This page has been compiled by Sally Wearing, our H&S Advisor. Please bear in mind that it can take a few days between new guidance emerging and Sally reading it all and writing a summary. If you have further questions that the info below doesn’t answer … please email sallywearing@outlook.com .
See all our Covid-19 pages:
- Main Covid-19 page
- Practices (this page)
- Performances
- Online Practices
- Insurance
Update on 30th March
This only applies to England. If you would like advice for other parts of the UK, please contact Sally Wearing at sallywearing@outlook.com.
Step 1, 29th March: As expected, the next step in the government’s COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021 took place on 29th March. We are now allowed to meet outside in groups of up to six people or in groups of any size from up to two households. This applies in both public and private outdoor spaces.
This means that morris practices can now take place outdoors with up to six people. People from different households must still socially distance. We have therefore updated this page to show what you can do and revised the risk assessment template for practices.
Indoor practices are not yet allowed as households cannot mix inside. The government has said that in Step 3 (no earlier than 17th May) up to six people or two households will be allowed to meet indoors. We will publish more guidance on this as soon as we can.
IMPORTANT: The government’s guidance about what we can or cannot do is clear. Any team that practises with more than six people and/or who fail to socially distance would be breaking the basic rules and therefore liable to police action. They can break up illegal gatherings and issue fines, from £200 for a first offence to a maximum of £6,400.
Risk Assessment for Outdoor Practices
If you are considering practising, you need to carry out a risk assessment first, to help you decide whether it is safe to hold practices and what you need to do to protect people.
The performing arts guidance explains what non-professionals should do when rehearsing. The first step is to decide whether you should go ahead. You need to assess the risks, considering the wider health context in your area, the risk involved in the activity and location, and the number and health of the people in your team, particularly if any vulnerable individuals are involved.
This will help you decide whether it is safe to restart practices or not. If it is not, you should not proceed.
Template Risk Assessment: Sally has updated the Template Risk Assessment for Practices (PDF) [editable version: Template Risk Assessment for Practices (editable Rich Text Format) downloads automatically when clicked] to bring it into line with the rules that came in on 29th March. You need to customise this to your team and venue; please start by reading these notes on How to use the Template Risk Assessments (PDF). If you already have your own risk assessment, you can use the template to help make sure your assessment covers all the relevant issues.
If you use the template, please send any comments, criticisms or suggestions for improvements to Sally at sallywearing@outlook.com. She is always keen to get feedback. She will revise the Template Risk Assessment whenever the relevant government guidance is updated, so please check this page regularly.
Outdoor practices
The weather may not be inviting, but this is the only way practices can take place.
You can practise with up to six people from different households. Larger groups are only possible if they come from one or two households.
Social distancing must be maintained at all times between people who do not live together or share a bubble. This means that there should always be two metres between people. You also need to avoid being face-to-face.
Unlike the restrictions that were in place before the latest lockdown, the performing arts guidance now only allows for one group of up to six to be involved in the activity.
We strongly recommend that you read the Government Guidance on the Main Covid-19 page before deciding whether to practise. The guidance explains the controls that you need to put in place. You should also read the information below about singing and shouting.
Singing and shouting: if your practices include singing and/or shouting, you need to understand and follow the principles of safer singing. Singing and speaking loudly can produce 20 times the mass of aerosol as normal speaking.
You can reduce the risk of transmission by limiting the number of people who sing and spacing singers at least two metres apart in all directions. Wearing a face covering when singing reduces the mass of aerosol expelled and it is therefore sensible for people to wear one when singing or shouting.
If you still have queries that the above doesn’t answer … please email sallywearing@outlook.com
