diddi dance

diddi dance featured in Top Franchise Best Practice Report!

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Franchise Awards logo_RGB_winnerAfter winning the Family Friendly Franchise Award at the 2016 Workingmums.co.uk Top Franchise Awards diddi dance was contacted by Workingmums.co.uk to be featured in there new Best Practice Report.

Workingmums.co.uk’s Best Practice Report 2016 underlines how good family friendly working is not just about having the right policies in place, but about creating the right culture.

The report, which is based on detailed case studies of the winners of the 2016 Workingmums.co.uk Top Franchise Awards, identifies what makes a difference in family friendly working.

The awards celebrated the best family friendly franchisors and franchisees. Sponsored by Lawbite, they recognise franchisors both big and small who have empowered women in business – not only by providing a successful flexible business model, but by giving franchisees the advice and support they need to succeed.
To download the report for yourself just click here and find our feature from page 15.

To be part of our award winning franchise network get in touch today!

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diddi dance Receive 5 Star Satisfaction!

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For the past few years diddi dance has worked with Smith & Henderson to have a Franchise Satisfaction Survey delivered to our franchisees so we can obtain anonymous responses from our current franchisees to help improve our franchise network. Now, for the 3rd year running we have achieved a Satisfaction percentage in the 90s and have been awarded the 5 Star Franchisee Satisfaction Award once again!

Smith & Henderson describe the survey process as:

We invite your existing franchisees to complete our confidential online Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark survey. We guarantee that franchisees’ responses will be anonymous, so they can provide honest feedback. On average 77% of franchisees complete the survey.

We use this feedback to help you benchmark your training and support against other franchisors, identify key priorities and over time, strengthen your relationships with franchisees and your support package.

Top franchisors, based on the feedback, are then shortlisted for the Best Franchise Awards – which we won last year!

This year we maintained our score of 95%. To see the full breakdown of our survey just click here.

To be part of our award winning and satisfactory franchise network get in touch today!

Welcome a new franchisee to Leeds

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For those of you who may or may not know Leeds & Harrogate franchisee Cath Hale recently made the though decision to sell the Leeds part of her franchise. After putting the business up for sale a wonderful friend and previous diddi dance teacher came along to take it over, Julia Grantham!

Julia has taken over the management and direction of all classes and sessions running in the Leeds area and will be expanding further into the North and Central Leeds area in September and onwards.

Classes now run by Julia currently taking bookings for September are:

  • Tuesdays @ 10:00am, Horsforth St. Margaret’s Parish Hall
  • Thursdays @ 10:00am, Roundhay Parochial Hall
  • Fridays @ 1.30pm, Horsforth St. Margaret’s Parish Hall

Feel free to email Julia directly now via [email protected] to join any of the classes already running in the area or to express your interest in having a class open near you!

A little bit more about Julia:

Tell us a bit about yourself and your family:

Hi I’m Julia, mum of two young boys and I love music and dancing! I play the piano in my spare time, and have attended  various music and dance classes with my little ones ever since they were babies. I think I enjoyed it even more than they did if that’s possible! Tee hee!

What did you do before diddi dance?

I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home-mum for four years which is how I found out about diddi dance, and before that I was a nurse.

How were you affiliated with your new diddi dance franchise before taking it over?

I am taking over from Cath Hale, who taught both of my boys diddi dance classes. The chance came up to teach a class for her, which I did for one term before she decided to sell the Leeds part of her business to me!

What made you want to take on an already established diddi dance?

I knew the class, loved it, and felt that with an existing client base I couldn’t really go wrong. I know so many mums who have been to these classes, and everyone I have met in the diddi dance team are enthusiastic, friendly and supportive. Teaching diddi dance doesn’t feel like work. I get paid to dance and sing with little ones and nothing beats the smiles you see on their faces when you teach them. 🙂

And finally, what are you looking forward to the most with your new diddi dance franchise?

I’m excited to see and be able to develop the business and bring it to new places, venues and have my own flexible time-table. But mostly I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know a whole bunch of new children and seeing their progress and enjoyment of the classes. diddi dance is all about having fun being active; whilst dancing to some funky tunes. I can’t wait for September!!

For more information about current classes or to express your interest in a class opening near you please visit Julia’s Facebook page – diddi dance North  Central Leeds!

