Frequently asked questions

Find answers to the most commonly asked questions about our children's art fundraisers below. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please contact our customer support team who will be more than happy to assist you.

Questions about commission

How much commission will we make?

You’ll receive 20% commission on all products sold through your parent order portal (excluding VAT and postage costs), until the end of the season (14th July for self-portrait orders & 31st December for Christmas). Previous schools have made more than £1000 commission in just a few weeks! You have the opportunity to earn extra commission via our refer a friend scheme too - just share your unique referral code and for every new group who registers and then returns 30 artwork sheets, you’ll both get an extra £10.

How and when do we get our final commission payment?

Your final commission total will be paid as one single BACS payment at the end of the project (14th July for the self-portrait tea towel fundraiser & 31st December for Christmas). You can enter your bank details at any time by visiting your coordinator’s portal, but we’ll also email you towards the end of the project to confirm if you haven’t had a chance to do so. You have until 30th September to submit your bank details and claim your self-portrait commission, and until 31st March to submit your bank details and claim your Christmas commission.

Can we keep track of how our project is going?

Yes! Your coordinator’s portal has everything you need to measure the success of your project, including running commission totals and order breakdowns.

Questions about the process

What are the timescales from when we register?

Once we’ve received your registration, our customer service team will be in touch to confirm all of the details: once confirmed, we aim to deliver your fundraising pack within 1 week. You will be booked into a scanning slot 2-3 weeks after your pack arrives, and this is the date that we would expect your completed artwork to be received back in our office. If you need to change this slot for any reason, please contact our customer service team to rearrange. Once the artwork arrives, we aim to have everything scanned, processed and available to view within 2-3 working days, if not sooner. For the self-portrait fundraiser, at this point you’ll then be able to view and approve your tea towel proofs. For Christmas fundraising, at this point you’ll be able to hand out your login details so parents can start ordering! Order portals close on 31st December for 2023 Christmas fundraising and 12th July for 2024 self-portraits, so the sooner you get your artwork back to us, the longer your parents will have to order.

Can I change my scanning slot?

Absolutely! Just contact our customer service team who will be able to book you into a new available scanning slot. Please note that our current final returns dates are as follows: 24th November for 2023 the Christmas fundraiser, and 21st June for 2024 self-portrait tea towels. We will still accept artwork if it arrives after your allocated scanning slot, but it may take longer to process - with this in mind, we always recommend giving our team a very quick call so they can book you into a more feasible slot!

What do I do if we need more artwork sheets?

We’ll always send 10% extra artwork sheets, but if you find yourself needing more, please contact our customer service team who can arrange for more sheets to be sent out. The artwork must be submitted on original artwork sheets, so please avoid photocopying the sheets as this may lead to them being rejected upon arrival, and we don’t want you to have to redo them!

Where do we send the completed artwork to?

Please send the completed artwork sheets separated using the provided class dividers to My Child's Art, Unit 2 Vulcan Court, Hermitage Industrial Estate, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 3FW. If you've mis-placed the class dividers then don't worry! You can separate your artwork using a plain sheet of A4 paper folded around the sheets, just make sure you write the class/group name on top (this is particularly important for the self-portrait fundraiser so that we know which children to put on each tea towel!).

Do you offer a pack collection service?

Yes! If you would like us to arrange a DPD collection of your completed artwork, please get in touch with a member of our customer service team. A £10 fee will be deducted from your final commission total (before payment) to cover this, so no money will need to change hands.

How and where do I send the completed artwork to?

Collect the sheets in and separate them into classes using the dividers provided in your fundraising pack. Then just pop them back into the original box (or something secure) and post them back via post or carrier - we recommend using a recorded/tracked delivery option where possible. The address to return your artwork to us is: My Child’s Art, Unit 2 Vulcan Court, Hermitage Industrial Estate, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 3FW. You will have to pay for this yourself, but this is the only cost to you throughout the entire project. If in doubt, please contact our customer services who can advise you on the available delivery options!

Late artwork submissions, what do I do?

Unlike other companies, we will accept late artwork at no cost to you - and with no deadline either. Please send additional artwork back to our LE67 3FW address, making sure to include all of the required information so we know where it belongs! Parents are more than welcome to submit late/additional artwork directly to us too. Alternatively, if you have less than 10 pieces of artwork to submit, please feel free to scan them as a high quality PDF and email them to our customer service team, including your reference number and any other relevant information.

How do you ensure that our children's identities are protected?

We have a very robust, GDPR-secure system in place and regularly update the security certificates on our website. We don’t display the children’s names in one long list, and when using the artwork finder the children’s names are never displayed in full, but rather they are partially obscured using asterisks. The artwork finder can only be accessed via your secure online portal using the unique username and access code provided in your fundraising pack.

Questions about artwork

What happens if a child has drawn outside of the box?

The artwork area defined on the artwork sheet is the correct ratio and dimension to fit all of our products. If any part of the image has been drawn outside the box (or on the border), it will most likely be cut off and will not appear on the finished products. As a matter of course we do not alter children’s artwork unless it is requested by the family prior to ordering. Artwork previews are shown throughout the online ordering process which the families must approve before they are able to place an order.

Do we have to draw seasonal pictures?

