It’s that time of year when parents are spending a lot of money on their kids- probably not focusing so much on education at the moment, but instead on gifts, food and events around the Christmas holidays.
One of the best gifts I’ve bought my kids is an Outschool gift card, and it’s what I recommend for anyone who doesn’t want to get the kids in their life the same old ‘tat’ that gets played with a couple of times and then forgotten.
Giving the gift of classes means that kids aren’t just getting a one-off gift; they are making friends, building skills, exploring new hobbies and passions and expanding their horizons. It’s also much more environmentally friendly than another plastic toy!
Purchasing a gift card is a great way to give a child choice over what classes they take; simply fill in the fields online such as the recipient’s name, gift card amount and their email address, and the gift is delivered virtually to their email inbox!
This is one of the reasons why Outschool classes work so well as a last minute present; you can have a gift delivered in just a couple of minutes which really takes the ‘panic’ out of ‘panic buying’!
One of our recent blog posts covers how to give the gift of learning and how to gift enrollments or gift cards for Outschool. Check it out here.
There are also some ways to save money on Outschool classes which can make giving the gift of learning even more affordable:
1. The Refer A Friend Scheme
Outschool runs a brilliant referral scheme. For every new Outschool user who signs up using your personal affiliate link, you receive $20 of credit towards Outschool classes. Better yet, the new Outschool user also receives $20 so they can try Outschool risk free, which means your friends are highly likely to try it and get you your referral credit! You can receive up to $2000 of referral credit so this is a fantastic way of offsetting the costs of your child’s hobbies and education- all by simply telling people about Outschool! You can find out more about it here.
2. Special Offers
There is currently a special offer whereby Outschool users purchasing new courses for 2023 can earn up to $100 class credit which will be delivered at the beginning of January. The offer is very generous- those spending $150 on new classes will earn $10 credit, $300 spends will earn $30 and families spending $750 will earn a huge $100 credit! $100 credit can purchase up to 12 classes with Outschool (depending on individual class types and formats) so this is an incredible offer.
3. Booking Courses & Camps
One-off classes can be great for studying very niche topics (how to identity North American venomous snakes, for example) but if your child shows ongoing interest in a class, it is a good idea to subscribe to a weekly session and lower your costs. One-off classes often have a lower uptake so the per-student cost is greater, whereas weekly classes have comparatively lower pricing.
4. Booking FLEX Classes
As well as the frequency, the format of your class also impacts what you pay. FLEX classes are pre-recorded video classes and these are often significantly cheaper than live lessons. Another perk of FLEX classes is that students can watch the video repeatedly, pause and rewind to watch specific moments again, and can also do the class whenever it suits them as opposed to a set time slot in the week. FLEX classes start from just £6 a week so this can be a great option if you want to keep Outschool costs low!
Find out more about different Outschool class formats here.
One thing I would encourage parents to consider when looking at the price of classes is how much real value their children are getting, compared to potentially cheaper providers. We’ve seen children in huge online groups where students get no 1-1 attention or help, and there is no room for slowing down, repeating material or personalising the class to suit individual needs or neurodivergence.
The value of Outschool is huge, as children are accessing passionate experts in their fields and are able to really interact and explore their subjects in a meaningful way for a quality education- and that is hard to put a price on!
Hannah is a guest blogger for Outschool UK and we really love her tips to help other parents on Outschool. She is a home educating mum of 3 from the UK. She has a popular TikTok channel and is a blogger, and has previously worked in behaviour management at a Pupil Referral Unit.