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diddi dance Franchisees receive KalliKids Award Nomination

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KalliKids Awards NomineeWe at diddi dance are so excited to announce three of our franchisees have been shortlisted in the KalliKids Best Children’s Activities 2016 for Best Pre-School Dance Class!!!

The awards, which recognise the best children’s activities and services in the UK in 2016, were launched to highlight the best of the best in children’s activity & service providers and to recognise & award the cream of the accredited crop.

So we would like to congratulate:

KalliKids believe in inspiring children to get active, learn something new and have fun with QUALITY children’s activity and service providers. That’s why we independently check each activity and service provider and take 3 parent reviews before we give them our tick of approval, and promote to KalliKids families across the UK.

Please help our ladies become finalists in their category, all you have to do is VOTE! Just click here to do so.

diddi dance Franchisees win at 2016 Conference

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This past weekend, 9 & 10 July, diddi dance held its annual Conference where all franchisees come together to network, share best practice and take part in workshops & listen to presentations to help them better their diddi dance business.

A highlight of the conference for founder Anne-Marie is the diddi dance Awards which recognise those franchisees that are excelling in certain aspects of the business. Both a winner and highly commended are given in each award and here they are:

Winners & HC 2

Anne-Marie commented on the awards:

We love doing our annual awards recognising those franchisees in our network that go above and beyond with their diddi dance. We find the motivation and inspiration our fun awards invokes is of great benefit to the all the franchisees and really helps them drive their business over the next year. We can’t wait to see who wins in 2017!

Now we are pleased to announce the 2016 winners are…

diddi dancer for the most enthusiastic and “en pointe” teacher as nominated by their   franchisee:

Winner – Lauren who teaches for Joanna from diddi dance Eastbourne, Uckfield & Hastings

diddi debutante for fastest growing franchise from a franchisee who launched in 2015 (based upon overall business growth):

Highly Commended – Natalie & Dawn from diddi dance Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Sutton Coldfield & Surrounding

Winner – Charlotte from diddi dance Colchester, Maldon, Halstead & Tendring

diddi developer for franchisee who has taken over a territory (through resale or transfer) and developed the business in all aspects:

Highly Commended – Anuschka from diddi dance Camden, Crouch End, Finchley & Surrounding

Winner – Emily from diddi dance Bristol

diddi diva for the biggest growth by a franchisee from June 2015 to May 2016:

Highly Commended – Andrea from diddi dance Reading & Wokingham

Winner – Gina from diddi dance West London

diddi discusser for franchisee fully utilising and actively using social media & online resources to their best ability:

Highly Commended – Lisa from diddi dance West Berkshire, South Oxfordshire, Tadley & Marlow

Winner – Caroline from diddi dance Swindon, Cirencester, Chippenham, Tetbury & Surrounding

diddi driver for the most motivated and driven franchisee doing their best to drive and progress their business:

Highly Commended – Lousie from diddi dance South East Hampshire & Chichester

Winner – Natalie & Dawn from diddi dance Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Sutton Coldfield & Surrounding

diddi dude for the franchisee that is most supportive and active amongst the network – as voted for by the other franchisees:

Highly Commended – Emma from diddi dance Central Warrington & Central Cheshire and North Shropshire, Telford & North West Stoke-on-Trent

Winner – Mona from diddi dance London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

diddi doer for the most innovative marketer franchisee:

Highly Commended – Suzie from diddi dance Wirral

Winner – Nicola from diddi dance Lancaster, Preston & Kendal

And lastly our biggest award each year is diddi dame which goes to a franchisee who has made an outstanding contribution to diddi dance in the last year:

Winner – Joanna from diddi dance Eastbourne, Uckfield & Hastings

diddi dame 2Joanna, who was our first franchisees to receive her Gold Accreditation through us and the Children’s Activity Association, has been working very hard to make her diddi dance business thrive, especially this last year. You can read more about her by clicking here. When asked about being chosen for this award she responded:

I’m ridiculously proud to be named diddi dame this year, it is genuinely an honour. I love my job so much that it doesn’t feel like a job – it’s a joy!  Thank you to all our wonderful diddi’s who make what we do so rewarding and so much fun!

 

We couldn’t be more proud of our award winning franchisees. To book a place in one of their classes visit our FREE trial page today!

