The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

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BALM Teachers Licence & Support Pack

BALM Teachers Licence & Support Pack

£100.00 / month + £1,000.00 registration fee

The BALM Teacher Support Pack is a comprehensive toolkit designed to empower and guide you in the early stages of running your independent baking business within the framework of The Sourdough School’s BALM protocol. This pack is an essential stepping stone for those aspiring to become a full Sourdough School franchisee.

The pack includes:

  1. Monthly Group Q & A Sessions: Gain direct access to Vanessa and The Sourdough School team via a monthly group Q & A drop-in forum, providing you with an invaluable platform to ask questions, discuss concerns and share your experiences.
  2. Teaching Aids: Make use of teaching tools such as loaf records and flavour wheels, designed to enhance the learning experience of your students and facilitate a clear understanding of baking principles and techniques.
  3. Lesson and Class Schedules: You’ll receive lesson plans, class schedules, and timing plans to aid in the organization of your classes, ensuring they run smoothly and efficiently.
  4. Preparation Schedules: With our class-preparation schedules, you’ll be equipped to plan and prepare for each class effectively, minimizing last-minute rushes and maximizing teaching time.
  5. Sourdough Club Access: You’ll have access to the Sourdough Club as a teaching aid. This online club membership, tailored specifically for you, will support your students both before and after your course, enhancing their learning experience.
  6. Promotion and Listing: Gain exposure and attract students through a listing on our teachers’ page and promotion on our social media channels.
  7. BALM Resources: Keep yourself updated and enhance your teaching materials with access to the libraries of the certificate and the live sessions each week. This will enable you to revisit key elements and share the latest in baking science and techniques with your students.

Join The Waiting List

Categories: Courses Index, Support and Licenses, post Graduate and Mentorship, Teacher Training, Training To Socially Prescribe Baking
  • Description
  • ADVICE & SUPPORT
  • IS THERE ANY MORE SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO HELP SET ME UP AS TEACHER?
  • WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS?
  • WHAT IS MY POTENTIAL INCOME?
  • WILL I MAKE MY FORTUNE?
  • HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO BUY A SUPPORT PACK?

Why did we start teaching the teachers?

Three years ago, we stopped teaching beginners’ classes to allow us time to continue researching and concentrating on our core mission of teaching healthcare practitioners. So, while The Sourdough School is a centre for the study of the nutrition and digestibility of bread, we are leading the way in the application of the most up-to-date research, and we do not have time to teach beginners how to bake anymore. This has left us with a huge waiting list, and after many years of teaching, I wanted to offer a way for my students to share with others the knowledge they have learned here.

So we decided to help our students to teach others how to bake by providing a support structure and BALM Teaching Licence. The BALM Teacher Support Pack is far more than a mere assemblage of resources and documents. It’s an invitation to embark on a journey of passionate teaching and constant learning; it is a robust support structure designed with the goal of nurturing your independent spirit while simultaneously offering a framework to operate within the established guidelines, systems, and protocols of The Sourdough School. It is also an invitation to stay as part of a community and be part of the systems change programme.

Please see the Terms and Conditions here. 

 

https://thesourdoughschool.com/category/teaching-balm/

ADVICE & SUPPORT

It is hard work to teach on your own, and having the support and structure of the team at the School is a huge bonus. Sometimes, just chatting a problem through can help enormously and our insight is a great resource. With a network of medical professionals, scientists, wheat breeders, nutritionists, specialist bakers, researchers and academics, we’ve been pooling the research on sourdough and fermentation from all over the world into a central point, and we are right here to help you learn to teach and share this knowledge.

IS THERE ANY MORE SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO HELP SET ME UP AS TEACHER?

You can apply for a business and mentoring programme with Vanessa Kimbell. This will last 1–2 months, with 5 days of 1:1 time with Vanessa.

The cost is £5,000 + travel and accommodation expenses where appropriate.

Email [email protected] for more information. Alternatively, you may wish to look at the Franchisee Programme.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS?

You must have completed the full Diploma in Teaching Baking as Lifestyle Medicine.

You will need to always adhere to the BALM Protocol.

Your first classes must be in line with your abilities. You can choose from the 1-day 10-minute Breads Course, the 2-day Ambient Course, the 3-day Retarded Course or a 5-day Combined Class. You may apply to teach further classes (such as baking sourdough for specific health conditions) at a later date.

We will provide you with a style guide for language and tone, which we require you to use in your marketing and communications.

Your first class will need to be taught for free and may be attended by one of The Sourdough School team.

Any new recipes you produce will remain the intellectual property of The Sourdough School, but you will be acknowledged as the author.

You may not teach BALM Theory courses or any online classes that are in direct competition to The Sourdough School.

The meals provided for your students must be vegetarian.

WHAT IS MY POTENTIAL INCOME?

It is too difficult to estimate your potential income, as there are too many variables, including location, your own marketing and number of courses you offer. However, we do provide you with a basic list of all the costs that you need to take into consideration as a self-employed person. We do not have a minimum or maximum limit to the number of classes you can teach, so you can develop at your own pace. Any decisions to hire additional staff to support you, such as cleaners or assistants, must be made at your own discretion.

Our suggested course rates are as follows, and we recommend a class size of about 6 students. • 1-day How to make 10-minute Sourdough Course £199 (x 6 = £1,194) • 2-day Course at £399 (x 6 = £2,394) • 3-day Course at £599 (x 6 = £3,594) • 5-day Course at £899 (x 6 = £5,394)

WILL I MAKE MY FORTUNE?

No. Teaching is hard work, and it takes time to build a business and to prep for each course. However, it is fun and extremely rewarding, and there is something extraordinary about connecting to others and doing something that matters.

HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO BUY A SUPPORT PACK?

Annually

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