art club for kids - do you think this is a good idea and how much would you pay if you did?

[jeangenie]

I am a qualified artist but work outside of that field 4 days a week. I have been thinking about reducing the hours I put into my (very noncreative) job and trying to build a bit more creative time into my week. I can't afford to totally give up my salary though so have been thinking about setting up some kind of afterschool art club for primary students in order to bridge the gap. It's something I'd love to do and I have just been approached by a mum at school who is very eager to get her daughter doing something like this one day after school and knew I had been thinking about it. I am tempted to try it out for a while between now and half term, maybe just with a my friends daughter and couple of other kids (if I can get them) to see how we go.

anyway,

1. is this something you/your kids would be interested in do you think?
2. how much would you think was reasonable to pay for a 1.5 to 2 hour session per week with all materials included?

I'd appreciate all inputs

thanks

There is a class like that around here..I think it's about £3-4 (for an hour, I think), it is highly recommended by other Mom's but clashes with DS1's swim class.

I think you'll be inundated tbh.

Are you anywhere near Bromley? My dd is always wanting to do modelling or painting and so often we don't any suitable materials or I don't have the inclination to clean up the mess. I'd pay up to a £5 a time to be honest.

I think it's a great idea, would you do it in the school grounds and would you include materials?
Am not really sure about the charge for something like that because we're rural so it would be different scale. But certainly if the dcs enjoyed it, I would pay whatever the rate was.
(How are you btw?)

JG, I know where we live there is something called mucky pups which is an art club.

I found it by looking on all4kidsuk.com

May give you some guidance re prices etc?

Just re-read and realised that you mean a schoolage and I am talking about a pre-school art class, still I think it would be popular.

we go to an excellent art club. it's for pre-schoolers mostly, but we can take our older children in the holidays (it's run by mums & they understand!). there are 2 projects to do, generally seasonal (e.g. thank you cards & calendars last week), then snacks, then more creative stuff (e.g. playdough, sand tray) & then singing at the end. there are also easels set up for children to go off & do their own thing, a big play area for the tiny babies & a small soft play area. the building is in an adventure playground which the children can run around & let off steam afterwards.

it's marvellous! dd (2.5) loves it, i have been going since ds was the same age & he's 6 now. we still have stuff he made there. it's surestart funded & costs us 50p, even better. i have made good friends there.

hth.

Yes we have a pre school art club here, don't know what she charges per session, I never went. But she charged term in front, so you had to pay up front iirc.

My dd's would love something like that.

I would say that £4-5 a session was reasonable.

thanks (RH - am fine thanks, and you? what you got on your hook atm?)

I'd consider doing a pre-school one also in the mornings, that'd be fun - carers would have to stay though but I guess that'd be normal. That one would be shorter - about 45 mins I'd say

am thinking of starting at home but maybe moving to renting space if it worked out. Will ask teh school tomorrow if is something they'd consider letting me do there.

I don't think it'd be worth my while for £4-5 per two hour session though, with cost of materials and maybe renting somewhere too. Although term time payment up front might make it make a bit more sense. Could do pre-school (45 mins) for that I guess

wil continue to mull over and will look at that link you gave sol, thanks

I am in London, we pay £7 a session for a 45 minute singalong around these parts!

meant to put a after that comment about the price of music classes by the way!

any of the morning crew havd anything to add?

jeangenie, I personally think preschool might be more successful. It's just that most of the schools round our way(Kent) have an after school Art club that's run by a teacher and is free.

that's interesting - I don't think there is anything at our school (rather surprisingly) which is why this mum is keen for me to set one up. I will check - thanks

I do one, we charge about £4 for an hour but book in terms at a time, so we know how many children we have to cater for. Children love it but it involves alot of home prep which is fine if you can motivate yourself to do it.

They're very successful, you could approach some primaries and ask if they need one. Remeber you'll have to get the relevant crb checks etc and know what paperwork you'll have to have.

ds goes to an after school crafts club, run by 2 teachers and 2 parents (1 is me !) - it is quite popular, especially with girls, in fact ds is only boy in class at present. The next few weeks will be spent making Venetian masks.. we don't pay btw for the sessions. I think theu'd be popular - especially in holidays - there is one nr where I used to live - will see if I can find it anywhere...

sorry - can't find it or remember it's name but it was on Upper Richmond Rd in East Sheen.

My sister is an artist and has MS so can't work regularly. She has set up doing private lessons at home, she has a mixture of clients including adults but one area I hadn't thought of that she has got into is helping kids prepare portfolios for applying for art based burseries at local private schools. I think parents pay similar rates to what they would for tutoring in more traditional subjects.

approach a local arts centre with a proposal and you may find they will work with you and help you to get funding

I ran kids workshops for a few years when I worked at an arts centre. We charged £6 for a 2/3 hour session.

If you have more than say 5 kids you will really need some help...

oh this is great guys - thanks so much

good idea Enid about approaching an arts centre - believe it or not we don't have one nearby - which is why I think this would be good (I have fleeting dream sof setting one up though!!!)
XTC - £4 an hour sounds about right - I was thinking maybe 8 for a two hour session (that's what I pay for DD1's afternoon in after school club which doesn't have much to do in it) -CRB checks would be ok - no idea what paperwork I'd need - how did you go about all that
initially I was thinking of fewer than 6 to a class so that sounds about right on my own (with older kids anyway)
the prep work would be ok - I think I'd like it (I get quite obsessive about anything art and crafty!)
geogteach - I did think about portfolio preparation - I'd love to do that as I remember preparing my own - would you mind asking your sis what she does charge as I have no idea what standard tutor fees might be...
MAS - great that you do one yourself - is it in the school?

gotta go for lunch now - will check in later , this is so helpful

We go to a pre-school art class. The sessions are on hour long (45 mins art activities, 15 mins snack, drink and story at the end). Think it costs about £6 per session (includes all materials) but we pay termly.

I'm employed by the local authority so get ongoing training. For my club though I have do basic record keeping (contact names, addresses, allergy information etc) and first aid. But I have roughly 25 children at each club and have two fantastic artists who work with me too.

I'm sure that if your club is over 2 hours you have to be ofsted registered too, so maybe do just under?

You could ask your local council if they have any advice but they do cream off the majority of the profit .

yes, it is in the school - I've only recently started helping with it, though ds has been going for a couple of years - the children love it !

this all sounds do-able
muffinMcclay - who runs your class and how many kids attend do you think? where is it held? (if you don't mind me asking!) I am just trying to get as many ideas as I can so I can work out a plan, maybe for mid term or next term

am feeling quite excited now!

DD does art club Saturday mornings. It is pottery for one hour and then other art stuff for an hour (varies - painting,making Xmas decorations etc). It is £5 (including basic materials) for the 2 hours but is regarded as very cheap and has waiting list. I think parents would probably be willing to pay more but they dont want to exclude anyone who cant pay more.
Class size is large though: about 10. In addition to the art person in charge, they have a volunteer helper (parents on a rota basis) who also sorts out drinks/snacks etc (parents have to pay small charge for these or they bring their own).