I am thinking about starting a childrens' after school cookery class...any advice?

[bobkate]

As the header says...I have been mulling this over for a few weeks/months and think it could work, other than the fact I have no business experience, no skills to create a website and can't find much info on the net as to what I would need to do beforehand.
Wondered if there's anyone who could offer some pointers.
I am dbs checked ( work as a ta in a primary school), love cooking and watching kids cook. My daughter loves to help me cook which is where the idea came from.
I live in an area where I am 95% sure there would be regular demand...and there's no one else offering this locally that I have found.
I believe I would need a food hygiene level 2 certificate and public liability insurance.
I was thinking of potentially two age groups to begin with, 7-9 and 9-11, with the sessions running term time for an hour and a half. Any advice on what to charge? Equipment and ingredients would be provided. It would be run from my kitchen at home. There is plenty of space for 4, maybe 5 children to work around the island.
I would do mainly savoury, with some sweet things.
Other questions...
Do I need a hygiene rating and any ideas how I would go about doing that? Google has not been my friend for research purposes.
Would I need to register the business somewhere? Do I need a business bank account or just a separate personal account?
If there's anyone out there who could offer any advice, big or small, it would be appreciated.
Many thanks, if you managed to get to the end of that ramble!

[MaidenMotherCrone]

Brilliant idea Op.

First Aid Course would be helpful.

A folder each with a printed recipe for each dish and printed method with step by step pics too.

I think £20 per class as it includes ingredients.

Printed aprons with your logo, available to buy would also be good. Branding, branding, branding!

[Whathappenedtothelego]

My Dd did one for a while and loved it. I think it was part of a franchise.

We paid termly, cost included the ingredients, and they got a printed recipe card each week. It was in a hall, and they never actually went into the kitchen, which was a separate room, they prepared the food but didn't go near the oven at all.
We were given everything in little aluminium containers, which were also used to cook the things in. Less sustainable, but I don't know how you would hand over a hot metal baking dish. And it might be difficult to decant each person's into a plastic box.

[Parttimewasteoftime]

It's a great idea OP mine would love this bake off obsessed 🎂
Lucky our school runs one right after school no charge not sure I be happy to have my DS in someone else's house with her kids hanging out elsewhere.

[SunnySomer]

Wow, I think £20 per class is a LOT. I used to do one that was very slightly subsided- and on a voluntary basis at school so no profit reqd that was about £3.50 per session. But I guess if it’s a business it’s about profitability...
Things I learned: check religious reqts (eg halal meat), fill time with activities- lots of children who will love cooking may very well hate writing. When we made curry we filled our cooking time by making homemade stovetop naan breads for example.
Typical tasting activities were: every type of English apple I could get in the greengrocers and seeing what the differences were; looking at raw/cooked potatoes of about 4-5 different types and working out which would be best for chips/baked/roast/boiled/salad etc.
Washing up is a critical skill that they need to learn. (But you May need to do it again after they’ve gone home).
Think carefully about the kind of kit you want them to use. I personally think you hurt yourself more trying to cut things with a blunt knife than with a sharp knife and it’s important to learn to use a sharp knife properly. I know other people profoundly disagree. If you have tiny groups it is easier to be sure the children are handling kit carefully- but you still need to be eagle-eyed.
Best of luck, sounds a really exciting venture!

[bobkate]

Thanks maidenmother...yes, first aid course is a great idea. Adds to list! And love your other points. Meeting a friend who is great at marketing, something I would not have a clue about, and hopefully she can guide me also. Love the apron idea if this thing takes off.
whathappened I would hope to teach them how to use an oven safely as I think these are the skills that need to be taught. Obvs not until I have decided they are sensible enough! I would have to try and source the best option for the takeaway part. The recipe cards and files are great ideas too.

parttime would you mind expanding on your doubt about having my kids being about elsewhere in the house while it happens? Just so that I can see whether it's a potential sticking point. Thanks!

[senua]

I believe I would need a food hygiene level 2 certificate and public liability insurance.
As well as getting yourself certified, do you need to get your kitchen approved too?
www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/food-safety-inspections-and-enforcement

[jemimafuddleduck]

Great idea.
You'll need to register with your local council as a food business, I think. I would definitely contact them.

