Razzamataz launches national Teacher Training Academy

There are more than 50 schools within the Razzamataz network, and every teacher will have the opportunity to join the academy

Razzamataz Theatre Schools has been supporting, nurturing, and progressing the careers of students, staff, and teachers for the last 22 years, but now there is an official route to follow to offer even more opportunities with the Teacher Training Academy.

The inspiration behind the Razzamataz Teacher Training Academy is to provide both opportunities to join the network, progress careers for teachers and offer current franchisees a strong succession planning route. The academy is open to teachers, work experience placements, classroom assistants, admin assistants and senior students.

“We have been working on this concept for many years and are now delighted to be launching it, despite the challenging few years we have had,” explains Denise Hutton-Gosney, MD and founder of Razzamataz. “The aim behind the academy is to create stronger teams and a culture of supporting every member of staff to progress their career as well as training each individual to be a better and more knowledgeable teacher.”

There are more than 50 schools within the Razzamataz network, and every teacher will have the opportunity to join the academy. This will give teachers the chance to understand many different aspects of running a theatre school including safeguarding, data protection, lesson planning and customer service, ultimately improving the offering for students and their families.

“Teachers are the heart of our schools, so it is important that we support and nurture them as much as possible,” explains Denise. “They directly impact the children’s experiences so investing in their training means we are creating the greatest experiences possible for our students.”

The other side of the Teacher Training Academy will be to support current Razzamataz franchisees on their own journey. Many will want to open an additional territory so will need to employ a manager, usually one of their trusted teachers. Others will want to be able to call on a teacher to take on a more senior role if they were to get sick or if they need to take maternity leave. There is also the issue of succession planning and understanding who might take over the business if franchisees choose to sell.

“There are so many different scenarios in the life cycle of a franchisee,” adds Denise. “The Teacher Training Academy will help franchisees prepare their teachers for whatever comes in the future. We say don’t wait until the scenario presents itself, be ready and plan for it.”

Many former teachers have already made this transition throughout the Razzamataz network, with experience showing that teachers really do make ideal principals, even if they have never had any business experience previously.

The franchise structure of Razzamataz makes it ideal for those who have never run a business before but who have a passion for performing arts. It gives them full training and support and takes them through every step of the process with bite-sized chunks of information. Razzamataz teachers come from a wide range of backgrounds, some work professionally in the performing arts industry and others start their journey when they are very young.

Matty Aitchison-Rayson, franchisee from Razzamataz West Cumbria, started his career with Razzamataz when he had just turned 17 years old as a work experience placement student.

“I absolutely loved the work experience working with Denise and the team of teachers and all the students,” says Matty. “I learnt and developed so many key transferable skills from this experience such as how to communicate effectively when working with both staff, students and parents and guardians. I learnt so much about the business and developed my love for the performing arts and working with young people.”

There are many current Razzamataz franchisees that have come up through the ranks, some starting as work experience placements. With the support of the Razzamataz head office, these young entrepreneurs have gone on to have profitable businesses that work flexibly around their lifestyles and families.