The Friends have produced health and safety policies and risk assessments to help minimise (but not eliminate) risk. Our full COVID-19 Health and Safety policy and risk assessments can be found here. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.

The Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park have put measures in place to provide a COVID-19 safe environment for volunteers. The main ones are:

  1. You must book your place on Ticket Tailor. We no longer have drop-in sessions and we’ll follow government guidance on the maximum number of volunteers and staff.
  2. If you have them, please bring your own work gloves, hand sanitiser and face mask for the volunteer session.
  3. Volunteers must bring their own food (lunch) and (hot) drink, including enough water to last them for the duration of their stay. We can’t provide drinks and snacks.
  4. We have changed the start and end times of our sessions to allow people to get to us and leave outside of the main commuter travel times.
  5. Volunteers will only be allowed to enter buildings to use the toilet. You will not be able to leave your belongings in the building. General visitors to the Cemetery Park will not be allowed access to buildings.
  6. We have provided additional outdoor hand washing facilities for volunteers. Volunteers are requested to wash hands before starting any activities, before entering our buildings, after they have used the toilet, and before they eat.
  7. We will provide resources to wash implements and tools used by volunteers.
  8. All volunteers must follow social distancing guidance and keep two metres away from anyone who is not a member of their household/support bubble. Please keep two metres away from The Friends’ staff.
  9. We have implemented enhanced cleaning for our buildings, including a daily deep clean and mid-day cleaning of commonly touched surfaces.
  10. We will collect volunteer contact information and make it available to national or local government Test and Trace services on request.
  11. Volunteers must not attend if they or a member of their household/support bubble displays COVID-19 symptoms. Please check your symptoms here and whether it’s suitable for you to volunteer here (select ‘Playgrounds, outdoor gyms or model villages’).
  12. There is a volunteer role-specific risk assessment on pages 8 and 9 of the Health & Safety policy.

You must book a ticket on Eventbrite.

  1. Children must not attend sessions if they or a member of their household/support bubble have COVID-19 symptoms. If your child develops or displays symptoms on the day they will be asked to sit separately from other attendees until you collect them.
  2. If you have booked a session but cannot attend due to illness then no refund will be provided.
  3. Only one parent or guardian should drop-off and pick-up children from Forest School. Please depart promptly from designated drop off and pick up points.
  4. Follow government guidance on travelling to the Cemetery Park. Guidance is to avoid public transport unless necessary.
  5. Please arrive on time and go to the designated meeting area outside the Soanes Centre (in front of the war memorial) which is on your right once you’ve entered via Southern Grove, E3 4PX.
  6. Children will be asked to wash their hands before starting activities and at designated points throughout the day.
  7. Maintain two metres separation between other Forest School attendees and Forest School Leaders when arriving and picking up children.
  8. Children will be requested to keep one metre apart – young children are unlikely to be able to maintain social distancing and guardians and parents must expect that physical contact between children will take place.
  9. Children must bring their own food and drink (enough to last for the day). Children must not share food and drink.
  10. Children will only be permitted into Soanes Centre or Lodge to use the toilet. Forest School Leaders will escort a child to use the toilets and wait outside of the building.
  11. We will design activities to minimise the need for children to share tools or implements. We will provide resources to clean tools and implements if they need to be shared.
  12. Children will be kept in a ‘bubble’ of 15. We will maintain a single bubble for two days. Forest School cannot be booked for a single day and must be booked in two-day blocks.
  13. The Friends will collect contact information on children and they will be provided to national or local government Test and Trace services on request. Apart from Test and Trace we will treat your data in accordance with our data protection policies.
  14. You and your child will be given instructions on the activities that they will be carrying out, general Health and Safety measures and COVID-19 specific controls. If you or your child do not follow Health and Safety measures you will be asked to leave.
  15. There is a Forest School-specific risk assessment on pages 10 and 11 of the Health & Safety policy.