Classes will resume on the 2nd of September 🎉
We have reopened our studio to adult classes and have had almost a week of adults lessons now in which we have tested all of the procedures we have put in place. We are pleased to let you know they have worked well and we are confident that all measures have been put in place.
This page has been updated since having the responses from the parent survey so please find revised information below.
The video below shows the one way system in operation in the studio. (The floor markers in the small studio were not placed before filming this video).
What will you be asked to do when returning to the studio?
Partake in the Test, Trace, Protect scheme by filling out a form on arrival
Adhere to social distancing guidelines inside and outside the studio
Follow the entry and exit signs to allow for good traffic management around the studio.
Complete a self-assessment for any COVID-19 symptoms before arriving at the studio.
Use the hand sanitiser provided when entering and exiting the building and following good hand hygiene.
Change at home - no changing will be allowed inside the studio
There will be no refilling of drinks allowed at the studio, please ensure you bring sufficient for your lesson.
Wait in your car until the class start time and then queue and enter the building in accordance with social distancing guidance.
Only children who are booked into a class are to enter the dance studio. Parents/guardians/siblings to wait in their cars after dropping off the children.
What have we done to prepare the studio for your return?
Installed hand sanitiser points for your use.
Put in place a cleaning programme for daily deep cleans and continuous sanitising of high contact surfaces.
Marked out areas to stand when queuing and dancing to encourage social distancing.
Created a new entrance and reception to enable a one way system to operate in the studio.
Increased ventilation of the studios.
Test, Trace, Protect
To help keep all of our customers safe, Flame Dance Studios will be participating in the NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect programme.
Should we need to share any of your information with the NHS for the Test, Trace, Protect programme we will use the information we have for you on our class list. Registers are always taken at the beginning of class so we know when each child arrives and leaves the studio. This means you will not need to provide your details every time you visit. Please notify us if any of your contact details have changed recently.
If you would prefer that we do not retain your personal data for these purposes, then please speak to us.
Visit gov.wales/coronavirus for more information on Welsh Government policy on this area.
Social Distancing
As a business we are required to;
take all reasonable measures to ensure that a distance of 2 metres between all adults and older children is maintained on particular premises;
ensure that other reasonable measures are taken to minimise risk of exposure to the virus, in particular by limiting close face to face interaction and by improving hygiene; and
provide information to those entering or working at premises about how to minimise risk.
Significantly the Welsh Assembly Government announced that from 3rd August 2020, children under the age of 11 years old will NOT need to socially distance from each other or from adults in Wales.
What does this mean for our classes?
As none of our students are over the age of 10 we are able to teach without the restrictions currently being recommended in England, such as ensuring a 2m distance between each child at all times for social distancing purposes.
We still want to be cautious and therefore will still be doing the following;
prohibiting partner and group work which involves physical touching such as holding hands.
spacing the children out when dancing and not doing block work for now. Due to small class numbers there is always enough space in the studio for children to dance 2m apart and this is how we usually operate when doing routines and exercises that don't require travel.
Teachers and assistants will still need to socially distance from one another, but not from the children as per Welsh Assembly Government’s guidance.
Important Factors To Still Consider
In the receptions and when congregating to enter the studio or collect your children social distancing measures must still be maintained due to the children having an adult with them who will need to be 2m apart from another adult not of the same household.
The latest scientific advice is that the risk to children of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 is very low. The Welsh Technical Advisory Group, which provides scientific and technical advice to Government during emergencies, has reviewed the current evidence that suggests that where children are infected with the virus, it takes a milder course than in adults. Children generally present with mild symptoms or are asymptomatic. Very few develop severe symptoms or life threatening levels of infection.Â
Furthermore, the Technical Advisory Group report that transmissibility in children under the age of 12 seems to be particularly low with emerging evidence showing limited child to child transmission. It is for these reasons that the Technical Advisory Group has concluded children can be ‘Covid secure’ using a broad range of measures. This evidence supports the return of schools to full operation from September, but it also assesses the evidence on children in general.
One Way System
We will be operating a one way system at the studio. Any queuing for class will be on the left side of the car park (closest to Boomerang). Students will enter through the main reception (the black framed glass doors) and enter into the big studio. Once class is finished students will leave through the small studio and out through the small reception (solid red door) where we will release them to you on the right side of the car park. Assistants will clean any high contact surfaces between lessons however there will be no need for children to touch any surface during the lesson.
See diagram below.
Drop off and pick up procedure
Weekday and Weekend lessons will follow different guidance due to the nature of traffic and numbers of dancers at the studio.
We will continually review these measures and change anything that we think will lead to a smoother process.
Weekend
We would kindly ask that all cars park outside of the car park on the street. This way we can keep the car park empty, spacious and safe for queuing. There is ample street parking outside the car park on the weekend on both the near and opposite side of the road so I hope that this won't inconvenience anyone.
Weekday
Due to the car park being in use by others and fewer numbers in the studio overall you are welcome to park as normal for weekday classes, either in the car park or on the street. We would still ask for drop off and pick up to be conducted in the same manner.