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diddi dance Franchisees Nominated for mumandworking 2016 Award

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Our franchise mother and daughter partnership, Natalie & Dawn Edwards, have just been nominated for Franchisee of the Year at the 2016 mumandworking Awards.

Natalie & Dawn run diddi dance Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Sutton Coldfield & Surrounding. They started their diddi dance in January 2014 and over the past year and a half have grown it to be a very successful one with just the two of them running both the business and classes.

The mumandworking Awards are all about:mandw-nomweb-2016-award-logo

  • Empowering parents to achieve their potential
  • Realising the enormous commercial benefits of flexible working to employers and business owners
  • Recognising the substantial contribution to the UK economy
  • Supporting modern-day, family life
  • Celebrating the importance of the UK’s parent-preners

We love these awards and having our franchisees up for ones that recoginse their work in a franchise as well as being a working mum. With much to consider for each nomination and a 25% increase in the number of nominations received this year we at diddi dance couldn’t be more proud of this franchising pair up for the award this year. mumandworking have said “the judging process thus far has already been very challenging and to be nominated is a huge accolade.”

Natalie & Dawn diddi danceWhen we asked Natalie & Dawn how they felt about the award nomination, which was sneakily submitted by Head Office on their behalf, they said:

Dawn – “I am chuffed to bits to be nominated for this award. Working with my daughter and teaching little ones to get moving is absolutely the best”.

Natalie – “I am absolutely delighted to have been nominated for the Franchisee of the Year award – let alone to be shortlisted to the top 5. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we received the news and thought it must have been a mistake. Being recognised and nominated for this award after running for only 18 months feels amazing and very exciting!”

We can’t wait to find out on 11 October whether or not this lovely pair win, but until then join us in congratulating them on their Facebook page by clicking here.

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diddi dance wins Family Friendly Franchise Award

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diddi dance Top franchise awards certificatesOn Tuesday, 17 May diddi dance was honoured to win the Family Friendly Franchise Award at the 2016 Workingmums.co.uk Top Franchise Awards. The awards celebrate the best family friendly franchisors and franchisees. Sponsored by Lawbite, they recognise franchisors both big and small who have empowered women in business – not only by providing a successful flexible business model, but by giving franchisees the advice and support they need to succeed.
Franchise Awards logo_RGB_winner
During an online ceremony diddi dance franchisees and our franchisor, Anne-Marie, listened on as we were announced the winner of such a great category described as recognising “franchisors that offer the best Family Friendly concept.”

To hear diddi dance being choosen as the winner and all the reasons why the judges thought we were deserving of the award view the video below!

When founder and franchisor Anne-Marie was asked about the win she said:

Being recognised as a flexible family business highlights the work we have put in to ensuring our franchise opportunity is not only a financially viable option but also  an perfect choice for parents wanting to return to work. As a working parent myself I understand the challenges in finding a good work/life balance, which is why I am so passionate about running a company that supports flexible working life.

For more information on the awards including the other winners and the judges please click here for award’s press release.

To be part of an award winning franchise company just click here for more information!

diddi dance Franchisee Training is Endorsed by EMD Academy

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Recently diddi dance went through the rigorous process to have their training course all franchisees go through to be able to take on their diddi dance business analysed and accessed by EMD Academy and from this process our training course has now been endorsed!

diddi dance EMDP Endorsement Cerificate

Our pre-training, training and continued support of our franchisees were checked to be of the highest and up to date standards and this month we received our certificate of endorsement from the EMD Academy. Every year we will now go through a check-up process to make sure we are keeping up with their outlined standards, giving not only our franchisees & teachers piece of mind about the training they are receiving but also customers.

The EMD Academy says of their endorsements:

This quality stamp of approval not only gives peace of mind to your trainees knowing they’re attending a recognised course, but it also gives class participants confidence that they’re attending a session taught by an appropriately qualified instructor.”

diddi dance now has a quality stamp from the sector’s National Governing Body training provider for Exercise, Movement and Dance!

diddi dance Franchisee First to Achieve CAA Gold Accreditation

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caa goldEarly this year diddi dance was proud to announce we were the first fully accredited preschool activity of the newly established Children’s Activity Association, a national service to deliver unbiased advice to parents.

