last updated 26/03/20 at 11.30AM - check back in for daily updates
ClassForKids CEO, Nikki Th’ng
recently appeared on STV’s Scotland Tonight Current Affairs Programme
‘Children’s clubs are a key part of any community and contribute to the well-being of those who attend. Businesses who run classes are having to suspend their services and in many cases this is causing real risk to their long-term survival. It’s very encouraging to see that parents are looking to support these clubs and take a proactive approach to their continuation.’
5 steps to safeguard your business
While some clubs are closing temporarily during periods of self-isolation, where possible the innovative are thinking of ways to adapt their programmes and deliver a great class online. In this guide, we’ll provide a 5 step process to cover the basics of moving your activities online, the benefits it can bring in helping to keep your club moving forward and how to keep your cash flow moving.
Read on to find out...
- Why you should take your club online,
- How you can implement this,
- The best technologies to use,
- Things to check before opening your digital doors,
- How you can communicate the idea to parents
Keeping parents up to date in times of uncertainty
You’ll want to give practical advice and regular updates to your parents, however, you might find yourself facing challenging conversations. Maybe you’re thinking of offering online sessions instead of closing your club and not sure how to present this to parents. Perhaps they’re requesting refunds and you’re worried about how to respond. Have a look at our templates on how to communicate changes with parents and feel free to copy and paste!
suggestion box
In this time of uncertainty, the ClassForKids team is doing their best to keep up to date with Governmental information while at the same time creating useful content for kids clubs and academies.
If you believe that there is some important content we could develop and share, please fill in the suggestion box below and we will do our best to use our expertise in the field to come up with suggestions, templates and guidelines.
FAQs for CLassFOrKids
This depends on your T&C’s and whether you are continuing to run classes. There are various ways to avoid issuing refunds and whatever you decide will be dependent on the type of club you run. Where possible, you can defer bookings to a later date. If the parent is a committed customer, they’ll most likely be happy with this approach as it shows your club their continued support too. Many clubs, however, are opting to take their classes online and deliver a virtual programme. This takes some planning, creativity and execution but there’s been great success in this! With technology now, you don’t need to close the doors on your classes.
You can, but you don’t have to. Whether it’s online classes, pre-recorded lessons or coming up with some homework/challenges for the kids in your club, give parents something worth paying for instead. Don’t be shy in asking for advice or suggestions. Ask parents what they need to keep their children entertained and to keep their skills and interest in your activity alive. If parents feel part of the planning, they’ll agree with your processes and be happy to keep paying.
- Move bookings to a later date. If you’re looking to keep the child engaged in the period of absence, it could be an idea to get them to learn a dance or skill (or similar) with the idea of performing it on their return.
- Give parents a discount for booking in advance.
- Figure out how much you ‘owe’ parents in classes and leave it as credit to offset against future classes.
- Keep engaged, whether that’s being active on social media or pulling together some resources for children to enjoy at home. It can be specific to your club, activity, or something fun to keep them hooked during periods of inactivity.
Government Resources
Advice to small businesses and FSB members about the novel coronavirus COVID-19
BBC Coronavirus: Your questions answered