Disabled children’s centre lifeline
ATRAMPOLINE and soft play centre for disabled children has been rescued by an eleventh hour lockdown grant - but its longterm future remains uncertain.
Jump Space, in Stockport, provides rebound therapy, trampolining and sensory play for children and young adults with disabilities.
Based in Hardman Street, not far from the town’s landmark pyramid, the specialist facility had become a much-loved lifeline for many families.
Before the coronavirus pandemic it was welcoming around 500 visitors a week. But the charity was almost forced to call it a day last month due to the impact of lockdown on its finances - with the Greater Manchester-wide restrictions coming close to being the final straw.
It has now been handed a desperately needed reprieve in the form of an £80,000 grant from the National Lottery’s emergency Community Fund - set up to support organisations hit by Covid 19.
The funding has come as a massive relief to chief executive and co-founder Marie Fisher, who reopened Jump Space this week.
“That basically gives us a six month buffer to try and get us back on the rails. It’s by no means saved us, but it gives us a fighting chance,” she said.
“It was a big relief, we were literally at the point of saying ‘if this funding doesn’t come through, we are not even going to try and open the doors’. At least now we have a chance of making a fight of it.”
But while Stockport has been released from the more stringent ‘local lockdown’ measures imposed last month, national restrictions still pose difficulties for centres like Jump Space.
Marie says the centre will be operating at 50pc capacity for the foreseeable future.
She said: “We are still going to have low numbers and won’t be operating at full steam. The next six months give us a chance to see if we can survive. I’m trying not to be too enthusiastic and say ‘yes, it’s saved’ but it gives us a lifeline, that’s the bottom line.”
New measures have been put in place in order to keep the facility safe and ensure social distancing.
These include moving the trampolines so there is more space between each one and the removal of the soft-play equipment.
A new cleaning regime has also been put in place, pathways have been changed to ensure social distancing and hand gel is available throughout the building. Numbers have also been cut back so no more than two members of staff are working at the same time.
“There’s nothing more we can do now other than try it,” said Marie.
Stockport’s release from local lockdown - which put further restrictions on people socialising indoors - has been a welcome development for Jump Space, as have the consistently low infection rates.
But the experience of boroughs such as Bolton and Trafford - where cases spiked even before they were officially released from restrictions - underlines how volatile the situation can be.
Marie says things will need to continue to move in the right direction if the centre is to make it through the pandemic.
“We need to see it getting back as near to normal as possible - and for the confidence of people to come back,” she said.
And she adds that, as schools go back, the next six weeks could be a crucial time.
“How schools get on will determine quite a lot, whether people feel happy to return,” she said.
“If we can keep everybody safe in the next six weeks we are showing people we can control our environment and that will hopefully build confidence in people.
“It’s not gone away. It’s just going to be about how sensible people are and how we can deal with situations as they arise. We are still not in control of what happens next - it only takes one incident and you can be back to ‘square one’.”
However, should Stockport suffer a setback over the coming months, the £80k grant could provide an invaluable buffer against the inevitable financial hit.
Marie added: “Say something happens and we had to close with a local lockdown - or a case somewhere meant we were tracked and traced - we have a chance of getting through that now and reopening.
“Before, we would be praying nothing happened, because if it did we would struggle to come back from it.”
Jump Space was founded twelve years ago by Marie and Lynsey Mcintosh, who both have an extensive background in coaching trampolining.
The pair initially operated in local leisure centres and schools but growing demand for their activities led them to open the current Jump Space centre in 2010.
Jump Space’s primary client group is children and young people with disabilities and their families, but anyone is welcome to take part in their classes.
The charity’s patron is Manchester City legend Paul Lake.