The Association of Indoor Play (AIP) stands united with its Scottish members and all Scottish indoor play operators in calling out what has been an extremely unfair and unjustified 14 month period of closure based on no evidence.
The prolonged closure of indoor further play puts at risk children's development and the long term scarring of children from the pandemic.
There have been no outbreaks of COVID-19 in any setting in the other three nations of the United Kingdom, which have all allowed indoor play to reopen. The recent rhetoric from the Scottish Health Minister is worrying due to its lack of evidence and has been called out by many health professionals and public health experts as being untrue.
However, these recent comments about soft play by the Health Minister give an insight into the evidence being considered by the Scottish government as completely unjustified and discriminatory towards children.
AIP calls on the Scottish government to end this madness now and let children enjoy their equivalent of a gym.
Press Enquiries:
Andrew Newton
Email: Relations@associationofindoorplay.org - Tel: 07799 888 941
About AIP
The Association of Indoor Play (AIP) is a not for profit organisation set up to be the voice of the Indoor Play Sector. It was formed in 2020 by a group of seasoned national indoor softplay providers with over 150 years of combined indoor play experience between them with the aim of creating a specific and targeted vehicle to represent the smaller operators in this specialised sector. The overriding aims of the association are to raise the profile of the benefits of indoor play with the public and the Government, to raise the standards and reward excellence within the industry and to have a community where operators can discuss issues and access core industry information.
The indoor play sector, welcomes 60 million children visits for indoor play, role play and baby sensory, and has been one of industry hardest hit by the pandemic, with Centres only allowed to open for 12 weeks in total since March last year. Indoor playcentres are recognised as a cornerstone to children’s social and physical development, provides support with the mental health of parents and children and is a stepping-stone in socialisation.