And children LOVE cooking, right?

Yet, only 10 % of parents admit to having the time, energy or skills to cook regularly with their children at home.

 

Schools, children’s centres and nurseries are under pressure to promote healthy lifestyles to families, and demand for community cookery classes for children and families has never been so high.

Our framework will guide you through the process of planning and launching your cookery classes in the community, whether purely for profit or using a social enterprise/not for profit business model.

Since 2004, we've developed a range of innovative programmes which meet this growing demand, and offer support and empowerment to families, children and teenagers in their local communities. These include after school cookery clubs, weaning and fussy eater courses, toddler and school cooking classes, healthy lunchbox workshops, holiday cookery camps, cookery birthday parties, and student survival courses among many others.

You could earn £200 - £300 per 2 hour cookery workshop, based on our average workshop costs, and gain endless job satisfaction knowing you are addressing the health and wellness challenges many families face today, whilst still having time to commit to you home and family life. 

 

THE ORGANIC COOKERY SCHOOL BUSINESS ACADEMY AND LICENSED TUTOR TRAINING

The only toolkit you need to set up and launch your ethical children’s cookery business without months of research and spending a fortune on local advertising

Even

if you aren’t a qualified teacher, nutritionist or experienced chef

And

You need a flexible training solution which will fit around your home life, family or studies.

 

 

Maybe you’re a confident home cook who loves getting busy with her kids in the kitchen and you dream of a flexible part-time business that works around your family.

Perhaps you already work in teaching or adult education but are frustrated but long work hours, continuous paperwork and monitoring,  and long to bring back creativity and fun to your working day.

Or you’re a nurse, health visitor or healthcare professional looking for a new challenge in cookery and health promotion but scared of stepping out into the unknown.

Maybe you are studying or  already working in nutrition or complementary health and  need a framework to launch a practical cookery school offer that complements your existing business offer.

 

It’s a sad fact that On average, over half of new Education, Health and Recreation based businesses fail within their first five years (Source: Office of National Statistics), which is why we’ve put together The Community Cookery School Business Academy.

 

This is the only framework which will guide you through the process of planning and launching your cookery classes in the community, whether purely for profit or using a social enterprise/not for profit business model.

 

It’s a prerequisite for becoming a licensed Organic Cookery School ™ tutor and leaves no stone unturned if you are serious about running a successful community cookery school.

 

NEXT COURSE COMMENCES 1ST JANUARY 2023

We are currently updating this programme post pandemic. Additional modules will include opportunities to expand your business teaching online and developing your community-based business post-pandemic.

Email academy@organiccookeryschool.org to join the waiting list or hold your place with a £195 deposit, refundable before 1st November 2022.

 

Cookery classes focusing on healthy, natural produce tick so many boxes for addressing the health and wellbeing challenges that many families face today.

 
 

Children who cook are more likely to:
 

 

Spend less time in front of a screen

 
 

Have better attention spans

 

EAT NEW OR UNFAMILIAR FOODS

 

CRAVE LESS JUNK AND PROCESSED FOODS.

The Organic Cookery School ™  Business Academy gives you the tools to launch classes under your own brand, or graduate and join our team of licensed tutors delivering a range of programs from weaning through to teenagers and young people. There’s no limit or restriction on where or how many services you offer  and no ongoing management fees or royalties payable. You are 100% in control of your profits.

And you are supporting an ethical business model that invests over 20% of profits back into free community projects for the most vulnerable families in our communities.

 

 
 

The average spend for a child’s birthday party in the UK (ages 4 - 10 years) is £320, and over 50% will regularly spend £500 on their children’s birthday party activities.


Cookery classes and holiday camps are perceived as premium value educational classes by parents, not least for the range of skills taught but also offering guilt-free child care solutions for working parents

 
 
 

Organic Cookery School ™  after school classes average a minimum 1.5 hours and day camps between 3 and 6 hours increasing perceived value to parents who need wrap around care after school or in the school holidays.

 
 
 

We’ll show you ways to add value through voluntary registration with Ofsted and/or acceptance of childcare vouchers, giving eligible parents to the opportunity to claim back class fees through Child Tax Credit (childcare element) or benefit from tax breaks for working parents.

 

No matter where you live, there is a market for high quality educational activities and we will show you how to build relationships with schools and childcare providers and get your cookery classes booked out for months ahead.

 

1

You don’t know where to start.

It’s overwhelming when you start planning out your business idea - what classes should I offer? how much can I charge? what’s the best way to advertise?

