How to Become a Personal Trainer for Kids

How to Become a Personal Trainer for Kids

In this article, we cover everything that you need to know about how to become a personal trainer for kids, including:

• Step 1 - Get Qualified as a Kids Personal Trainer
• Step 2 - Get a DBS Check to Become a Children's PT
• Step 3 - Get Insured to Work as a Kids Personal Trainer
• Step 4 - Decide Where You Want to Work
• Step 5 - Expand Your Skill Set to Progress in Your Career

Before we jump in, completing a CIMSPA endorsed Personal Training Diploma is the best way to get qualfiied as a personal trainer for kids! Download a free course prospectus here to learn more.

Step 1 - Get Qualified as a Kids Personal Trainer

To be a personal trainer in any capacity, you need the following qualifications:

• Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instructing
• Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training

Holding both of these qualifications is essential regardless of whether you want to work as a kids personal trainer for a company or on a self-employed basis. 

Many credible course providers offer the level 2 fitness instructor and level 3 personal trainer courses together as part of a package - known as a Personal Training Diploma. This is the quickest and most cost-effective way to get qualified.

To be valid, your qualifications must be regulated by an Ofqual-approved awarding body, such as Focus Awards or ActiveIQ, and endorsed by CIMSPA. 

Without this regulation and accreditation, your qualification will not be recognised by employers, insurance providers, or any clients who do their research (which definitely includes parents!)

Getting the qualifications needed to become a kids personal trainer can take as little or as long as you need, depending on your individual situation.

If you’re eager to start your new career, you can get qualified in just 4 weeks by opting to study full-time. Alternatively, completing an online personal trainer course means you can study at your own pace, allowing you to work around existing employment or family commitments.

You can learn more about how long it takes to become a personal trainer here.

Step 2 - Get a DBS to Become a Personal Trainer for Kids

As well as personal training qualifications, working with children also requires you to have an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.

A DBS is a statutory criminal record check that looks at the record of a person’s past. 

The check looks for things such as convictions, cautions, reprimands, and warnings, and is required to ensure safeguarding when it comes to working with children and vulnerable adults. 

The good news is that applying for a DBS is really straightforward. In England or Wales, the check costs £23 and requires you to have the following pieces of information: 

• A list of your addresses for the last 5 years
• Your National Insurance Number
• Your passport
• Your driving licence (if you have one)

Other than that, all you need to do is apply via the ‘Request a basic DBS check’ page on the Government’s website. Once your application is complete, you can expect to receive your certificate within 14 days.

You can apply here to work in Scotland or here for Northern Ireland.

After you’re qualified as a PT and have your DBS check, you’ll have all of the qualifications and certifications necessary to pursue this career.

------

Recommended posts:

• Becoming A Personal Trainer: OriGym Guide
• Personal Trainer Course Costs Explained
• How Hard is Becoming A Personal Trainer?

Step 3 - Get Insured to Work as a Kids Personal Trainer

Whilst being insured isn’t a legal requirement, the consequences of not having insurance could cause significant financial loss or even legal issues - so working without insurance really isn’t worth the risk.

The good news is that personal trainer insurance is reasonably priced. 

The most important policy to have as a kids personal trainer is Public Liability insurance. 

This insurance will protect you in the instance that a client injures themselves during your session or if you or your client damage any property that belongs to a third party. 

You will also need Professional Indemnity insurance, which will cover you in the event that a client claims to have become injured or ill as a result of you providing bad or ‘inaccurate’ advice.  

This could include anything from serious claims, such as a client getting injured by following your wrong advice on how to perform an exercise, to claims that your advice didn’t lead the client to achieve their goals.

You may think that the chances of a client getting injured or an expensive piece of equipment getting damaged are slim, but these things can happen to anybody. When they do happen, not being insured could cost you a lot of money. 

Aside from protecting your own interests, being insured shows clients (or in the case of a kids personal trainer, the parents of your clients) that you are professional and trustworthy. 