After founder Anne-Marie completed the accreditation process for diddi dance she decided to offer the same accreditation to each diddi dance Franchisee, so each of them could check their business meets the company’s now Gold level standards. This past month Anne-Marie & diddi dance were thrilled to personally accredit their first franchisee, Joanna Oastler who runs diddi dance Eastbourne, Uckfield & Hastings. Joanna launched her local diddi dance classes in January 2013 and since then has developed her business successfully in her area and continues to grow as the demand does.

050412_0038bWhen informed of her achievement, Joanna commented:

I am absolutely thrilled to have achieved this accreditation award with the CAA. With so many activities on offer aimed at preschoolers it can be daunting choosing the right one for your little one. As a mum to 2 young boys myself it is important to me that parents can be assured that the activity we offer at diddi dance has been specifically designed and tailored to support a preschoolers early years development, as well as at its core simply being FUN!

This gold accreditation also reassures parents that we have all the relevant insurance, DBS, health & safety policies and equipment checks in place as well as having undergone rigorous assessments of our teaching methods and techniques.

I love diddi dance and I want my parents to enjoy it as much as I do, safe in the knowledge that we care enough about their little ones to maintain the highest possible standards for our classes.

Anne-Marie commented on the accreditation process and Joanna’s success:

All of our franchisees are trained and monitored to our high standards, however having gone through this accreditation process ourselves we realised the benefit of asking our franchisees to check their Code of Practice, as well. We only just achieved this accreditation ourselves in February 2016, so for Joanna to be our first franchisee to reach the Gold level in May shows that she has really analysed and assessed that her business is inline with Head Office’s accreditation. We are so proud that everything from her class delivery to customer service to policies and documentations all met our highest standards.

Congratulations again to Joanna and her franchise. If you would like more information about diddi dance Eastbourne, Uckfield & Hastings visit the Facebook page here or read all about Joanna by clicking here.

All about diddi dance Franchisee Joanna Oastler

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Joanna diddi dancediddi dance Franchisee Joanna Oastler who runs diddi dance Eastbourne, Uckfield & Hastings recently became the first diddi dance franchisee to be fully accredited through the Children’s Activity Association. To read all about her recent achievement just click here.

Because of this success of hers, we at diddi dance wanted to take the time to tell you all about Joanna and her franchise here!

How long have you been with diddi dance?

I’ve been with diddi dance for just over 3 years now, opening my first class in January 2013. Wow, that’s gone really fast. I can’t believe I’m into my fourth year!

What did you do before joining diddi dance?

I joined diddi dance when my maternity leave came to an end following the arrival of my second child, having been introduced to the classes when searching for a fun activity for my toddler. In my pre-diddi dance life, I trained and worked as an actor, eventually working at my old drama school up until the birth of my second little boy.

050412_0038bWhat do you love most about diddi dance and running your own business?

I have the flexibility of working around family commitments and although it’s hard work the beauty of it being my business is that I can decide to grow and develop it at the pace that I want and am able to.

Through running my own business I have developed a greater sense of self-esteem and belief in what I can achieve. I’ve grown in confidence myself from teaching diddi dance and it’s given me a perfect outlet for combining my previous performance/drama training and administrative skills. This time I get to do it for myself.

What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of diddi dance?

Nothing beats the feedback you get from parents about their little ones and their enjoyment of diddi dance. Our classes are designed to help build confidence and social skills, as well as provide a high energy activity class developing 050412_0258rhythm, co-ordination and motor skills. It’s an amazing feeling when you see a little one come along to class, who is incredibly shy and unsure about joining in and then gradually, they start to engage and participate more and more. It can happen in the space of a couple of classes and sometimes it can take a little longer but it can bring around a huge change in them, that transfers across into other aspects of their life, and it’s amazing to think that you have played a positive part in that.

That’s just one aspect of our classes that makes a real difference and I am so proud to be associated with something that can have that effect.

What has been a highlight for you since taking on your diddi dance?

It’s tricky to pick one thing out of all the different things that have happened over the last 3 years. Our big Christmas party events are always very special for me as it’s such a magical time of year, even more so for little ones of the age we have in class. Plus, I’m a massive kid at heart when it comes to Christmas, I just love it. So I really enjoy the build up and all the preparations that goes into hosting the Christmas party each year and then when the day comes around, it’s amazing to see everyone having so much fun. Last year, I hosted our first Halloween party and that was a massive hit so we will definitely be doing another this year – watch this space!