We’ll walk you through our framework to evidence need, price your services and get your classes under the nose of parents in your target market.

2

You have a plan but don’t know how to reach out to schools, children’s centres and community partners.

It takes time to build credibility and contacts within schools, and confidence to stand out against all the other organisations pitching to get the attention of headteachers and senior management staff. Follow the guidance in our marketing and networking module and build your credibility as the local go to expert for children's food education.

3

You’re breaking out in a sweat at the thought of all the legalities and safeguarding procedures you need to get in place.

It took us 6 months to research and complete due diligence BEFORE we ran a single class (and that’s as experienced teachers and educational consultants). Our module on legal and statutory requirements, provides a detailed checklist of everything you need (and don’t need).  And by the way, we update these policies and procedures EVERY YEAR, so all licensed Organic Cookery Tutor ™ will get access to updates and additions, as well as our branded policy templates and legal docs.

4

You feel overwhelmed with where to begin.

We offer a 10 module course, with an actionable step by step process to:

  • identify your niche market
  • get your legal templates and policies sorted
  • create a waiting list of schools and children’s centres ready to work with you
  • plan your marketing, networking and financial plan for the first 6 months
  • establish ways you can give back to your community plan for growth

5

You don’t have the time, money or inclination to research all this stuff.

You want to focus on creating and delivering your cookery classes and you want to get started ASAP.

 

 
 

Questions to consider when choosing a children's cookery franchise or license.

How long has the organisation been running?

Long enough to weather changing funding priorities in the education sector and dips in consumer confidence? Check their business plan is robust enough to give you the confidence to put all your eggs in THEIR basket.

How diverse is their offer and is there a natural upsell as children grow older?

The Organic Cookery School ™ model offer families the following progression routes, and as a licensed tutor you can choose which specialisms you want to offer within your business:  
 
 
cooking for baby beetroot and sweet potato puree.jpg

Cooking for Baby

Courses for parents with babies aged 6 months +

Food Explorers

Practical cookery and toddler nutrition classes for families with children aged 12 months to 4 years

organic cookery school5.jpg

Little Foodies

Toddler cooking classes (2-4 years)

Cooking with the Kids/Cooking with dad

Parent/child classes from 2 years - 13 years
 

organiccookeryschool-kidslovetocook.jpg

Birthday parties/weekend classes and holiday camps

Ages 6-16 years
 

After school cookery clubs

Ages 5-16 years
 

organic-cookery-school6.jpg

Healthy Lunchbox workshops

For families with children aged 4-11 years
 

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Cookery Skills Courses and Jamie Oliver Home Cooking Skills BTEC

Ages 14-21 years

JAMIE OLIVER HOME COOKING SKILLS BTEC

Ages 14-21 years

Student survival classes

Ages 16-21 years

 

Even if you focus on just a couple of niche areas, you can offer progression opportunities,

and encourage long term repeat custom  from families.


Why work so hard to engage families, build their trust and win their enthusiasm, only to lose their custom when their child turns 5 or reaches senior school?

 
 
Lucy-May---organic-cookery-school.jpg


We’ve grown as both a non profit and social enterprise, bringing in over £1,000,000 funding and contracts, and over 70% of our customers return for more.

 

We reinvest over 20% profits back into our community projects, allowing thousands of low income families to access our courses for little or no cost.

We’ve  taught over 50,000 children, parents and young people in over 500 schools, children's centres and community settings

 
 
  • We've developed a balanced social enterprise business model, with trading income growing year on year.
     
  • Achieved a fantastic customer satisfaction rate, with over 70% of income generated by  return customers
     
  • Developed innovative and robust cookery and nutrition programmes which are trusted by schools and children’s centres and are in demand across the UK (and further afield).
     
  • Generated income to fund small scale projects for the highly vulnerable in our communities, including severely disabled young people, young parents, Stroke survivors, older men who have been widowed or having caring responsibilities, and children in secure units.
     
  • Trained over 200 would be tutors, staff and volunteers from partner organisations.
 
 
 

This is you

Your launch, marketing and financial plans mapped out and legal requirements ticked off with minimum stress.

This is you

Booked out classes, a waiting list of parents, great revenue from additional premium services such as birthday parties or one to one classes.

This is you

The freedom to fit your business and classes around your home life, working full-time or part-time, in the holidays or just term-time as fits your needs.

THIS IS YOU

Able to meet your financial commitments, save for a rainy day and pay for family holidays and treats with no stress or hesitation.

THIS IS YOU

With a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that your investment in The Organic Cookery School supports vulnerable children and parents who otherwise would not be able to access our services.

