Our leisure centres are now open. You can find all the information about restrictions and Covid safety on individual activity pages.

Creche at Riverside

Our fantastic crèche offers child care for children aged between 6 weeks and 5 years.

With qualified staff and OFSTED registration, you can enjoy your exercise at Riverside, knowing that your child is being well looked after.

Creche

To keep you, your child and our staff safe, there are some changes to how we operate:

You must book a creche session in advance on the website.
You will need to book two 30 minute sessions for your 1 hour creche slot.
You will only be able to book up to one hour per child per day
Creche booking times will change; please find details of this in our opening times.
If you have not booked in advance, you will not be able to use the creche
Your creche booking is not included in your 2 activities per day booking allowance.

You will be expected to maintain a distance of 2 metres from other carers, parents and from staff, when dropping off and picking up your child
You will need to limit drop off and pick-up to one parent or carer per household
If you or anyone in your household has Coronavirus symptoms, please do not visit the centre, or bring your child to the creche

You will need to wear a face covering inside our leisure centres to drop off and pick up your child, and on your way to and from your activity unless you have an exemption. Find out more about face coverings.
We recommend that you do not wear a face covering during exercise. Please leave it with your belongings during your activity.
Children aged under 11 years do not have to wear face coverings.

We will only be taking children from ages 6 weeks to 5 years.
We will be limiting the amount of children that are allowed into the creche and our staff to child ratios will be reduced. Ratios per 1 hour session are as follows: 3 children aged 6 weeks to 2 years; 2 children aged 2 to 3 years; 2 children aged 3 to 5 years.
You will need to feed your child before or after their crèche session where possible

Please do not bring food or toys from home to the creche
You will be able to bring dummies, comforters or drinks bottles for your child. These will need to be in a sealed plastic bag labelled with your child’s name

We will be cleaning in between sessions
We will have an enhanced cleaning schedule to ensure all surfaces touched by children and staff are cleaned regularly throughout the day, including table tops, door handles and play equipment
We will be finishing early to allow for a 30 minute deep clean of the creche at the end of every day.

Before you arrive, you can download the NHS COVID-19 app. You can open the app and scan the QR code displayed at the entrance to the centre on arrival.
You will drop your child off at the outside door on the ramp by the river. Government guidance is that parents do not enter the room
Once your child is in the creche you will continue up the ramp and go to the back of the relevant queue for your session.
If you have a buggy, once you have been allowed into the centre please park it in one of the assigned areas before going to your session.
Follow the signs and one-way system around the centre to get to and from your activity
To collect your child at the end of your session, please follow the one way system and exit the through the green barriers. Turn left through the foyer and go to the normal creche entrance. Again, Government guidance is that parents do not enter the room
Once you have picked up your child you will be able to exit via the door opposite the creche, leading out into the car park. Please do not re-enter the centre.

Monday to Friday

You will not be able to use the creche on 6 May, as it will be used as a polling station.

One hour per day of free crèche sessions for one child. Sessions must be booked on the parent's monthly membership card.

£4.30

£3.30

If you are a monthly member, you can log in using your ourChelmsford account to book up to 10 days in advance.
If you are not a monthly member, the child must have an ourChelmsford account. Plus account holders can book 7 days in advance, and Lite holders 2 days.
Each bookable slot is 30 minutes, so two slots will need to be booked for an hour.

If you no longer need to use the crèche, please cancel at least two hours before the session starts, to avoid being charged.

If you need to cancel, you can:

If you or anyone in your household has Coronavirus symptoms, please do not visit the centre, or bring your child to the creche
Crèche sessions last 30 minutes.
You must be attending a booked session on site while your child is at the crèche.
If your child has a bad cold, sickness or diarrhoea, please don't bring them to the crèche. If your child becomes ill, we'll contact you and you'll need to collect them immediately.
Please bring extra nappies, wipes and a change of clothes for your child. You will not be able to bring food or toys from home to the creche
Your child needs to have an ourChelmsford card to use the crèche.

Please aim to drop off and pick your child up at the time specified. If you think you'll be late picking up your child, please call us on 01245 615050.
Due to a limited number of booking spaces being available, we may limit your ability to use the creche if you are late picking up your child.
If a new session has started when you pick your child up, you'll need to pay for the extra 30 minutes. We'll add the payment to your membership card, and you'll need to clear this charge within seven days of the crèche session before you can make another booking.