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Summertime brings income

School holidays and, in particular, the summer break can offer many opportunities to bring a welcome boost in funds

Since most school grounds have sports pitches and facilities, offering sports coaching should be a first consideration. Football coaching programmes are usually the most popular. By working with or under the auspices of the Football Association, you could organise or associate with a partner to run training schemes. This could run the length of the summer holidays, but more probably as a series of week-long training courses to allow for families' own holidays and the cost. But there are other considerations.

By operating for more than five days a year, you would have to register your school as a daycare centre and would be subject to requirements for the safety and adequate supervision of children in your care. However, parents will be reassured to know that your scheme is registered and that any coaches will have been cleared by a police check through the Criminal Records Bureau.

Get it right
It would also be worthwhile contacting your local leisure services department to adopt their child protection policy. This will involve asking the children to register on special forms. In addition, you will need to take daily attendance records, have fire drills (if sessions are held indoors) and ask parents and carers to sign for their child when they collect them at the end of each day.

This process is less time-consuming than might initially appear. After all, you will have put similar procedures in place at your own school, particularly if you have a well developed extended schools policy. If you are linking up with an outside provider, then it is their responsibility to ensure that the scheme conforms with regulations. Some football groups also adopt a behaviour policy and encourage the participants to contribute to it.

Of course, similar principles apply when using specialist coaches for other sports including cricket, netball, hockey and rugby. Contact the governing bodies of the relevant sports for approved coaches.

If you have indoor facilities, such as a swimming pool or gymnasium, you will also have to factor in costs for a key-holder to open and close the facilities and, in the case of a pool, maintain the facilities.

Keep it simple
If you are able to operate courses directly from within the school's staff and control, this is preferable since then there is likely to be less damage to equipment and supervision will be more professional. Poorly run courses will reflect badly on the reputation of the school.

Many staff, of course, welcome the summer holidays as a chance to leave the responsibilities of their job behind. But others will appreciate an opportunity to earn more money by running and/or supervising courses. It would be advisable to provide separate contracts for these additional pieces of work since you may require staff to be responsible for health and safety issues such as the catering arrangements or for on-site qualified nursing staff.

Likely fees
The fees will vary according to region and whether the course is subsidised through grants or sponsorship, but course directors would expect around £600 per week, qualified staff £500, while additional helpers would be paid £100.

Alternatively, parents of children at your school may hold relevant qualifications. If not for sports, then quite possibly for a range of other possible courses including drama, dance, music, arts and crafts, pottery, local history etc.

Getting started
Any courses you propose will have to be marketed to prospects. This should be the least of your problems since your target market will primarily be the children at your school. Leaflets home will give parents all the information they need. Working parents will welcome the opportunity for their children to be looked after in a place they trust, but with the added benefit of an alternative, stimulating learning environment.

A successful summer school could lead to other courses during other school holidays in the year. Good word of mouth will spread among the school community and lay the foundations for future success.

A taxing concern
Courses for adults attract VAT payments, should your venture be successful enough to reach the current VAT threshold of trading. If you have set up a separate trading company for the purposes of the coaching/training, then issues of the educational component of courses become irrelevant as income and outgoings are treated as with any usual business trading account. But if you set up a separate entity that has a charitable status (fully registered with the Charity Commission), then any profits can be gift-aided to the parent charity at the end of the financial year. If the courses are presented as being for the benefit of the local community, then the likelihood of gaining charitable status is enhanced.

Caravan rallies
A relatively unusual but potentially lucrative use of your school grounds during the summer break is caravan rallying. This trend is supported by The Caravan Club, which offers support and advice. The Club says that over 200 schools and colleges regularly use caravan rallies to raise funds. The key advantage is that schools already have the necessary infrastructure: toilets, a car park, sports facilities, kitchens, flat areas to park the caravans and an on-site caretaker.

But to attract caravan enthusiasts, you need more than just good facilities. It is vital that your school is near tourist attractions or natural wonders. This could be a boon for rural schools that often feel left out of fundraising opportunities as many are usually directed towards inner-city or other deprived areas. Inevitably, sites in Devon and Cornwall remain popular, as are sites near sporting events and fairs.

Get the planning right
The rallying organisation will take responsibility for the details in conjunction with the landowner. In the case of public, private or grant-maintained schools this will usually mean the board of governors. For state schools, this will mean the Local Education Authority. The landowner will have to ensure that the rallying organisation is an "exempted organisation" under Paragraph 6 of the Caravan Sites and Control Development Act of 1960. Essentially, this means that they can hold a rally without having to have a caravan site licence. Instead, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will issue a certificate to confirm the exemption. Meanwhile, the rally organisers will seek reassurance that the landowner's land has not been placed under any power or limitation according to the Act. This all might sound a little complicated, but unless your school owns the land, you will not need to be involved.

If the rally lasts for less than five days and the rallying organisation holds an exemption certificate, you won't need to inform the local authority. If the rally lasts for longer than five days and your school doesn’t own the land, you will need to enter into a rental agreement with the landowner and present this to the local planning authority. The Caravan Club can provide you with pro forma rental agreements. Out of courtesy, it is advisable to contact the parish council or any nearby residents' association to ensure that there are unlikely to be any objections.

How much?
Rallies invariably consist of 20 units per acre, with usually a limit of 40 units. Each caravan owner would expect to pay around £5 per night, but rates would increase according to demand.

There may also prove to be unforeseen practicalities that make your school grounds poor venues for money-raising ventures. However, it would be worthwhile considering the possibilities. In any case, another reason for keeping your school grounds busily occupied during school holidays is that hooligans may be deterred which, while not adding to your income, is likely to prevent additional costs to repair any damage caused.

Useful contacts:
The Football Association:
www.the-fa.org