 

NEXT Course commences 1st january 2023

We are currently updating this programme post pandemic. Additional modules will include opportunities to expand your business teaching online and developing your community-based business post-pandemic.

Email academy@organiccookeryschool.org to join the waiting list or hold your place with a £195 deposit, refundable before 1st November 2022.

Community Cookery School Business Academy (deposit)
£195.00

Secure a place on our next course starting January 2023.

Refundable before 1st November 2022.

Module 1:      Introduction

Welcome, how to get the most of the Community Cookery School Business Academy Training and timeline for training.

Module 2:      Initial planning

How: to identify your local target market. You’ll build a targeted list of local schools, children’s centres and family organisations who serve children/parents/teenagers in your target market, so you are offering your services to the families and organisations who want and are able to access your services.

Where: use our tested venue checklist to identify a choice of perfect community venues within your chosen budget which provide the best environment for your cooking classes, so you can provide the perfect client experience and remove barriers to purchase (such as accessibility/cost/resources/facilities/location)

What: identify your niche service(s) based on demographics and local demand, so you can launch your services confidently and start turning a profit asap.

Bonus one: checklist to target schools according to parent income and likelihood of availability of pupil premium grant funding *

Bonus two: community venue risk assessment checklist *

Bonus three: 10 minute checklist to assess competition across similar services and price your services realistically. *

* Bonuses available for limited time only

 

Module 3:      Business Basics and Branding

Choose the right legal structure for your business, so you don’t miss out on business opportunities or upset the tax man.

Bonus four: Branding exercise – how your unique brand influences your business *

* Bonuses available for limited time only

 

Module 4:      Financial Planning

Plan your first six months income/expenditure, so you know exactly what your business will cost to launch, and set an achieveable timeline in which to start turning a profit.

Bonus five: Pricing workshop - work out how to price your services to generate consistent profit for growth, so you can maximise your revenue, invest in the future, and recoup your initial investment super fast. *

Bonus six: sample OCS kit list with typical costs (includes advice on what you should and shouldn’t spend your money on) *

* Bonuses available for limited time only

 

Module 5:      Marketing and Networking

Plan your first six months marketing content online and in print, so that you build a community of local raving fans who recommend your classes to their friends. Word of mouth is everything!

Bonus seven: Identify your key networking partners and use our swipe file of introductory scripts to build relationships with local influencers, so that you get referrals faster and become the local go-to expert for children's food and nutrition education *

* Bonuses available for limited time only
 

Module 6:       Legal and statutory requirements

Access our ultimate checklist of nutrition, safety and quality trainings required to work in partnership with schools, nurseries and community organisations, so that you inspire confidence (and keep on the right side of the law!).

Including:

  • Police checks for you, your staff and helpers, and employment contracts.

  • Insurance – what insurance will you need

  • Photo permission and processing personal data -  necessity for photo release permission, and guidance on data protection (and whether you need to be registered with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office)

  • PAT testing, Food Safety and Hygiene, COSSH, and whether you need to register as a food business
     

Bonus eight - bank of resources to create your own cookery school policies (including safeguarding/child protection, PREVENT, equality and diversity, health and safety, behaviour management, compliments and complaints, safer recruitment/working with volunteers) *

* Bonuses available for limited time only

 

Module 7:      Quality assurance

How to measure and evaluate the quality of your services – so you can provide an excellent experience for your customers, and set impactful return customer targets.

How best to gather customer feedback, measure success and use this to be the best in your niche and market your business.

Bonus nine – mini workshop on working with funders and contracts – what QA processes and impact measurement tools will help my business attract long term, high value contracts and funding? *

* Bonuses available for limited time only
 

Module 8:      Growing your business

How to identify additional services or income streams which compliment your key offer, so you can maximise on repeat business opportunities and build your income faster.

How to scale your business - options for growth

Bonus ten: Additional responsibilities – legal responsibilities when taking on staff or outsourcing work *

* Bonuses available for limited time only


Module 9:      Your values and giving back to the community

How to identify your key ethical values and social impact plans, so you can access funding and contracts targeted towards social enterprises (if relevant) and attract a committed customer base aligned with your core values


Module 10:   Next steps

Planning your launch timeline and next steps, so you have an implementable action planning to launch your services within 8-10 weeks.

Licensed Tutor Certification Process - applying for a licence, choosing your first programme offerings and how to access the toolkits.

Celebration!

