How to start a school

[andyn]

Hi John, I don't think anybody has been rude to you buddy. There have been a few very cautious and maybe blunt words of caution and to be honest I agree with them they have come from people who have a very good reputation and a wealth of knowledge and experiance...quite frankly it would be wrong to ignore them.

Of course I know nothing of you as a person or your background, except that of what you have pointed out, and fair play to you in being open about your goals and aspirations for your future. I'm sure most of us have jobs that are ok but perhaps would like to be doing something totally different. Following our dreams can be a very difficult and stressful thing to do as it can go only one of two ways...success or failure. So best of luck to you in which ever direction you take.

 

[nobby]

. It probably dosn't even occur to them to give a hand because they get everything done for them in home life by Mummy or wifey.

My platoon sergeant was more of a mum to me than my mum but wifey's, and I speak from 36 years experience, are for doing everything :0)

 

[Dunelm]

It worries me greatly when people with limited experience suddenly deside they will set up a school.

I believe the Greeks called it Hubris.

 

[Dave Budd]

lots of vaild points to consider if thinkning about starting to teach anything, let alone set up a school.

I have been teaching various things to small groups and on a one to one basis for a few years now and it's true that a good craftsman/bushcrafter/etc doesn't always make a good teacher. Afterall, remember the saying: those who can, do; those who can't, teach (and those who can't teach, teach PE ) . So it also follows that you don't need to be an expert to teach the basics.

I've recently started to run a variety of courses myself in a woodland setting and people often ask if I'm going to put on bushcraft courses. I have to tell tham that I have no plans to run bushcraft courses, but the things that I intend to teach can be called elemnets of bushcraft (and are often taught as such by bushcraft schools).

I think you need to find an angle for your venture that others aren't currently offering. If you look around at similar schools they all offer similar things but they also have particular specialisms, some are entirely individual. For example some specialise in tracking, some in expeditions, some in relieveing you of far to much money for what you get! My own area of specialism, for example, is Archaeological accuracy and applying an archaeological knowledge to what is often called primitive technology, also of course the fact that I am primarily a knife and toolmaker means that I tend toward forge and cutting tool based courses (2007 program coming soon

Work out what YOUR strong points and areas of interest are and then slowly build your venture around it. Beginning part time is a good idea too, as long as you are able to devote enough time to payed work, training, research and the actual implementation of your idea not easy, as I know form first hand experience!

 

[Minotaur]

First do some research on what courses are out there.

What do you want to spend the next ten years instructing in?

Have you lost your mind and want to instruct children?
(Watch for the parent who says their little so and so is an angel, be prepared to check for the sign of the beast. It never fails.)

Do a business plan, and go to see a bank business adviser or Business Link. This is not the finished article, but they should know about things, like what you need to teach kids, what sort of insurance you need, and more importantly, what do you need for them to give you money.

This is not about killing your idea, what I am saying is find out what you need to know, and do, to make it happen.

You can do an Adult education course at your local college(You want the C & G one that First Aid trainers need).

Land for courses would be easy, find yourself a group of farmers and ask them. In the current market, if you come along and offered to pay them (£2,000 - Anything from 2 to 5 thousand, that is what scrambles or hill climbs pay for fields) for a weekends use of their forest, one of them is going to go, come and have a look at my forest and see what you think.

On a personnel note, the two training schools that I would take courses with, are the ones that offer a building block set of courses i.e Begineer to advanced. Plus they also run single aspect training courses i.e. build a bow, Axe 101, or will this furgi kill me?.

All that being said, the best bit of advice so far was expect to run the first courses while you carry on working.

 

[useless]

Hi jlw538uk

First off, don't be offended by anyone's comments here. On the whole this is a great place. Once you get past the (very little) blunt talk from experienced woods folk, I hope you'll come to agree.

I know nothing about starting schools, and a very little about bushcraft. I know something of teaching.... however... I did learn something about being in work I dislike. First questiuon I think is "Are you trying to get into the woods, or are you trying to escape a job?" If it's the former, then does it need to be bushcraft that gets you out there? I attended an Expedition First Aid course. Lots of fun. Lots of trees. Lots of cooking on an open fire. Lots of learning. So, not bushcraft, but in a bushcraft environment.

So how about setting yourself up first as a first aid tutor / advisor? You could take this into all kinds of places. The dull First Aid at Work courses you run could pay the bills, whilst the crazy bush craft related first aid could be the fun. Get a reputation and you'll be hired by expeditions to go along with them up some mountain, along some river or down into some forest at some point! You could be cashing in on your love of nature AND your previous experience as an emergency nurse. You've done a lot of learning already, and people will always be hurting themselves. Injuries? They are simply a business opportunity!

Good luck though, keep us posted.

 

[Dave Budd]

I don't think a first aid course will be an issue for this chap, he's an A&E nurse

 

[Graham_S]

i think useless's point was that the original poster could set up a a school teaching first aid for the outdoors.

 

[Wayne]

Cheers guys encourage the man to set up in competition.


There has been some good advice in this thread. Start with what you know and are best at and then find an area that you can make your own.

 

[useless]

"i think useless's point was that the original poster could set up a a school teaching first aid for the outdoors"

Indeed, that was my point. Also, I've interviewed people in the past who were less interested in taking a job, more interested in getting away from one. I've been there myself. It doesn't always work out, so I guess I'd encourage people to be clear about what they actually want to achieve when they set out looking for change.

