It is great news that we are going to start opening our leisure centres from Monday. A huge amount of preparation has taken place over the past few months to get ready for reopening with a host of changes in place to ensure public safety. There will be a phased reopening and the first four centres to open will be Harvey Hadden Sports Village, Nottingham Tennis Centre, Southglade Leisure Centre and Clifton Leisure Centre. To begin with the four centres will be open for ?dry activities? and over the coming weeks the rest of the centres and swimming pools will also be opening up. Visitors can expect some changes to opening time, activities and facilities when they return. These changes have been introduced to ensure everyone?s safety. Before embarking on your first return visit please read further guidance on the phased reopening of leisure centres

Fitness is an important aspect of wellbeing, and providing safe facilities for exercise is more important now than ever before. Over the lockdown period, outdoor spaces have been a lifeline and people have positively embraced new activities. However, I know that many of us will be looking forward to returning to our regular activities and our staff are looking forward to welcoming visitors back.?

For members not yet comfortable visiting centres, or who want to join a popular class, Active Nottingham Live ? fitness classes streamed live, are still running their introductory programme.

The next edition of the Arrow is now out. To save money we are trialling a digital Arrow ? so it won?t be delivered through your doors but if you prefer a paper copy, they?ll be available in libraries from Monday 3 August. The Nottingham Arrow is the City Council?s magazine for residents. It?s published four times a year and gives you all the latest news and information about your council and your city.

The latest edition is available here Arrow Summer 2020 Sign up here, to receive the latest issue straight to your inbox!

With Nottingham schools breaking up this week I would like to highlight one of the many ways that Nottingham people have stepped up to the challenge that this pandemic and lockdown has brought.

It has not been easy ? schools had very short notice about lockdown but they have delivered remote learning and ensured provision continued for those children who needed to be in school. I would like to thank everyone who helped to make this happen: head teachers, teachers, teaching assistants ? not forgetting all the other unsung heroes that work behind the scenes to keep our schools running. Parents and carers have faced the challenge of home schooling alongside other family and work commitments. These have been unprecedented times, but I am proud of the way our city has responded. Everyone really has played a part in getting us through these difficult times.

Planning is well under way for schools to reopen to all year groups when the new academic year starts in September. We will continue to support head teachers to ensure schools are ready for pupils to return safely at this time.

Find out more Council Leader praises schools, parents and pupils as the academic year ends

Nottingham libraries are kicking off the summer holidays with a special School's Out Fun Day for the whole family to enjoy! It?s all happening through Facebook on Monday (27 July) with a great line up for you to enjoy - from storytelling and illustrating to music!

Find out more School's Out Fun Day

This weekend sees the annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community with a line-up of performers and interviews ? all from the comfort of your own home. The festival takes place tomorrow (Saturday) from 7pm to 9pm. Find out more at Notts Pride Online