 

 


As a licensed tutor you will gain access to our operations manual and toolkits for the programmes you choose to specialise in including:

 
 
  • Scheme(s) of work and lesson plans
  • Recipes, Nutritional Guidelines and Printables
  • Kit lists
  • Additional Resources
  • Advice on differentiation, equality and diversity, and links with literacy/numeracy/other curriculum areas (where relevant)
  • Marketing materials – parent flyers, booking forms and feedback forms
  • Expression of interest templates for schools/children’s centres and parents
  • Social media templates
  • Pricing guidelines (for school and parents)

 
 

Receive access to TWO programme toolkits for the price of one, when you join the Business Academy (with licensed tutor option) before 1 December 2022.

Choose from any of the following flagship programmes:

 

  • Cooking for Baby
     

  • Food Explorers/Toddler Nutrition classes
     

  • After School Clubs, Holiday Camps/Weekend Workshops and Children's Cookery Birthday Parties
     

  • Courses for Teenagers (Student Survival, Duke Of Edinburgh Award Skils Courses)

 

 save £300 and access a second toolkit to specialise in, automatically increasing your ability to serve your customer base for longer with the classes and programmes they want to attend.

 

 
 
 

We’re invited to demonstrate at family-oriented cookery festivals and events across the country, and regularly work with library and museum education teams.

 

And we want you to join us!

 

 
 

OPTION A:
COMMUNITY COOKERY SCHOOL
BUSINESS ACADEMY
TRAINING

£995

  • Full access to the Business Training Academy
  • (released fortnightly with live office hours)
  • Ongoing fees: none

OPTION B:
COMMUNITY COOKERY SCHOOL
BUSINESS ACADEMY TRAINING
WITH LICENSED TUTOR OPTION

£1995

  • Business Academy Training
  • License for one year for one programme
  • Access to an free additional programme toolkit*
  • Ongoing fees: £300 per year license renewal
EARLY BIRD PRICE (SAVE £300)
Community Cookery School Business Academy
£995.00
Community Cookery School Business Academy (Licensed Tutor Option)
£1,995.00
 

*Additional programme toolkit can be chosen from the following list: Cookery for Baby, Food Explorers, Cooking with dad, After School Clubs, Birthday Parties and courses for Teenagers if purchased by 1st December 2022 (Early Bird Offer)

 

Licensed Tutor add on

OPTION C


AN UPGRADE OPTION FOR GRADUATES OF OPTION A (COMMUNITY COOKERY SCHOOL BUSINESS TRANING ACADEMY)

Who's it for?
An upgrade option for graduates of option A, the Community Cookery School Business Academy Training

What you get:

  • Access to The Organic Cookery School Operations Manual and teaching resources, handouts, recipes and delivery and marketing toolkit for chosen programme(s). Permission to deliver these under the Organic Cookery School Brand as an independent certified tutor. Branded marketing materials in digital form (flyers, booking forms, social media posts)

  • Potential referrals from head office and access to funded delivery opportunities.

  • Organic Cookery School email address and local VOIP phone number.

  • OCS branded legal templates, policies and marketing materials, Press kit and listing on our website.

  • Branded aprons (25, choice of adult, child (5-12 years), or toddler (2-4 years) and bunting  (UK postage only)

Ongoing fees - £300 per year license renewal (as at 2021/2022)

Additional programme toolkits

OPTION D

(only available to licensed tutors)

£200 - 300 per programme available anytime from 1st February 2023

Who’s it for:

Licensed Organic Cookery School tutors who wish to expand the repertoire of programmes they wish to offer.

What you get:

  • Access to additional programme toolkits and training (from Cookery for Baby, Food Explorers, Cooking with dad, After School Clubs, Birthday Parties and courses for Teenagers). Teaching resources, handouts, recipes and delivery and marketing toolkit for chosen programme(s).

  • Permission to deliver these under the Organic Cookery School Brand as an independent certified tutor. Branded marketing materials (flyers, booking forms, social media posts)

  • Potential referrals from head office and access to funded delivery opportunities.

  • OCS branded legal templates, policies and marketing materials, Press kit and listing on our website.


+ Where can I run your classes?

Licensed Organic Cookery School tutors can run classes in any suitable venue or setting.

This includes:

  • Schools, Nurseries and Children’s Centres
  • Universities/Student Unions
  • Community/Church/Village Halls
  • Outdoor Events/Festivals
  • Libraries/Museums/Education Centres
  • Cookery Schools
  • Your or your customers’ home

We provide you with a venue risk assessment and checklist in Module 2, as well as lesson ideas for more unconventional venues (think field!), so as long as you consider the venue to be safe for the public, you can be as creative as you wish.

