Recreational therapists: booking group sessions with places

Run activity-based group sessions with a set number of places that families, carers and participants book online: a weekly games group for children, a gardening group for adults, a memory and music session in a community room. Create one service per group, set places to what the activity and the room allow, and say in the description who the group is for, what happens in a session and what to bring. Participants book a place in the right group, sessions never take more people than you can support, and you know who is coming before you set up the room.

A sensory play group for young children and a board games group for older adults need different rooms, materials and pacing. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity.

Durations and places are examples: set your own, and state your fees in the description of each service.

Set each session's places from the support participants need, the space and the materials: fewer places for a group where each person needs close attention, more for a social activity. When a session is full, it leaves your page, so families choose another group or date rather than arriving to a full room. If a colleague or volunteer joins for a session, you can raise the places for that date.

Some groups work best with the same people each week, others welcome newcomers at any session. Say which in the description.

Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date, so set the end date to the last session of the cycle. Each slot sits within one day, so a cycle is a series of weekly slots, not one long booking.

The booking form takes first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that reaches you in the new booking email and appears in the booker's calendar file. Each online booking takes one place. Since the note appears in the calendar file, ask in the description for practical information only, such as the participant's first name if a parent or carer books, mobility or access needs and any equipment to bring, and collect health details through your own intake process.

A care home, day centre or school may want a group session for its residents or pupils. Create a separate service with one place per slot, so the organisation books the whole session, and ask in the note for the number of participants and the contact person on site. Book doesn't take payments, so say how organisations are invoiced.

Check your bookings list the day before to prepare materials for the right number of people, and print a register for the session. If you work in someone else's room, such as a community hall, set slots to include setting up and clearing away.

Participants can't move or cancel bookings online: they contact you, and you move them to another session or cancel from your bookings list. If you cancel a session, cancel the bookings and tell each participant yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Say in the description how much notice you need when someone can't come, so you can offer the place to someone who asked for one.

Put the booking link on your website, in referral letters to schools and care teams, and on flyers at community centres. Families who are referred can then choose a group and a date without a phone call.

Your bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars, so group sessions sit alongside your individual sessions and home visits. Slots of different services can overlap, so check that you're not open for a home visit during a group session. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.