My Town Rocks doubles down on support for families during lockdown

Helping families navigate lockdown life

As schools, attractions and many community activities temporarily closed during the pandemic, families suddenly found themselves spending far more time at home.

Websites across the My Town Rocks network have adapted quickly, sharing ideas for indoor activities, creative play, home learning inspiration and safe outdoor walks families could enjoy locally.

The sites also kept parents informed about which businesses were operating, which services remained available and how residents could support their local communities during an extremely challenging time.

From the article: 

A mother saw that at the start of the lockdown many parents, including herself, were struggling to find things for children to do online.
As places started shutting down quickly due to the pandemic, many organisations went to offer services online where they could.

Due to the overwhelming amount available Laura adapted her website for parents to be able to access interactive, engaging content for children including live classes and lessons .

Laura said: “When schools, parks and venues began closing it became tough to fill the days with the kids restless at home.
”At the same time, lots of organisations and individuals were starting to share and run some really brilliant, imaginative and fun things online.”

Website sections included 'Visit from Home', 'Online Shows', 'Resources and Classes', and parents can sort by start time, category and age.

Laura said: “I hope it’s an easy to use, fast way for people to find fun and educational things to do together at home without having to spend hours trawling the internet. Around 90 per cent of what is on the website is free to do.

“Our favourite listings at home are the daily live safaris, Junior Jungle coffee break rave, drawing classes and Makaton car songs - there’s around 200 ideas on there and it’s growing all the time"

A growing network supporting local communities

Cheltenham Rocks originally launched to help parents quickly find family-friendly events, classes and places to visit in the local area.

Over time the idea grew into the wider My Town Rocks network, with locally run websites appearing in towns across the UK. Each site focuses on sharing trusted local knowledge and helping families discover activities close to home.

During lockdown, that local focus became even more important as families looked for nearby green spaces, simple activities and ways to stay connected with their communities.

The community support provided by Cheltenham Rocks and the rest of the My Town Rocks network during the pandemic was recognised in coverage by Gloucestershire Live, which highlighted how the website helped families navigate the unusual circumstances of lockdown life.

The article explored how a local mum’s idea to create a simple guide for parents had grown into a widely used online resource for family activities.

Read more on Gloucestershire Live: Mum from Cheltenham creates website so families can access online activities for children

Helping families rediscover their communities

As restrictions began to ease, the My Town Rocks websites continued to support families by highlighting reopening businesses, local attractions and safe places to visit.

The aim remained the same: making it easy for parents to find great things to do with their children while supporting local communities and independent businesses.

Explore Cheltenham Rocks to find family-friendly events, activities and ideas for days out in Cheltenham and the surrounding area.

My Town Rocks in the media

My Town Rocks and its local websites have also appeared in national media and community initiatives.

• My Town Rocks founder appears on BBC News
• Coventry Rocks mentioned on the Parenting Hell podcast
• Coventry Rocks founder nominated as Lady Godiva during Coventry Moves