+ How much can I earn?

We provide pricing guidelines to tutors based on number of attendees, length of class and whether publicly or privately funded, in module 4 of the Business Academy.

As a guideline, we would expect you to charge the following:

Community class for 10 families (2 hours) - £200- £300 Birthday parties (1.5 hours) - £200-£350 All day event (over 4 hours) - £80 per hour Children’s workshops (2 hours) - £20-30 per child

You will incur session expenses in the form of ingredients, catering disposables, fuel and printing of resources. We will take you through a series of pricing exercises in module 4 to ensure you are costing your services accurately and charging your worth.

+ Do I need a website/social media page?

All certified tutors will be listed on our website in our tutor directory. You are not allowed to set up your own ‘Organic Cookery School’ website. However, you are welcome to submit recipes, articles and even ideas for mini courses. We love sharing our tutors’ knowledge and ideas and this of course raises your profile if featured.

We provide social media guidelines in our business toolkit, which clearly guides you in the promotion of your Organic Cookery School business online and ensures our brand integrity. We also provide you will ample resources and templates to share and build your local customer base.

+ I am not a qualified cookery teacher, is the course suitable for me?

You do not need to be a qualified teacher, adult tutor or early year’s practitioner to enrol in our Community Cookery School Business Academy or even to gain a license as an Organic Cookery School accredited tutor. However, many of our tutors come from a teaching, early years or healthcare background and bring this prior experience with them. We’ve trained teachers, teaching assistants, school catering staff, governors, NCT tutors, nurses, health visitors and childminders, to deliver our classes, as well as many tutors who have undertaken a complete career change.

+ Is it worth my time doing a teaching or childcare qualification?

Any teacher or child-focussed qualification will, of course, benefit your teaching practice and the experience of your learners, so if you decide to go down this route, we would recommend a level 3 award in Education and Training (formerly PTLLS) which is widely available online or at local further education colleges. We are happy to pass on recommendations of providers for this qualification from our tutors. This is particularly useful if you wish to deliver activities for parents funded by the Skills Funding Council. However, if you plan to focus mostly on children and teenagers, there may be little business benefit. We discuss this in much greater depth in Modules 6 and 7 in the Business Academy.

Our main priority is to attract people who enjoy and have a gift for working with children, families and/or young people, are able to follow our exacting quality standards, have enthusiasm, creativity and energy, and a natural flair for cookery and sharing their skills and knowledge with others.

+ What other qualifications/training will I need to apply for a licence?

Before you gain your licence, you’ll need to evidence the following:

  • Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene in Catering (or equivalent) – included in Business Academy
  • Safeguarding awareness training – included in Business Academy
  • Competence in Family Nutrition or equivalent – available at cost in Business Academy
  • A referance from a paid or voluntary placement in a community education/school/afterschool/youth setting (does not have to be cookery based).

We also require all tutors to hold current training in paediatric first aid (or equivalent first aid training), enhanced DBS police check and business insurance. We offer advice and options for fulfilling these criteria in module 6 of the Business Academy. It is the responsibility of the tutor to continue to fulfil these criteria, in order for their licence to be renewed on an annual basis.

+ Why do I have to pay an annual licence fee?

Your annual licence fee allows you to run Organic Cookery School classes using our logo, brand and materials. You also receive online support including emails, online resources, and a forum where you can talk to other teachers, meet up etc.

Many other children’s cookery school business offerings charge an initial training fee of between, £2000 and 4000, a monthly management fee (typically £150) and a royalty (percentage of earnings).

We feel our pricing structure is both fair and accessible, whilst reflecting the value of the training and business opportunities on offer.

+ How much is the yearly licence fee?

Initial registration and a tutor licence is £600. Thereafter, there is an annual renewal fee of £300. These figures are valid for 2018/2019 and may increase in the future.

+ What happens if there is another tutor near me?

We encourage tutors to support each other rather than compete. Supporting other tutors and building relationships will make you feel part of a local team, and help your business if your workload is too high or you or your family are unwell. Most tutors have a preference in the days/times of day/ amount they wish to work, as well as the range of courses they deliver. Some choose to specialise in working with secondary schools/ young people, others prefer to build their business offering our weaning and toddler nutrition programmes, or by running after school clubs. It logically follows that there is room for several tutors to work alongside each other.

However, when you join us as a tutor, you agree to our professional code of conduct which includes supporting your peers, respecting their business achievements and a commitment to developing your own customer base. Breach of these rules could mean the loss or suspension of your licence.