If you own your own children's personal training business, there are additional policies you should consider. Those are:

• Business Equipment insurance, which will cover the costs of replacing any of your equipment should it become damaged or stolen.
• Personal Accident insurance, which will pay out for the cost of your injury treatment or rehabilitation if you get injured on the job. 
• Loss of earnings / income protection insurance. This will pay out to cover the costs of your expenses should be unable to work due to illness or injury.

NOTE: Always check out insurance providers reviews on a neutral site like TrustPilot and double-check the terms and conditions to see what you will be covered for and eradicate any loopholes.

Step 4 - Decide Where You Want to Work as a Children's Personal Trainer

Once you have the appropriate qualifications, certifications, and insurance, the next step is deciding where you want to work as a kids personal trainer and what capacity you want to work in.

Personal trainers have many career options, including: 

• Working as an employee for a gym or fitness company
• Working on a freelance basis, paying rent fees to a gym to train clients in their facility
• Starting a business offering personal training services 

Of course, PTs typically work at gyms, health clubs, and leisure centres. As a children's personal trainer specifically, likely places of work also include: 

• Schools 
• Educational facilities 
• Children’s sports clubs  

As a business owner, where you work is completely up to you. Some good ideas include renting out local venues, for example a community centre, to hold fitness classes. Or, you could run 1-1 PT sessions in outdoor spaces or as a mobile personal trainer.  

The ‘right’ career option for you really does depend on your individual circumstances. 

Working as a freelancer or starting your own business can see you earn a higher personal trainer salary, however, you will need to have enough paying clients to cover any outgoings such as: 

• Renting a space to train clients 
• Marketing your business
• Insurance
• Equipment

For that reason, seeking an employed position is a great place to start if you’re newly qualified. Employed positions offer a stable income, and give you the chance to acquire a client base and build a good reputation.

You can find our expert advice on finding a personal training job here.

How Much Does A Kids Personal Trainer Earn?

Because there are various capacities in which you can work as a children's personal trainer, it is difficult to suggest an ‘average’ salary. 

Here are some factors that can affect how much you earn: 

• Your experience (the more experience you have, the more you can earn)
• Your target market (clients from more affluent areas will pay more)
• Your area (expect to earn more in big cities, especially London, compared to rural areas)

Here’s an example of what to expect in terms of hourly pay:

For reference, this is a pretty standard salary for a part-time job as a kids PT:

This might not look like much of a salary, but keep in mind that this is a part-time, entry-level role. 

If you were to take on this role and become a part-time personal trainer on the side, you would earn a healthy income of around £28000 (figures from indeed).

In the perfect scenario, you would work as a children's personal trainer in a full-time position, however, part-time positions are much more common in this line of work. 

Fortunately, there are plenty of general personal training jobs available, which you will be qualified to do with the Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training that we discussed in Step 1.

Simultaneously working these two jobs on a part-time basis would ensure you receive a stable income whilst still being able to fulfil the role you are truly passionate about.

Over time, your part-time kids personal training role could develop into a full-time position. Or, you could use the position to acquire some loyal clients and a good reputation in the community, ready to pursue a career as a freelance kids personal trainer in the near future.

To learn how to start your own personal training business with no money, check out our video guide below:

Step 5 - Expand Your Skill Set to Progress in Your Career As A Children’s Personal Trainer

The final step towards being successful in this career is expanding your skillset to increase the services that you can offer, and as a result, bump up your potential earnings. 

By seeking additional health and fitness qualifications, such as a Level 4 Personal Trainer Course, you can diversify your skill set and expand your business. 

For example, by completing your nutrition training with OriGym, you could acquire the skills needed to offer meal planning services or general advice on eating better to your clients.

Whilst you will have clients who simply enjoy sport or are interested in pursuing athletic or sporting careers, a recent Health Survey showed that 21% of year 6 children in the UK are obese, and 14% overweight. 

Therefore, it’s likely that the parents of clients would be interested in nutrition coaching alongside a training programme.

Other additional qualifications that you could pursue to diversify your business include a Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Yoga Diploma, which would of course qualify you to become a kids yoga teacher.

Before you go!  

Now that you know how to become a personal trainer for kids, why not take the first step in your career and enquire about our Diploma in Personal Training.

Alternatively, download our free course prospectus here for more information.