You may have noticed some changes we’ve made to security and access at The Place.
One of the concerns we have heard from adult participants and from parents and carers is that our building can feel very open, with people able to enter and move around without always being checked.
Being an open and welcoming building has been an important part of The Place for 50 years, and we want that to continue. But we also recognise that, in a busy central London building used by children, young people, adults, artists, students and audiences, we need to have greater control over who can access different areas and when.
We have therefore introduced the first phase of a new building access and security system.
What has changed?
New access-controlled doors around the building mean that members of the public who do not have a reason to be on site can no longer move freely through areas used by participants, students and staff.
We can also now control and secure our main entrance directly from Reception when needed, giving our team greater oversight of who is entering the building and allowing us to respond quickly if a situation requires it.
Together, these changes give us much greater control over access to the building while allowing The Place to remain welcoming to the many different people who use it every day.
What does this mean for your classes?
Your experience of attending classes at The Place should remain largely unchanged. You do not need a staff or student access card to attend your class.
Please ask at reception for the access codes to the changing rooms. Please keep these codes for the use of participants only and do not share them more widely. We will change door codes more frequently, at least once per term.
If you have any difficulty getting to the space you need, please speak to Reception or a member of the Classes & Courses team.
Using the café
We know that many of our participants use the café before and after classes to work, meet others or simply spend time at The Place. If you haven’t been able to access the café this week, please be assured that this was temporary while we are introducing the system. Going forward, you can access the cafe by using the corridor on the right past the female changing space rather than the office corridor on the left which will now be card entry only. Please follow the signage or ask at reception if you feel unclear.
You are of course still welcome to purchase food and drink from our café. The opening times are 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri, term time.
What happens next?
Your feedback has been important in bringing about these changes, and it will continue to be important as we develop the next phase. Please let us know if something isn’t working well or if the new arrangements create an unexpected barrier to taking part. You can always speak to us or reach us by email at classes@theplace.org.uk