+ Is this a franchise?

No, this is a licence agreement, where we licence the training materials to you for as long as you wish to run our courses (subject to continuing to meet our due diligence requirements).

Our 5 year plan includes expansion overseas, and the creation of master franchise areas by country, or individual state.

You are not limited to a restricted geographical area and you can take your business to a new area if you move (within UK).

+ Am I bound by any contract?

After completing the Community Cookery School Business Academy training, you have the option to apply for a licence to deliver Organic Cookery School programs.

The licence is a legal agreement between The Organic Cookery School and yourself, and sets out our quality standards for delivering activities under our brand.

This licence also entitles you to run classes using The Organic Cookery School logo and trademark using our course materials. Each licence is valid for one year, and renewal is subject to maintaining our safeguarding and any statutory training requirements.

You can apply to cancel the agreement at anytime (minimum 6 week notice required), or pause for up to 12 months if you are ill or wish to take a maternity break.

+ Are there any Organic Cookery School products I can sell, if I decide to be a teacher?

Currently we don’t plan to offer a retail line, as our focus is on community services and digital rather than physical products. We are teachers, enthusiasts of ethically sourced, healthy seasonal produce and inspirational cooks foremost. Our aim is to inspire and enable children and families to cook and feed themselves better in whatever way we can, and to generate income to be able to offer our funded community projects free of charge to vulnerable families.

The more tutors we have, the more opportunities we have to meet demand across the country and this will continue to be our focus for the foreseeable future.

+ What about affiliate income?

As well as offering training for tutors, we are also expanding our range of ebooks and online masterclasses for parents, which tutors are able to earn affiliate income on. All tutors will be issued with a unique affiliate link which they can share with customer, and tracked purchased will result in a generous commission on all eligible products.

This also means you can recommend classes to parents who may not be able to get to your sessions, or for programmes and courses you don’t specialise in.

Tutors receive the highest level of commission available (40%) on eligible digital products, with an additional 10% donated to our community learning fund for vulnerable families on your behalf.

Example potential income at 40% tutor rate

Refer 20 parents to £25 Cooking for baby or Toddler Cookery Masterclasses- total OCS income £500

Affiliate income (payable to tutor) £200 Donation to community learning fund on your behalf £50

Refer two potential tutors to business training academy at £595 – total OCS income £1190.

Affiliate income (payable to tutor) £476. Donation to community learning fund on your behalf £119.

Total Tutor Affiliate commission - £676

Total donation to community learning fund - £169 (plus gift aid where applicable)


Refer 80 parents to £25 Cooking for baby or Toddler Cookery Masterclasses - total OCS income £4000.

Affiliate income (payable to tutor) £1600

Donation to community learning fund on your behalf £400

Refer four potential tutors to business training academy at £595 – total OCS income £2380.

Affiliate income (payable to tutor) £952.

Donation to community learning fund on your behalf £238.

Total Tutor Affiliate commission - £2252

Total donation to community learning fund - £638 (plus gift aid where applicable)

Affiliate commission is payable termly, after any statutory refund periods have passed.

+ What happens after I complete the business training?

After completing the Business Training Academy, you will receive a certificate, and be invited to apply for a licence. Would be tutors need to complete our due diligence checks, and then are able to choose their first programme specialism (or first two if taking advantage of our early bird launch offer).

You will need to identify an insurance provider (we have negotiated a package for UK licensed tutors with Morton Michel, but you are welcome to research your own package), apply for an enhanced DBS police check (or equivalent) and evidence recent training in food safety and hygiene, safeguarding, and paediatric first aid. If you do not hold recent training in these areas, they are available at cost in our licensed tutor training.

Or you may wish to apply your learning to your own business model.

+ Can I advertise my Organic Cookery School classes on the Organic Cookery School website?

All licenced tutors are eligible to be featured on our website. This detailed listing allows potential customers to find you by location, contact you, find out more about the range of classes you offer.

+ Can I get funding for the course?

You may be able to get funding through your local business or enterprise schemes.

+ I am a teacher/early years’ practitioner and would like to use the activities in my school. Is this possible?

We have worked with a number of schools and children’s centres who have funded their staff to train with us. However, at present we are focussing on expanding our team of licenced tutors who work in more than one setting.

+ How do I book and secure my place?

Add link

+ Can I run another cookery or nutrition business alongside being an Organic Cookery School tutor?

Yes, although you cannot cobrand any of your activities without prior permission from our head office.