 

[Dougster]

http://www.expeditionmedicine.co.uk/

My little sis is training to be a medical doc and she has something to do with this lot - but that is all I know. They may know companies that could need someone with your A&E skills, giving you a grounding for later.

One thing teaching has taught me(if nothing else). Is that I teach the same stuff over and over again. I love working with wood but doing the same thing over and over becomes monotonous, then the thing you love becomes the tedium you wish to move away from in your life. It may be worth bearing that in mind. Keep your work and hobbies separate, one of my abiding rules now. I know I'm going to be nailed for that comment by some.

 

[spamel]

I don't see why anyone would give you grief, I think it is a fair comment. If I do the same thing over and over, I know I get bored! Maybe this is where having a number of different courses will break down the monotony.

 

[Pablo]

My tuppence worth comes from a more philosophic point of view.

I've been instructing/training for a considerable number of years both in the military and law enforcement circles. Over the years I've discovered that its not what you teach, but the teaching itself which motivates you to teach. This is fundemental, I would suggest, to setting up some kind of school. In this case I entirely agree with Useless and perhaps you should think about getting some teaching experience first (maybe first aid) and also think about getting a training qualification (NVQ in learning and development). You are then equipped to deal with 'Little Johnny' scenarios and a whole host of other issues that would undoubtedly crop up when teaching bushcraft.

Building up your skills and expertise in your chosen area is probably secondary, and there's many people who have already given advice on this. You should remember that there a whole shed-load of other aspects to consider including Health and Safety, risk assessments etc.

I admire your vision and wish you good luck if you go ahead.

Pablo

 

[bushwakka]

For what it's worth here are my thoughts on the subject:

Firstly I commend your admirable aims (I've had them myself). Remember that being self employed is a 24/7/52 job. Time off is money lost! There is a world of difference between a hobby/interest that gives you personal satisfaction and doing it for a living. I enjoy cooking but I don't want to open a restaurant.

It will probably be easier to enter the increasingly competitive 'bushcraft' market if you have a unique selling point. After all there are only so many ways you can rub two sticks together to make fire (I'm sure someone will disagree! LOL)!!! Increasingly, people with an interest in Bushcraft are getting together to train themselves (as evidenced in this forum) due to the high cost and sometimes mediocre training courses on offer. How long will the market sustain re-runs of techniques that have been seen on TV and can be bought on DVD?

As far as training courses go for bushcraft/survival instructors, until recently many relied on their previous military training/experience. However, the skills needed for evading enemy hunter forces are not the same as those needed to ensure you are found by mountain rescue or surviving a gap year travelling the third world.

I've been on a few survival courses but the one that I thought had the right approach (for me anyway) was run by the UK survival School.

http://www.uksurvivalschool.co.uk/

I see that they now offer Instructor training courses which may be of interest to you. Ged, the instructor, is ex-forces but his courses are definitely not for the 'Cammo-club'. Very nice bloke with an emphasis on campcraft and camp hygiene.

Remember that, they've paid their money but until you see them face to face you don't know what is going to turn up on your courses. Anything from Bill Oddie to Rambo! In the gene pool of life some swim in the shallow end, some in the deep, and some like to squirm around in the slime!!!

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SMARTY]

John, we've been going down here for a while now. all of the advice and tips are spot on. to add my tuppence worth, ensure you have the correct insurances, (to keep Johnnys mum sweet when he hurts himself because he isn't doing as you say) and set out your stall from the start. If you say you are going to teach bushcraft then thats what people will expect. Remember their idea of bushcraft is what they see on TV or read in a book. Teach to your strengths, if your good at fire do that, if your good at carving do that. Get CRB'd if your working with kids and level your teaching at kids, build a den instead of a shelter, do fire flags and introduce elements of competition and reward.
When you start up the costs are high. Advertising, land hire, food, tools, porta loos, teaching equipment etc. Johnny Crocket at survival school gave us a lot of help with legal aspects etc. As for qualifications, you will know when you are ready. Some organisations will 'train' you to be a bushcraft instructor (after you have spent a fortune doing their courses)There are lots of Ex military survival (SERE) instructors out there with loads of experiance all over the world. If you want to see how we do it (not saying that the way footsteps does it is any better to any one else) then come and have a look any time. PM me if your interested. As for being in competition thats right, you will find that a lot of people will stick to one school to do the different courses, make sure you can provide that or you may have to recommend someone else. What ever you decide go for it and good luck.

 

[Minotaur]

I don't think a first aid course will be an issue for this chap, he's an A&E nurse

Weirdly, you could be wrong.

First Aid is pre-hospital, and governed by the HSE.

You need a training cert they honour, to have passed a First Aid at Work course twice in a row, and an issuing number. Apperently, Issuing numbers are expensive and getting harder to get as they want more and more paperwork to go with them. Some of this may not apply to an A & E Nurse but it could depend a lot on BASIC certs and what else they do, not on the fact they are a Nurse.

To take it a step futher, outdoor first aid is different from normal first aid, and there is even a Doctors outdoor cert.

If you like this idea, there is a booklet you can get from the HSE, which tells you the ins and outs of getting the cert so your company can train First Aid At Work. Please also keep in mind that the Outdoor version is different. It is the oil rig cert, I think, or it follows that scheme, more than the standard First Aid at Work.