What is something you are looking forward to as you continue with your diddi dance franchise?

Opening more classes! I have plans to open further sessions across the Eastbourne, Uckfield & Hastings areas so that we can bring the joy of diddi dance to even more toddlers in our territory.

What do you enjoy most about your diddi dance?

The fact that’s it’s my job! It somehow feels wrong to have so much fun at work! I’m not going to lie, I’m human and there are days when you get out of bed and wish you didn’t have to. But I get to class, set up the music & props and as the little ones drift in with big smiles and rush up to tell you news of their latest plaster covered “boo-boo” or to show off their new shoes, I can’t help but forget everything else and genuinely have the best time leading the class.

IMG_1043 6 IMG_1019

What do you enjoy most about being your own Boss?

What’s not to like about being your own Boss? I think the opportunity and flexibility to manage your own time around other commitments such as my boys and my responsibilities as a mother. Obviously, it’s incredibly hard work and it sometimes feels like you don’t get time to just relax and switch off which I think a 9-5 job can give you but equally, you get out of your business what you put in and the rewards and sense of achievement you gain far outweigh this.

I am so lucky that I am able to spend some quality time with my youngest boy whilst he is still at home before heading off to school in September, whilst being able to manage running my classes around his nursery hours. It’s diddi dance that has given me that with both my sons and it’s precious time I would not have otherwise had.

What does the CAA accreditation mean to you?

caa goldI am absolutely thrilled to have achieved this accreditation with the CAA. With so many activities on offer aimed at preschoolers it can be daunting choosing the right one for your little one. As a mum of 2 young boys myself it is important to me that parents can be assured that the activity we offer at diddi dance has been specifically designed and tailored to support a preschoolers early years development, as well as at its core simply being FUN!

This Gold accreditation also reassured parents that we have all the relevant insurance, DBS, health & safety policies and equipment checks in place as well as having undergone rigorous assessment of our teaching methods and techniques.

I love diddi dance and I want our parents to enjoy it as much as me, safe in the knowledge that we care enough about their little one to maintain the highest possible standards for our classes.

And finally, what is your favourite diddi dance theme and why?

I honestly don’t know how to choose a favourite diddi dance theme. Everytime we start a new half term I find myself telling the grown ups in class that the theme we are about to start is my favourite. I’m sure they think I’m just “selling” the theme to them!

I really love our Bollywood and our Disco themes, the songs we have are complete “ear-worms” and our current theme, Country is such a fun one too and gets all the grown-ups “Yee-hawing”. However, I think my all-time favourite is probably Jive because it’s so energetic, I LOVE the song and we run it in the lead up to Christmas. It gets absolutely everyone on their feet and it’s amazing seeing all our diddi’s hand-jiving with their grown ups or each other.

Having said that, I cannot wait to try our brand new Hula theme which is coming up this Summer, the song is amazing!

Joanna currently has multiple classes running across her exclusive area. They are as follows:

  • Mondays @ 9.30 & 10.30am  – St Elisabeth’s Church, Victoria Drive, Eastbourne
  • Mondays @10am – Uckfield Youth Centre, Downsview Crescent, Uckfield
  • Tuesdays @1.45pm – Trinity Church, Coppice Avenue, Willingdon
  • Wednesdays @9.45am – Hastings Centre, The Ridge, Hastings
  • Wednesdays @ 10am – Framfield Parish Church, Brookhouse Lane, Framfield
  • Thursdays @ 10am – Heathfield Youth Centre, High Street, Heathfield
  • Thursdays @ 11am – Hampden Park Community Hall, Brodrick Road, Eastbourne
  • Thursdays @1.45pm – Hailsham Methodist Church, High Street, Hailsham
  • Fridays @10am – Y Centre, Saint Paul’s Road, St Leonards
  • Saturdays @9.30 & 10.30am – Regency Park Community Centre, Wartling Rd, Eastbourne

To attend any of the above classes or to express interest in have a FREE trial get in touch with Joanna today! You can email her on [email protected] or fill in our free enquiry form by clicking here.

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