+ Can I teach my own recipes/lesson plans?

Each programme toolkit comes with a scheme of work and suggested OCS recipes and linked nutritional activities. There will be recipes which will work just as well, so we just need you to submit these for approval before teaching them. If approved we will put into the OCS recipe format, and you will be free to include them in your sessions.

If you opt to deliver some of our funded or accredited programmes, such as Jamie Oliver’s Home School Skills BTEC, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Skills Courses, NCFE accredited or CIEH Nutrition courses you will be bound to use the planning, resources and quality assurance processes linked to those particular programmes.

+ When is the last date to register for the Business Academy Training?

We are taking enrolments from 1st March until 1st May 2018. Our Early Bird discount for would be licensed tutors end on 14th April 2018.

+ Do I need to send references?

Yes, you will need to supply contact details of two written professional or academic referees, in order to gain your licence.

+ What support will I get during and the course?

The Business Academy Modules are released fortnightly, and we will schedule a group coaching office hours call via Demio or Zoom on alternate weeks. This gives you two weeks to absorb and action each module and opportunities to ask questions. If you can’t make the live call, you can send in questions in advance and we will endeavour to answer during the Q and A.

You will get emails with tips, the chance to meet up with other tutors locally, a named business mentor (first 6 months), digital resources and support on marketing your business locally.

+ What resources do you provide as part of the tutor training?

You will receive a comprehensive online toolkit for each programme you choose to specialise in, and operations manual.

+ Do I need to/can I register with Ofsted?

If you run your activities in a set location on a regular basis you can choose to register on the Voluntary register, but this is not obligatory under current legislation. There is currently a £100 fee for registering, plus £100 per location, however parents may then be able to claim back up to 80% of the cost of activities attended by their children through the childcare part of Working Tax Credits. We explore this and other part-funding models in module 8.

+ Can I choose to accept childcare vouchers?

Similarly, you may choose to register with an external organisation to accept Childcare vouchers. There is normally a small administrative charge made by the organisation, however, parents will benefit from tax savings and often look favourably on organisations who are able to accept them. This decision is purely down to you and the types of activities you choose to focus on, but may be something you think about offering as your business and client list grows.

+ What cookery kit will I need?

We suggest all tutors put together a mobile cookery kits which can cater for 10-12 families (parent and child together) or individuals. We will supply an inventory of suggested kit, however, you may choose to exclude some items or add to it according to the recipes and programmes you choose to teach. Most kits consist of durable but lightweight plastic items from high street stores or online retailers (supermarkets, Ikea and Wilkinsons are a good place to start). We have suggested retailers and indicative prices in the attached list. We also supply you with 25 Organic Cookery School aprons (in a choice of toddler, child and adult sizes), as part of your training course to get you started. Additional aprons can be purchased from directly from us, when needed, but they are very hardwearing (and we are still using many from our very first batch ordered 12 years ago, after 100s of classes and 100s of washes!)

+ Do I have to run a certain amount of classes each month?

No, you are free to work as much or as little as you wish.

+ How will my business contribute to my local community and your charitable aims?

All tutors have the option to apply to deliver our funded community projects (subject to location and relevant subject specialism), eg those funded by the BIG Lottery, People’s Health Trust, Local Authorities as well as the smaller charities and community organisations we work with. Project opportunities will be posted in our private FB group for tutors and by newsletter.

Additionally, a minimum 10% of any affiliate income you earn from our digital and online products is ringfenced for our community projects (over and above the 40% you will receive). We will publish a termly leader board of donations through affiliate income, and have some bonuses planned for the highest earners.

We do not expect you to donate your time to any activities for free, but we do support other annual charitable campaigns (eg Children in Need, Red Nose Day, etc) and will invite you to join in with these campaigns, as we can obviously create greater impact as a team, than individually.

 

Option 1

Sign up for a commercial children’s cookery franchise.

Cost – Research shows this likely to involve an upfront investment of between £4000 - £6000 with ongoing management fees of £100-£250 per month PLUS royalties on your earnings (average 8% per annum).

Restrictions – as a franchise, you are likely to have a limited geographical territory in which to operate and be targeting a restricted demographic or limited to classes for one age group.

Questions to ask - how long have they been in business? How many customers did they have last year? How broad is their customer base? Do they work with schools and childrens’ centres as well as individuals? Have they secured any long-term funding or contracts? How robust and varied are the income streams they can offer you? How do you get out of the contract if it’s not for you? What if you move? Or get pregnant? What impact are they making as an organisation in the local community?