If they say you need to register, you can't trade until you are fully set up with them. They'll need to come out and inspect your kitchen and will assess you and your procedures around food safety.

They're particularly hot on allergies and record keeping (eg what's in date, fridge and freezer temps etc)

[bobkate]

Firstly, thanks to all who have helped so far. Just 'talking' this through on here has been a massive help.
sunnysomer thanks for all your points. I also think £20 might be too much but once I have worked out the logistics and whether I think this can work, I think I'll canvass opinion locally with regards to price and work it out then. We are located within a reasonably affluent area so it would be interesting to see what the outcome of that would be!
Love the activity ideas. Yes to absolutely washing up ( even if it does have to be redone after ). This would be done no matter what, by all. Also tidy workstations...cleaning up around them throughout the session.
Hadn't thought of the religious possibilities so thank you for that.
And yes, absolutely to learning how to use sharp knives properly and safely. Blunt knives are rubbish, and as you say often cause more problems.
Thanks again!

[averythinline]

how would you manage going to the door and letting them in if the others are in the kitchen? H&S will be a real concern-
what time would the lessons be- when would your family etc eat.....If I was paying I wouldnt necessarily want othr kids hanging around..
any adult in the house will need DBS

you will be best off with a seperate bank account - i used tide it was easy and works off app - just makes it easier to keep accounts
you will need a tax code for inland revenue returns

I would plan your menu for the year - maybe seasonally with options for meat/veggie and vegan! and maybe tweak adapt to families/childs wishes as you go....

as a parent I would prefer you to provide the takeway containers as you will know quantities etc...

if you need to buy kit keep receipts for that and all ingredients +marketing stuff etc make sure you do it as you go along...

def stuff to do whilst cooking - maybe make their own books

would you do holiday stuff as well....?

[Gingerkittykat]

I don't know how comfortable I would be having a class like that at someone's home as opposed to a business premises. Would you need health and safety assessments and risk assessments? What about a separate sink for handwashing?

[bobkate]

senua and jemima thanks. I did think I would probably need something like this so that's another thing to find out how to get.
These suggestions are all so helpful, thank you.
I wouldn't start properly trading until I knew everything was covered and above board. I may do a few trial runs, no charge obvs, with friend's kids to see what needs altering/adjusting anyway.

[lljkk]

My kids would only be interested in baking, not cooking.

[bobkate]

averythinline thanks for your points.
My front door is next to the kitchen so I don't think that would be a problem but it's a good point as you don't know the house layout!
I was thinking the sessions ( I would potentially start with only 2 a week ) would run from 4 to either 5 or 5.30. My kids are old enough to be up in their rooms doing homework/or watching telly in my room and they are good kids. Is your concern that they would be annoying and interrupt or something else? My husband would also get a dbs in case he was about. He's a fireman and so does shift work so potentially would be about occassionally so that's a good shout. ( no pun intended )

gingerkittycat I presume I would need to comply with certain health and safety rules, a bit like a childminder would when they look after kids at home. I do have a sink in the utility room that could be the handwashing one but can they not just use the kitchen sink? I get that they would need to use a different towel for drying hands to wiping dishes, etc. Is a separate sink for handwashing a requirement? These are all great questions and things that need to be sorted and worked out. Thanks.
Might have a word with my friends who are childminders as I know they do cooking and are sticklers for following all the necessary rules. They should be able to advise me on some of these points.

[BeardedMum]

My friend did this a few years ago but they were two people doing it together.
I think they were quite successful and they also did cooking birthday parties.

Personally I don’t think I would use it as I prefer to cook with my children myself.

[bobkate]

lljkk thanks....it would be advertised as a cookery class, that covers as many aspects of cooking as I can manage, as opposed to a baking class so hopefully I wouldn't have anyone disappointed on that score. I think I would get bored just doing baking each week and its more the skills I am keen to help develop and to encourage an enjoyment of cooking.

[senua]

You need to do costings. If you are only running 2 sessions a week for 4~5 DC at a time you are not going to make much money. It will be a big intrusion into the family home and a lot of hassle for not much income.

