Hi all, it's so great to see you are so pro-active in researching your performing arts schools, it is vital you pick one that is right for you and your child! Razzamataz has very high standards, we have our own dedicated H&S Officer who trains every franchisee in Health & Safety and carrying out risk assesments for our insurers, we also have very strict Child Protection Policies and Child In Performance Guidleines and every Principal works very closley with their local Child In Performance Welfare Officer, all staff are CRB cleared and some also hold an offical chaperone licence and at least one member of the team is 1st aid trained, ensuring your child/ren are in very safe hands first and foremost! We pay our teachers up to £30 per hour, dependant on their relevant experience and qualifications, as in any industry, min requirements being a degree in performing arts and/or extensive performance and/or teaching experience, lesson planning is a huge part of our Principals jobs and they must collect 12 week overview plans for the term ahead, as well as monitoring weekly lesson plans, and each class very carefully every week, to ensure every child is included and every child is engaged, every child matters.
We are very proud that our ratiuos for children aged 4-5 years are just 1:7, yes a VERY small 1:7 ratio, most of our Principals don't teach, therefore there is a teacher PLUS a Classroom Assistant, PLUS a Principal to hand every session to ensure every child has adequate time at every single session to grow in confidence, learn and develop, for children aged 6-8 years we are again very proud to have a small 1:10 ratio, again a classroom assistant is with this group every single week at all times, along with their qualified teacher and Principal. Children aged 9-11 years and 12+ do not have the classroom assistant, however if the teacher requires hands on support from the Principal for exercises he/she can request this at any point, most of our Principals do not teach.
We cover tradtional musical theatre in all disciplines one week, and more contemporary pop the following, however it is reveiwed every week and the theme continues throught the term, in fact more than one term when planning ahead, so for reassurance we do not change the theme every week, there is continuity every week, I can see how this could be misunderstood though, and thank you for bringing this to our attention. I hope this clarifies for you and eases any concerns you may have had re this.
Our Principals are visited once per year by their Support Manager and we carry out audits to ensure quality control throughout.
We try to keep costs to a minimum for parents, hence why our fees are very competitve, without compromising on quality, and we offer fabulous sibling discounts as well as easy monthly payments for parents, you can of course, at most schools, have a no obligation free trial session to see for yourself how great and professional Razzamataz is! There is no expensive uniform, and we keep costuming for Show Cases to a minimum, we offer excellent performance opportunities, for those that seek this, such as West End Performances (we are appearing live at Her Majesty's Theatre on Sunday 18th November 2012, and this is inclusive for any/all children), as well as many local performances, we also offer Arts Awarts for those wishing to pursue a career in performing arts and go onto University, at Gold level this equates to 35 UCAS Points, again this is very inexpensive as we believe ALL children should have the opportunity of exploring the magical and wonderful world of performing arts! We also encourage Principals to organise specialist workshops with industry experts such as Zoo Nation, we bring the knowledge and experience to our young people, instead of our students having to travel to places far away which again, motivates and inspires them hugely, without having to be a costly exercise for parents.
That franchises bump up fees threefold is in fact a myth, certainly for us, some of our classes are as little as £3 per discipline, the most expensive being around £6 per hour, I live in Carlisle and even some small independent schools charge this or even more than this for some classes, and I would question if they are indeed as professional as a franchise ran one like Razzamataz Theatre Schools, with very stirct rules and regulations to protect young people.
I do hope this has helped some of you with your choices, and good luck, performing arts is such an amazing art form for young people, I for one, am very passionate about highlighting the benefits of performing arts for young people, it enriches their lives, makes them more confident young people and helps them be more able to tackle anything the world may throw at them! I was a very shy child until I attended dance classes, and I now have the confidence to run my own business - no better testimonial than that I think! Hope you all find the right school for you and your precious children, my little boy is 5 years old and loves Razzamataz Penrith!! Denise x