Quality delivered at Razzamataz

Until recently, there has been no formal guidelines to assist parents in choosing how to select an activity for children.

That has now changed thanks to the Children’s Activities Association (CAA), an industry-led, not-for-profit community interest company founded and governed by experts to help parents, schools, nurseries and all children’s activities providers by raising the standard of children’s activities as well as give more families access to these excellent activities. 

To be a CAA member, children’s activities providers have to undertake a rigorous application process that includes a visit from Sue at the CAA Accreditation Team. She recently visited Razzamataz Carlisle as part of the accreditation process for the entire Razzamataz network.

 “I really cannot reiterate how much I enjoyed my visit and what an amazing opportunity you provide for the students. The self-confidence this builds is invaluable. To say that I enjoyed my visit would be a gross understatement. I was impressed with everything I saw and I know I chose a day when there was the added bonus of a professional workshop being delivered.”

• “Debbie was very welcoming and from the moment I stepped through the door I was entertained, informed and included. It was obvious that everyone there – staff and students – enjoyed what they were doing and why they were there.”

Inclusion

Razzamataz offers performing arts training and experiences for a wide age group and Sue observed parts of the sessions from Razz Tots (children age two and three) through to Seniors class (age 12 to 18) and everything in between. Razzamataz put the children at the forefront of everything that they do, which is reflected in the ethos of the school and the absolute belief that performing arts is for all, no matter what challenges children face.

 “All staff, irrespective of whether they were the lead or an assistant, knew the names of all the children as did the Principal, Debbie. Throughout all the groups, the enthusiasm of the staff was evident and their execution of the lesson was excellent. I observed two children with special needs, one required no extra help whilst a young boy had help when needed. I was very impressed with the handling of this young person as there was no fuss and he was given encouragement to re-engage with the group in his own time. It was very sensitively handled.”

Standards and compliance

Razzamataz is an award-winning franchise theatre school. One of the many benefits of being part of a large network is access to the latest knowledge in regards to child safety as well as ensuring there are no compliance lapses such as out of date DBS checks or the wrong insurance policies.

“I was pleased to see the young children were not released from the session until their parent/carer was identified.”
The CAA are committed to improving standards across the whole sector something that Razzamataz make sure of at their own schools up and down the country. By joining a franchise, Principals have to adhere to a number of guidelines to ensure consistency of standards across all of the schools.

“I was struck by the ease with which the leaders accepted myself and the Principal walking through their classes. The children were so engaged they didn’t seem to notice us and the leaders continued unfazed. This demonstrates that regular visits/monitoring takes place thus ensuring the standard of delivery and content is maintained.”

In order for Principals to achieve such high standards, Razzamataz invest in continually offering support in all areas of running a theatre school. This includes regular training sessions that franchisees attend free of charge, webinars with industry experts and one to one support with a franchise support mentor. This has enabled franchisees to be successful in their own schools and was reflected in the documentation that the Head Office provided to the CAA .

 “The Customer Service, Programmes and Training modules were all submitted prior to the site visit and met and indeed exceeded the criteria for accreditation. These were some of the best policies and modules that I have accredited and there are no follow up actions.”

Opportunities for students

Razzamataz prides itself in offering wonderful opportunities for students. These include incredible performance opportunities both overseas and on the West End stage and masterclasses led by industry experts in both musical theatre and commercial genres.

 “I was fortunate enough to have visited on a day when a professional dancer was giving a workshop to the Seniors and Inters groups. That the students can experience such a masterclass is invaluable to their development and observing the last 15 minutes of one of the workshops, I was impressed with the standard the students achieved and the hard work they put into the exercise. They completed a short routine from the musical Oliver and were delighted with the end result – as was I.”

Join our network

To find out more about joining our team of Principals and all the benefits of joining an Award-winning franchise, drop one of our friendly team a line.
We are currently inviting select attendees to hear more about the Razzamataz franchise at our Conference held on 20 January 2020 at Skyloft Millbank, London.
Email: head office team on [email protected] or call 01768213086 www.razzamataz.co.uk/franchise-opps/discovery-dens/