[bobkate]

Thanks beardedmum. I, too, love cooking with my kids which is why I also wouldn't send them to a class as we cook together quite a lot. However I am convinced there is a gap for this locally and I am keen to see.
Worst case.scenario.......If it all goes wrong and no one signs up then I'll donate the equipment to the local primary and be well versed in food hygiene and first aid

[RhubarbFizz]

My child has done this - a group comes to their school, so handy for childcare! Think was about £10, and it included a foil type container. Sometimes it had to be cooked at home which was ok, had recipe card too so could make again. Only sweet stuff made the half-term my child did it, which appealed to him! One hour long.

[bobkate]

senua I'm not tooòo bothered at the start with how much income I generate but appreciate the point with regards to family upheaval. And I agree I do need to do costings. I am by no means going to rush in hence the appreciation of all the points on this post.
I think I see this as a bit of a let's start with one or two classes and see how they go ( I may do the trial sessions and decide it's a crappy idea! And scrap before I've even started) or I may start at 2 classes and as the kids get even older add more.
Would potentially consider doing some in the holidays but only if I get myself well established so that would be after a fair while.

[Whattodowithaminute]

My ds attend an after school class hosted at school, I font think I would bother if I needed to collect and drop off at someone’s house. They take from Y1 I think, £13 a session for 1.5hrs. All ingredients and containers provided. Enough good for 1 pud so we all share a small amount. Soup, pizza, desserts so far. Recipe card given at the end of each session. They fill their time by decorating the container/brown bag etc. That also offer holiday clubs and children’s parties which might be worth considering too. I know nothing about the regulatory side.

[AliMonkey]

DD went to afterschool cooking classes at her primary school for a few years, we paid £6 for an hour each week (think about 15 children at a time). As lots of things take more than an hour due to cooking time, often what happened was that the woman running it made a batch up to a certain point, then the kids took that and completed it, put it in the oven then they started a new batch. Meant they got to practise the whole thing, didn't have much hanging around time but also get a completed one to take home. So eg they made bread so started with some already proved dough, kneaded etc, shaped, put in oven, then they started making dough from scratch. At the end, they had the cooked one and the "half made" one they could take home and finish if wanted.

The same woman ran holiday courses in the local church hall and ran smaller courses from home. DD later went on a teenager/DofE course at her home where they did 2 hours for £15 each, with I think 5-6 teenagers. She also ran children's cooking parties (mostly pizza/baking), adult cooking parties (often making chocs etc) and "learn to cook before you go to uni" courses.

I do think the costs of getting started (eg having six of every piece of equipment, first aid course, hygiene certificate, etc) would only be justifiable if you intended to do more than 1-2 courses a week.

If DD hadn't done the one at school, not sure I'd have been happy her going to the home of a stranger. So you might want to think about getting your name out there by running one in a school first. On other hand, as you are a TA then you may have a ready crowd of people who already know and trust you so not an issue.

By the way, DBS can be transferable - most organisations won't accept a DBS from another organisation but they can do so would have thought you might be OK on that front - but obviously do check!

[bobkate]

rhubarbfizz thanks. That was the amount I had floating around in my head... £10/hr or £15/1.5hrs. But would canvas opinion on that first locally.

Oooh so much to ponder

[MrsJoshNavidi]

You might have to do a safeguarding course as well. I think anyone who works or volunteers with children has to do one these days.

[WellTidy]

I pay £25 per two hour session for 11 yo DS to go to a cooking class at someone’s home. Up to 8 children can attend, we pay per class in advance. They make a savoury fish, which they eat there as their dinner, and a sweet dish to bring home. The organiser also runs private parties at weekends and does lots of extra classes during school holidays. She provides everything including apron, receptacle to bring the food home and recipe cards to bring home.

She also does duke of Edinburgh classes for older children.

Ds absolutely loves it. We are in the south east, but within the m25, if that helps with pricing.

[SinkGirl]

Ask your local council. I used to teach cupcake classes (to adults, not kids) and I didn’t need any inspections of my home where I was preparing the food - I hired an event room in a local hotel for the actual classes. If you need additional oven space I used to take a rollergrill catering oven to my classes which was really useful and will fit on your counter.