Schools allow premium-priced yo-yo show, but for many parents it's a no-no

About 350 primary schools across Britain have allowed a troupe of yo-yo performers from an American company to give "motivational assemblies" this academic year, agreeing also to sell premium-priced yo-yos inside the school gate for a week afterwards.

The NED Show tour, arranged by All For KIDS Inc, a firm based near Seattle, has divided opinion among British parents, many of whom have found themselves pestered to buy yo-yos for between £6 and £12 after their children have seen the toys showcased during school hours.

Eighteen performers visited schools across the UK on two-week tours, apparently targeting sales of £350,000. While the company is thought to have fallen short of this goal, filings in a US lawsuit describe the business as "a tremendous commercial success".

One UK mother and former teacher said: "I thought this was a non-profit making organisation which was somehow supporting the school ... Parents are so used to buying things to support the school – at cake sales, for example – that they just didn't seem to question this."

All For KIDZ insists its NED Show "motivational assemblies" are educationally valuable, teaching children: 'N' — never give up; 'E' — encourage others; and 'D' — do your best. Vice president Scott Hopper said performers used many teaching techniques other than yo-yo demonstrations, including story-telling, audience participation and magic tricks.

"The [yo-yo] sale is covered once in the show and is done without putting pressure on the children," he explained. "We are performing a free of charge character education assembly and providing numerous resources free of charge. We don't do what we do for 'commercial marketing'."

He added: "We nowhere represent that we are anything but a for-profit enterprise."

Leaflets sent home in children's school bags tell parents that proceeds from the sale of yo-yos go to cover the price of school performances, which would otherwise cost £1,000. "If you choose to purchase a NED item, you'll help send the positive message on to more children," they are told.

One angry parent said: "The only message my five-year-old came away from the Ned Show with was that she needed to buy the yo-yo. She had no idea what Ned stood for and was upset for every one of the five days that they were sold by teachers at the school gates after the assembly when I told her she couldn't have one."

Details of All for KIDZ profits are not available as privately owned US companies are not required to file publicly available accounts in America. In a US lawsuit filed last year, however, All For KIDZ revealed that the business was "a tremendous commercial success ... [experiencing] tremendous growth and success".

The company is suing a former employee, claiming he had infringed All For KIDZ copyrights and used "extremely valuable" trade secrets by setting up a competitor company that also targets school assemblies.

All For KIDZ literature claims the yo-yos "reinforce multi-sensory learning and are tangible reminders that increase your pupils' ability to retain NED's message long after the assembly."

All For KIDZ was founded by Arne Dixon, an expert yo-yo performer who was previously a demonstrator for America's largest yo-yo manufacturer. The firm has 60 full-time staff.

The Observer contacted eight primary schools which have invited in All For KIDZ to host a NED Show assembly, but none responded to requests for comment.

Several have put positive messages on their website. "We had a super visitor to our school," said the Oval Primary School in Yardley, Birmingham. "The NED show encouraged children ... was very entertaining and children were able to buy yo-yo's after the assembly".

However, discussion threads on the Mumsnet website suggest the arrival of yo-yo performances and sales pitches in UK schools has prompted outrage among some.

"This is nothing but high pressure sales directed at vulnerable children who are unable to see the whole picture. It is a cynical money making exercise," said one post.

Another said: "This American company pitches The Ned Show as a motivational assembly ... This is all very laudable, but in reality it seems like a vehicle to sell stuff to our kids."

Asked what the NED assembly had taught him, one five-year-old boy told his mother: "That you can buy a yo-yo at the school office."

All For KIDZ insists its yo-yos are competitively priced. Hopper said: "We are very proud that we don't take money out of the school system and the funding of the programme is a completely voluntary act on the part of the parents."

He said about 40-45% of schools sold more than £1,000 of yo-yos and were rewarded with vouchers for NED merchandise to the value of 10% of sales achieved.

"It's true not everyone loves what we do," said Hopper. "There are those in the world who can only see the negative. Frankly, I feel sorry for their children having to grow up in an environment like that."

This article was amended on 20 July 2014 because an earlier version was launched in error.

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