As primary and secondary schools open up across the country, one theatre school with more than 50 franchises across the UK, has reached out to support the mental health of its franchisees, staff and customers. 

Razzamataz Theatre Schools has been running a number of dedicated sessions with coaches who are skilled in working to improve young people’s mental health and bring back confidence to students after spending months in isolation. Both franchisees and teachers recently attended an online coaching session run by Brian Costello, Director of https://headstrongminds.com who guided them through what a new normal routine would look like and how to reassure students and talk to them about any worries they have.

 

 

 

 

Hear from our team

 

 

Michaela Crumpton, Principal of Razzamataz Bristol North and South: “With a head full of so much information it was so good to listen to Brian who managed to simply make all the chaos in my brain make sense. Brian is engaging and funny but understands the serious issues we face. Thank you Head Office for giving us this opportunity.”

The session focused on practical ways in which Principals could continue to inspire both students and staff, while instilling new routines in an easy manner without causing distress or discomfort. 

 

Razzamataz Medway teacher Lorna Clark says: “I just wanted to thank you for letting me join the zoom, it was so useful. I tool lots of notes and feeling more confident about teaching. Brian is amazing.” 

 

 

 

 

 

Building confidence 

 

 

During the session, Brian gave the team some practical tips and advice surrounding the language that they use to young people and their parents.
Instilling a sense of confidence to each franchisee will enable them to go and lead their team in a way that will bring the fun back to Razzamataz while ensuring that everyone understands the new safety procedures. Throughout the session, Brian gave examples of simple ways that you can change habits and behaviour to keep the COVID-aware message but not scare the children or intimidate the team. 

Razzamataz has been working for months on end to support the mental health of their students and ensure a safe reopening for all schools within the Dragons’ Den backed network. Thanks to a COVID-aware audit process that each franchisee has to pass, the feedback from customers has been amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

Hear from our customers

Just one of the testimonials from a parent at Razzamataz Medway includes: “Can I just say how organised it was today. It was incredible, so efficient and really put my mind at ease about sending Emily back to Razzamataz.” This in turn has given Principals and staff a huge amount of reassurance as Hayley Limpkin, Founding Principal of Razzamataz Medway explains: “Thank you so much Denise for your months of hard work because Saturday was so smooth, so calm and a dream. We really had a great day.”

 

 

Founder and MD of Razzamataz Denise Hutton-Gosney has invested in supporting the mental health of the whole of the Razzamataz family throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so to ensure the team has all they need to support young people.

“We have worked with Brian many times before and we know now that it is even more important to have the tools, language and understanding to help students and their families through these unsettling times,” says Denise. “We have actually recruited five new franchisees to our network during lockdown and are actively seeking to grow our network now that we have everything in place for remote training and support.”

 

 

 

 

 

Work from home

With everything that Razzamataz has learnt, they wanted to reach out to people who have lost their jobs in the theatre, travel or other related sectors because of COVID-19 with a unique opportunity to join the multi-award winning Dragons’ Den success story brand. 

“One of the many benefits of running a Razzamataz theatre school is the flexibility it offers and how it can fit into your lifestyle,” adds Denise. “Many people have got used to working from home and are not keen to go back to a commute and compromising family time. We’ve been in business for more than twenty years and can offer full training and support to anyone who has the passion to be a theatre school owner but who lacks the confidence or experience.” 

 

To speak to our Head Office about how to join our network including information on our online Discovery Dens or to speak to other franchisees email: [email protected] or visit https://www.razzamataz.co.uk/franchise-opps/introduction/

 

Coping during lockdown 

Hear from Principal Lauren at https://weymouth.razzamataz.co.uk on coping during lockdown:

Top tips for theatre school owners

• Be the Leader – when a plane hits turbulence and everyone looks at the cabin crew for reassurance, everyone will be looking at you to see how they should feel and act. Be the guide and be the smile.  If you look wired and stressed, your team will follow and it will impact the students

• You’ve got this – it will be different, and you will need to be on your toes and to think more than you usually would but this is what you do, this is what your team do. You’re going to be OK.  

• Don’t lose the Razzamataz – in amongst everything, remember how much fun Razzamataz is for everyone involved. When we’re anxious it’s easy to micro manage and try to control everything. You can’t. Put in all the measures in place that you can, make sure everyone is doing what they should be doing and then go and do what you do best and keep inspiring the children!

Source: Brian Costello, Director of HeadStrong https://headstrongminds.com/

 

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