whom will not yet be fully vaccinated, the announcement of larger indoor events may understandably cause fear and worry.

“When planning for the return to office working, we need employers to work with trade unions and employees to consider a phased and flexible approach for their return to work, ensuring workers’ health and wellbeing is protected while working from home or in the office.”