Option 2

Start from scratch and do everything yourself

Just as we did in 2004  - research competition, legals, write policies and procedures, devise marketing strategy, create and test course materials, commission logos and branding, set up social media and website, build relationships with schools and children’s centres.

This is a totally viable option and great if you don’t want to make an upfront investment, have a lot of time on your hands and feel confident about writing policies, health and safety and due diligence.

Cost - as much as you want to spend

Questions to ask yourself - How much do I have to invest in research and legal support? How much time do I have to do the work? How confident am I in the brand I want to create? Would I prefer go it alone or be part of an established brand?

 

Option 3

Apply for The Organic Cookery School Community Cookery School Business Academy Training.

This gives you the choice of applying your learning to your own business model or completing the training and registering for a licence as accredited Organic Cookery School tutor.

Well, clearly, I’m going to be biased here, but if you are looking to launch your business in 2017 knowing exactly what you are offering and to whom, how much you can charge and with a waiting list of families and schools wanting to work with you (as well as feeling confident in your policies, health and safety and safeguarding procedures and statutory requirements) this must be the option for you.

Cost - £995 one off Business Training , optional tutor licence and initial registration £1000 per year (includes one programme toolkit and starter kit of aprons).

Ongoing fee – annual renewal of licence starting at £300.

No monthly management fees, no royalties, and the chance to contribute back into our community learning hardship fund, which funds innovative project requests from charitable organisations working with vulnerable families and young people.

Furthermore, if you join us as a licensed Organic Cookery School tutor, you won’t be restricted to a limited geographical area (you can move and take your business with you!) and you’ll have full access to programmes ranging from weaning babies through to University student survival courses.  You’ll have the option to diversify your income streams, either through developing your own products for our online academy, or by earning the top tier of affiliate income on any eligible course your families go on to enrol in.

What will you be able to teach:

During 2022/23, we’ll be releasing toolkits and trainings for the following flagship Organic Cookery School programmes:

  • Cooking for Baby

  • Food Explorers/Toddler Nutrition classes

  • After School Clubs, Holiday Camps and Weekend Workshops

  • Cookery Birthday Parties

  • Courses for Teenagers (currently Duke of Edinburgh Award, Grub Club, and Jamie Oliver Home Cooking Skills BTEC)* subject to additional registration and approval with Pearson Education)

  • Training for Nannies and Au Pairs

  • Wider Community Cookery Programmes

Your annual license comes with one toolkit of your choice, and as your business grows you can add more programmes to your repertoire.

The Business Training covers:

  • Choosing the right structure for your business

  • Legal and statutory requirements, policies and procedures and Safeguarding and insurance

  • Identifying your local target audience

  • Financial planning and pricing, accessing funding and contracts

  • Creating a brand, marketing your business and networking

  • Quality assurance

  • Growing your business and diversifying your income (and how to pause and tick along without losing everything)

  • Giving back to your community

 

Questions to ask – Can you really afford to launch your cookery classes, without this support?

 

 

 

The tools you’ll access in the Community Cookery School Business Academy are yours to apply to any business model you wish - and if you are planning to focus on children, parents or teenagers OR need to build networks with schools, children’s centres or family organisations, it’s the ONLY resource you need to get your business up and running in 2023.

OPTION A:
COMMUNITY COOKERY SCHOOL
BUSINESS ACADEMY
TRAINING

£995

  • Full access to the Business Training Academy
  • (released fortnightly with live office hours)
  • Ongoing fees: none

OPTION B:
COMMUNITY COOKERY SCHOOL
BUSINESS ACADEMY TRAINING
WITH LICENSED TUTOR OPTION

£1995

  • Business Academy Training
  • License for one year for one programme
  • Access to an free additional programme toolkit*
  • Ongoing fees: £300 per year license renewal
EARLY BIRD PRICE (SAVE £300)
 
Community Cookery School Business Academy
£995.00
Community Cookery School Business Academy (Licensed Tutor Option)
£1,995.00
 

*Additional programme toolkit can be chosen from the following list: Cookery for Baby, Food Explorers, Cooking with dad, After School Clubs, Birthday Parties and courses for Teenagers if purchased by 1st December 2022 (Early Bird Offer)

IF YOU ARE

 INTERESTED IN BECOMING A CERTIFIED ORGANIC COOKERY SCHOOL TUTOR?

 

AN ORGANISATION INTERESTED IN CLASSES FOR YOUR COMMUNITY

 

A PARENT INTERESTED in RESOURCES + courseS FOR YOUR FAMILY