Setting-up your Out of School Club

Before you decide to take the plunge and start setting up an out of school club, it is useful—if not essential—to establish that a need exists for out of school care.

This is often done by conducting a survey of the parents at the school your club will support. However, in our experience, the results of parental questionnaires are often misleading and this is why:

• You are asking for an expression of interest, not a commitment to use an out of school club.
• Parents are unwilling to change existing childcare arrangements (even if they are unhappy with them), unless they know that you are still going to be there in a month's time, or even a year.
• People's situations change: the current economic climate means that job situations are changing rapidly, so someone who needs childcare in February may not be needing it by September.

So with the best will in the world, don't pin all your hopes on the results of a questionnaire. Instead, ask around—word of mouth is your best advertising and the most accurate method of predicting need.

If, after all that, you are satisfied that there is sufficient demand for you to open an out of school club, and you've managed to sort out your funding, these are issues that you need to think about next:

• Deciding on your business structure
• Registering with Ofsted
• Finding suitable premises
• Employing the right people
• Equipment needed
• Getting your paperwork in place

The sequence in which you complete these steps will vary from club to club, but it is important to remember that in order to register with Ofsted you need to have a few things sorted out first.

Next: Deciding on your business structure >