Teachers Safety Guide

This is our system from 2020 and 2021, not all of this is in place anymore but we’ve kept the page in case it is needed again.

The overall aim is to make sure Hoopla’s improv workshops are safe while still being fun, friendly, sociable and playful.

Main Actions

These actions have the greatest effect on lowering the overall risk:

1. Please test regularly.

2. Limit the chances of anyone with covid being in the room.

3. Ventilation.

4. Space.

5. Cleaning and hand hygiene.

1. Please test regularly.

Tests are available from local pharmacies. We suggest testing on the day of the class.

2. Limit the chances of anyone with covid being in the room.

Before the class starts:

Students and teachers to be regularly emailed before and throughout the course reminding them to not come if they, or a member of their household, have any signs of symptoms such as:
- High temperature or fever.
- A new, continuous cough.
- A loss or change to sense of smell or taste.
- Body aches.
- Excessive runny nose and sneezing.
Students and teachers should also not come if they have tested positive, have been contacted by Track and Trace, have been pinged by the NHS app or have been in contact with someone who has had covid.

Before people enter the room:

Please ask each person on arrival if they have had any symptoms:
- High temperature or fever.
- New continuous cough.
- A loss or change in taste or smell.
- Body aches.
- Excessive runny nose and sneezing.
Please note we should still be friendly and welcoming during this! Yes, it’s an odd way to start a new course and may feel awkward, but doing these things greatly reduces risks and means we can all have fun once we are in the workshop.

During the class:

If people do appear ill in class (fever, ongoing cough etc) then we have to be assertive and ask them to leave for the rest of the session. If this happens we will follow up later and give them a refund or replacement workshop at a later date.

We also need to ask people to cover their mouths if coughing, or again asking them to leave if it is a frequent cough.

At the end of class:

Please remind people to test weekly if they can. Tests are available from local pharmacies for free if ordered online from the government website and are quick and easy to do.

If you hear of anyone from your class or venue having covid:

Please immediately phone Steve Roe at Hoopla or Jessie Rutland.

3. Ventilation

On arrival:

Open windows to ensure there is external air coming into the venue. For Theatre Deli you’ll have to ask reception staff to do this or use our own tools there.
You can also open doors into rooms, if noise levels allow this.
Where window opening isn’t possible please check air vents are working and there is a flow of air, if not please let the venue know.
Any problems with being able to do this please phone Steve at Hoopla immediately.

During class:

Make sure windows stay open. This is really important!

After class:

Please phone Steve or Jessie at Hoopla immediately if there have been any problems with this, so we can fix for future workshops.

4. Space

Since July 2021 we no longer have to do strict 1m+ or 2m social distancing, but we should still try to set up the room so there is as much space as possible.

Please still keep space between audience chairs, maximise the stage space area, and for now please avoid physical contact games (for instance clapping hands with the other person).

Please arrive early so you have time to set up your room and make everyone’s arrival a relaxing and welcoming experience.

Please check your room number is the same as expected and stick to your room number, as people will have been emailed room number in advance so they can find it quickly and avoid overcrowding around reception area. Check your room is clearly sign posted and if not put up a sign or ask reception team to fix. This is to avoid overcrowding in shared areas by making sure students can find the class.

5. Cleaning and Hand Hygiene

Before the class:

All venues have increased cleaning of all rooms and surfaces.
All venues have increased gaps between bookings to enable cleaning to happen before and after classes.
Students and teachers regularly emailed remind them to wash hands before and after class.

On teacher arrival:

Wash your own hands.
Put a hand sanitiser in your classroom (you can invoice us for any purchases of these to cover your costs, please don’t move the venue’s own ones).
Check toilets are clean and have soap available, if not please contact reception.
Check your classroom is clean, if not please contact reception.

At end:

Any problems with cleaning or hand hygiene please immediately phone Steve at Hoopla so we can improve things in time for next class.

6. Face Coverings

You don’t have to wear a face covering during the actual class, as per Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport guidelines for the performing arts. You may have to wear face coverings in common areas at our larger venues, this depends from venue to venue.

Also if people want to wear face coverings they are allowed, but we should not then offer the rest of the class face coverings or push the rest of the class into wearing them if they don’t want them.

We have lowered class sizes and/or increased room sizes and done other safety measures so that people don’t have to wear face coverings in the actual class.

Other Things

Letting Students in Early

Please arrive to your room in good time (at least 15 minutes before start at the very latest) and let any early students in to the room as they arrive. This is to prevent over crowding at reception areas and communal areas.

Track and Trace

This is already covered by people signing up online, you don’t have to do anything else. Some venues may do their own track and trace on arrival too.

Pub

Hoopla is not responsible for other venues after the official class finishes. So while students may independently choose to go to the pub together after class please let them know that Hoopla’s official teaching and responsibility ends when the class finishes and we aren’t responsible for external pubs and businesses. We suggest teachers and students are sensible with any pub visits and follow general guidelines, but Hoopla can not monitor pub trips.

Feedback

Please escalate any concerns you or your students have immediately to Hoopla’s training management (Jessie Rutland or Steve Roe).

Things we aren’t currently doing but can rollback if needed

We aren’t doing these at the moment but they are options we can rollback to if needed:

Temperature checks.
1m+ or 2m social distancing.
Smaller working groups.
Reduced volume to avoid shouting and loud singing.
Avoiding face to face games.

All of our events are too small for the Covid Pass so we will not be using this unless this becomes a legal requirement for venues below 500 people. We will not be asking for vaccine status unless we legally have to, as we feel the testing and other measures above are a better measure of safety in classes.

The new job of the improv scene will be to follow safety guidelines while devising new ways to make things fun. We’re sure the improv scene will rise to the challenge.