By Rebecca Proud
Copyright scotsman
Kids Art Class was founded by Sara Barr in 2022. Sara spent almost 20 years as a primary school teacher but she dreamed of becoming an art teacher. Sara graduated with an art degree from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee. In 2022, she began working part-time as a teacher to start her business. She initially planned to do this for five years, but after less than six months she was able to go full-time with Kids Art Class, combining her love of art and teaching. Sara now has the support of a part-time employee, who works one set day a week, as well as delivering many parties and school holiday camps. Sara also has a second employee who works when required at busy times such as camps. Kids Art Class offers after school, evening and weekend classes for children and adults, including afterschool classes, family art workshops, school holiday camps and adult craft and sip evenings. Sara now teaches around 15 regular weekly classes. The classes offer a fun and relaxing place to socialise, with each class exploring different mediums and techniques. Customers all get to leave the class with a unique piece of artwork. Throughout her career as a primary school teacher and raising her three children, Sara has loved nurturing children’s creativity and believes art and being creative can have an incredibly positive effect on mental health. Kids Art Class focuses on fun and community engagement, a place to be entertained, come together and make new friends. Sara has received support from local Business Gateway adviser Aileen McGowan, who provided her with one-to-one support and business advice. This support has been critical for enabling the business to continue its development with advice on hiring and training. Furthering this initial support, Aileen guided Sara through her first recruitment process, supporting with interviewing and onboarding. This help and assistance had led Sara to be able to grow her business from a scale-up business to a limited company as of 2025. Sara Barr, owner of Kids Art Class, said “My lifelong dream of becoming an art teacher has finally come true and I’m loving running Kids Art Class. My passion for art and providing children with positive experiences to support their mental health has finally become my everyday job. My business would not be in the place it is without the instrumental support Business Gateway, and Aileen in particular, has continuously given me. I’m extremely thankful to Aileen for the fantastic support she has provided me.” Aileen McGowan, Business Gateway adviser, said “It has been wonderful to support Sara in her journey with Kids Art Class. Her commitment to her business and to art is lovely to see. Kids Art Class is the perfect way to develop a business, through pure love and care for the craft. I can’t wait to see where Sara takes Kids Art Class from here and to continue to support her with this growth.” To find out more about Business Gateway and how they can help your business grow and succeed, visit https://bgateway.com. September is the first ever Scottish Start-Up Month, run by Business Gateway. To find out how Business Gateway can help you start or grow your business or how to pledge your support, go to https://www.bgateway.com/start-up-month