While we do tend to find that seasonal or themed artwork generates the most sales (and therefore the most commission), you are more than welcome to submit artwork using whatever theme or style you wish! A lot of our parent leaflets and supporting materials are seasonally themed, so just make sure to let your families know if you think this may cause some confusion.

A parent isn’t happy with the artwork their child has submitted, what can we do?

First of all, don’t panic! When the parent views their child’s artwork in the artwork finder, tell them to keep an eye out for the 'not quite the masterpiece you were expecting?' option - once clicked, this will assist them to order a free home artwork pack which will be sent to their home so they can complete and submit new artwork. Home artwork packs are like miniature fundraising packs, allowing your families to complete their own artwork at home. If they would like this to be uploaded to the school portal so you still earn commission, just ask them to make a note of the school name and postcode when returning. Alternatively, they can contact our customer service department at customerservice@mychildsart.co.uk and they will be able to assist further.

Our younger children are struggling to draw, what can we do instead?

We understand how difficult it can be to get children, especially the young ones, to create something that parents will actually want to buy! In this situation, hand or footprints are a perfect option, and not only do they sell well but they look great on our products too. Bright coloured paint works best, but why not take it one step further and add flourishes to the children’s handprints? We’ve had handprints that look like Santas, footprints that look like reindeers, handprints that look like flowers and even some animals!

Questions about ordering

How do we collect all the orders and/or money in?

You don’t - all orders are placed directly with us via our website, and parents pay us at the point of purchase using either Stripe (for credit/debit card payments), PayPal, Apple Pay or Klarna. Once you’ve sent the artwork back and have confirmation that your parent portal is open, all you have to do is give out the parent leaflets and lapel stickers, and publicise the project using the marketing materials provided through any means possible!

How do parents place an order?

Using the username and access code provided on the leaflets, your families will be able to visit our site (www.mychildsart.co.uk/order), and log into the unique parent portal for your group. Once in, they’ll be able to search for their child, preview the artwork and then enter the online shop!

Can parents place an order through the school?

Due to the personalisation elements involved in the ordering process, we are unable to facilitate or assist with bulk ordering through your school or group. It is possible to order multiple children’s artwork in one order, but we recommend against doing this because it creates a lot of extra admin for you! If parents are concerned about postage costs, why not encourage them to group together and place their order in one go to save on postage?

Once ordered, how long will it take for orders to be dispatched?

Because each item is unique and made-to-order, we advertise a 10-to-14 working day production time for every order; however, this can be extended during very busy times. Consequently, please allow 14 working days from the date an order was placed for it to be dispatched. We’ll let customers know directly as soon as their order is on the way (with their tracking number too!), but they are more than welcome to contact customer services if they have any queries in the meantime. Please note that 'working days' do not include weekends or bank holidays.

Do parents have to pay postage?

Unfortunately, yes - although we don’t make money on the postage charges and only charge what we have been charged by the carrier. Orders under 2kg are sent via Royal Mail’s Tracked 48 service, and the postage costs for these orders is £2.99 for large letters (single packs of cards / a couple of tea towels / thinner & lighter items), or £5.99 for parcels (multiple packs of cards / mugs / heavier & bulkier items). Orders weighing more than 2kg are sent via DPD’s tracked next-day service and have a postage cost of £10.99; however, most orders fall into one of the two smaller options.

Can we have orders sent in bulk to the school for free instead?

Unfortunately, no - all orders must be placed through the website due to the personalisation elements involved and our production system only allows orders to be processed individually as they are received. We have tried both methods in the past, but we’ve settled on this system as it means parents aren’t having to wait excessive amounts of time to receive their orders, and it also takes all the time-consuming admin & order distribution away from you!

A parent can’t find their child’s name on the parent portal, what should I do?

Please ask the parent to contact our customer service team with their child’s details if they’re unable to find them or if they’re unsure whether they’ve selected the right name. It’s possible that the child’s artwork was returned without a name, it may have been stuck to the back of another sheet and consequently missed during the scanning process, or it may not have been sent to us at all. Either way, we’ll help you both to find a solution!

A child’s name is spelt wrong on the parent portal, what should I do?

Don’t panic! Once the family has previewed their child’s artwork, they’ll be prompted to type the name in themselves: this is what will be printed. They could even add a nickname or the year to make it even more unique!

There’s an issue with a child’s artwork preview, what should I do?

If you or a parent notice an issue on a child’s artwork preview, please do not place an order! Ask the family to contact our customer service team with their child’s details and we will investigate the issue thoroughly for you. As a matter of course we do not make any changes to children’s artwork unless specifically requested. If they place an order and then notice the issue then it may be too late to amend or cancel the order, so please remind them to double-check all of the previews.

Can you return our original artwork?

Yes! We don’t do this as a matter of course, but if you would like all of the children’s original artwork returned, then please contact our customer service team to arrange this. There will be a postage charge of £10, which will be taken out of your commission before payment. All artwork is securely recycled at the end of every season, so don’t delay! Your request must be received in our office by 5th July for self-portrait artwork and 5th December for Christmas artwork, otherwise we cannot guarantee that the artwork will still be available.

A parent is unhappy with their order, what should we do?

As all of our products are personalised, each sale is final with no returns accepted. If the order has arrived and is damaged or incorrect, please ask the family to contact our customer service team who will be more than happy to investigate this for you. For more information, please refer to our terms & conditions.

Can't find your answer?

Please contact our customer services - there's no such thing as a silly question!