Dropping off:
We would ask everyone to stay in their car until as close to the lesson start time as possible.
Any queuing will then be done on the left side of the car park (nearest all the other units) keeping your distance from the other parents.
We would hope queuing would be kept to a minimum if you stay in your cars as long as possible before the class start time as we can welcome the students straight in to the studio.
We would then ask for the children to be dropped off at the front entrance so adults needn’t queue inside.
Picking up:
Please queue on the far right side of the car park.
We will start letting the children out 5 minutes before the usual end time of the lesson to aid the cleaning and social distance measures.
Your child will be bought out to you.
What Will Happen During Lessons
The children will be bought to the studio door by yourselves (following the drop-off procedures above) and will be directed into the studio one at a time by myself. A teacher will be waiting in the studio/studios and will direct the children to sit on a floor marker where they will dance for the remainder of the lesson.
For children in our Musical Theatre & Tap classes we will be alternating between Tap and Modern each week to cut down on shoe changing.
For Tap lessons can the children arrive at the studio in their tap shoes and they will leave in their tap shoes.
For Modern (the alternative week for Musical Theatre) and Ballet lessons can the children arrive at the studio in easy to change outdoor shoes (ideally with no socks underneath). They will take off their outdoor shoes once sat on their spot and their outdoor shoes will be stored to the side. Children will dance barefoot during the lesson. At the end of the lesson they will put their outdoor shoes back on while sat on their spot before leaving the studio to be collected.
During the lesson children will dance 2m apart on their floor markers. There are also distance markers on the ballet barres which will be used. When practicing any movement step the children will wait their turn on the perimeter of the studio keeping a social distance.
The students will leave one by one to be met by yourself outside the studio (following the pick-up procedures above). They will be sat on a floor marker while waiting to be released.
Pre-attendance official symptom check
All customers, students and visitors must undergo a self-assessment for any COVID-19 symptoms before arriving at the studio.
Symptoms include;
a high temperature:Â this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
a new, continuous cough:Â this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste:Â this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
No-one should leave home to participate in a class if they, or someone they live with, is symptomatic - or suspects they may have been exposed to the virus. They should immediately self-isolate (as well as their household and extended household), follow the Welsh Government’s self-isolation guidelines, and apply for a Coronavirus test.
I need to ensure, upon arrival, that students have completed a self-assessment for COVID-19 symptoms. Entry can be refused to anyone who is unable to provide assurance that they have done so and that to the best of their knowledge it is safe for them to take part. Anyone refused entry on this basis will be instructed to immediately self-isolate and to follow the steps set out above.
A few points were raised in the survey. Please find responses to any queries not address already below.
Provisions for sanitising between classes. Ensuring hand gel available and encourage children to use spaces set out for them so they can social distance easier.
Hand sanitisers are installed at the entrance and exit. Children will need to sanitise their hands on their way in to the studio and sanitise them again on their way out of the studio. If anyone sneezes, coughs or has their hands in their mouth at any point they will be given a squeeze of hand sanitiser during class.
2m distance markers will already be on the floor of each studio for the children to dance on.
Social distancing measures where possible, sanitising gel on entry, cleaning in-between sessions
Distance markers will be on the floor in the studios and in receptions. Parents queuing outside will be reminded to stand at least 2m apart.
All contact points will be cleaned in between lessons.
Reassurance that the guidelines will be followed
Each lesson there will be a Covid-officer whose sole responsibility will be to ensure that safety procedures and guidelines are being met. This staff member can ensure queuing is being done correctly and all cleaning records are logged ect.
Clear entrance and exits, cleaning stations
Entrance and exits will be marked and signs showing the way of travel for the one way system in the studio.
The Covid-officer will make clear where children are to enter the studio and where parents must stand to drop off and collect.
Track and trace information
Registers will be updated for our return and all necessary information shared with Test, Trace, Protect if necessary.
We have an online form for adult class members to fill in so we have contact information for every person who visits the studio. This system has worked very well so far and we have a log of every person and their contact info who has visited this week.
Class sizes reviewed.
Our classes always run at a max capacity of 16 children with 2 adults, 8 children with one adult. The number of children in the studios for every class is less than the studios max capacity at 2m social distancing.
Use of studio for at least 1 weeks adults only to test and refine and perfect your process to make sure it works including doing your deep cleans. I also want to be sure that if you have any child classes straight after an adult class that you do a deep clean between these classes and not just at the end of each day.
All adult classes take place in the evenings after the children’s classes have finished or after our lessons on the weekend. There will always be a deep clean between adults using the studio and children.
On the rare occasion there is a private adult lesson during the day time the studio will receive a deep clean before being empty for a few hours before any children's lessons begin.
Are there windows etc that can be kept open or is it an enclosed space?
The roller shutter will be pulled all the way up giving us effectively a huge window into the big studio. The small studio has a side door which will be kept open with a waist height safety barrier in front
Entry and exit doors will be kept open too to allow ventilation flow through the building.
Face protection
Unless Welsh government guidance changes, the teachers will not wear face coverings when teaching to try and keep a sense of normality for the children and due to studies on the transmission in children.