diddi dance

diddi dance wins at EWIF awards

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Our very own diddi dance Founder Anne-Marie Martin was yesterday awarded the highest accolade at the EWIF awards 2019 – Inspirational Woman Franchisor 2019, sponsored by Little Voices.

We are delighted to be celebrating this most prestigious of awards for Anne-Marie at diddi dance HQ.

Anne-Marie was awarded the title at the EWIF ceremony yesterday, due to a hugely successful year last year, both as a franchisor, for her brand and network, and personally. This included delivering talks at local women’s networking events, sharing her experiences at franchising events, and inspiring the next generation at local schools, advocating franchising at every opportunity.

Improvements to the franchisee training and ongoing support, has seen the network feeling more motivated and empowered with even more webinars, face-to-face meetings, and forums. As a result, based on franchisee satisfaction, the franchise has been awarded 5* status for five years in a row. Whilst overall turnover increased, right across the network.

 

We also give huge congratulations to our franchisee Charlotte Foxley who runs diddi dance North Essex and South Suffolk, for winning Woman Franchisee of the Year 2019, Sponsored by McDonalds.

Charlotte runs a team of six teachers who cover 20 classes a week and works with several nurseries and special needs schools delivering diddi dance. Charlotte’s business is the first diddi dance franchisee to complete the Para Dance Instructor qualification in July.

And a massive well done to Emily Norman who runs diddi dance Bristol, for making it as a finalist in her category of  Young Woman in Franchising, a brilliant achievement.

We’re so proud of all of our diddi finalists and winners!

 

 

 

 

 

diddi dance nominated for What On 4 Kids Awards 2019

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diddi dance are excited to say we have been nominated for two What’s On 4 Kids Awards 2019 in the following categories:

Most Loved Music, Dance or Performing Arts Activity – Franchisor or Independent Taught By 30+ Leaders
Most Loved Party Activity – with 40+ Leaders Overall

These awards celebrate the UK’s biggest brands in the world of kids’ activities, the nations most talented teachers and class leaders, the most amazing volunteers and best party people – as nominated and voted for by the experts – parents, carers and parents-to-be.

If you can spare a minute please vote for us then wish us luck for a win!

Closing date for voting is 12 noon on 24th June 2019.

diddi dance Reading & Wokingham receives CAA Gold Accreditation

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The team at diddi dance, the brand behind the much loved preschool dance classes, are extremely proud to announce their franchise diddi dance Reading & Wokingham has achieved Gold accreditation from the Children’s Activities Association (CAA). The CAA is the only not-for-profit, industry-led association to set and raise standards in all organised children’s activities across the UK and this achievement clearly showcases the team at diddi dance Reading & Wokingham’s passion for excellence.

Set-up by leading industry experts in 2015, including diddi dance Founder Anne-Marie Martin, the establishment of the CAA (a Community Interest Company) has revolutionised the children’s activities sector. After Anne-Marie completed the accreditation process for diddi dance in 2016, she decided to offer the same accreditation to each diddi dance Franchise. This past month Anne-Marie & diddi dance were thrilled to personally accredit franchisee Andrea Bickford and her franchise diddi dance Reading & Wokingham.

Over 200,000 children a week now attend a CAA member activity and it is a truly fantastic endorsement for diddi dance Reading & Wokingham to be part of this ground-breaking national initiative. Andrea’s commitment to achieving Gold for her franchise shows her dedication to demonstrate to her industry peers and her fellow diddi dance franchisees that she excels at what she does as well as giving her parents the reassurance they deserve when selecting the best classes for their little ones.

Andrea opened diddi dance Reading & Wokingam in January 2014 and now runs numerous classes in the area, and has gone on to grow it into one of the most recognisable diddi dance brands in the nation, Becoming a Gold accredited member of the CAA is the latest achievement in the brand’s 6 year success story supporting dancing toddlers weekly.

It is staggering to learn that before the CAA, there was no national, independent association in the UK for the children’s activity sector as a whole. Through the development of the CAA Code of Practice and via their thorough accreditation, for the first time, parents can now easily make simple, informed decisions when choosing from the wealth of children’s activities out there. Just by asking whether the provider is a CAA member, a parent or carer can get reassurance on important issues such as insurance, health and safety, criminal record checks, training, qualifications, class content and much more.

As one parent said regarding the CAA –

With so many clubs and classes to choose from it’s so hard to know which are the best and what I should be asking when I leave my children in the care of a class leader. In the past I just wrongly assumed kids’ activities must have to be regulated. Knowing that the CAA has asked those important questions to help keep my child safe is fantastic – so now I just look for their logo!”

Having achieved Gold CAA accreditation means that diddi dance Reading & Wokingham has been independently verified as having met or exceeded all the necessary elements of the CAA Code of Practice. This accomplishment offers parents peace of mind when selecting an activity from the myriad of providers out there.

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

“Using the CAA accreditation system to ensure all our franchisees are performing to not only our high standards but also a nationally recognised association too is so important to us. Andrea is a great asset to our franchise network, she is motivated, hard working and driven, and through her attention to detail its fantastic she has now been awarded her gold accreditation”.

Adding to this Andrea of diddi dance Reading & Wokingham said:

“I always set myself and my team the highest of standards, as I truly believe that “if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well!” I pride myself on the quality of service I provide my customers and, wherever possible, I try to exceed their expectations, so it means a lot to be awarded Gold accreditation from the CAA. With so many toddler classes around today, I believe it’s really important for parents to have the peace of mind that the activity they’ve chosen is setting the benchmark for quality control in all aspects of the business”.

Congratulations again to Andrea and her franchise. If you would like more information about diddi dance Reading & Wokingham visit the Facebook page here or read all about them by clicking here

diddi celebrates EWIF finalists announced 2019

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The EWIF (Encouraging Women Into Franchising) Awards 2019 finalists have been announced!

We are extremely proud that our very own Anne-Marie Martin, founder of the diddi dance franchise, has been selected as one of only three finalists for the highly prestigious EWIF Inspirational Woman Award 2019 sponsored by Little Voices.

On being nominated, Founder of diddi dance, Anne-Marie Martin said,

“To have been selected as a finalist in this most prestigious of EWIF’s awards, in the Inspirational Woman of the Year 2019 category, is truly an honour. I am hugely proud of our diddi dance journey and where we have come in 16 years of franchising, in supporting women to create their own work/life balance running a business as part of the diddi dance family. To have our hard work recognised by EWIF is a real tribute to our success as a franchise”

 

In addition, two of our own diddi dance franchisees have also been announced as finalists in their categories – Charlotte Foxley who runs North Essex & South Suffolk,  is amongst five finalists for the title of Woman Franchisee of the Year 2019 sponsored by McDonald’s Restaurants and Emily Norman who runs Bristol, is one of three selected finalists for Young Woman in Franchising of the Year 2019 (Under 30) sponsored by Darwin Gray. Here’s what they both say on their nomination:

Charlotte Foxley, finalist for Woman Franchisee of the Year 2019, said,

“I feel extremely honoured to have been selected as a finalist in this category and to have the hard work that I’ve put in to build my diddi dance franchise during 2018 recognised in this competitive field by EWIF”

 

 

 

Emily Norman, finalist for Young Woman in Franchising (Under 30) 2019, said,

“I am very excited for this year’s awards and feel very proud to have made it as a finalist in this category by EWIF. To achieve recognition as a young diddi dance franchisee within a male dominated industry by a prestigious awards body is a great honour”

 

 

We are exceptionally proud of our diddi dance finalists and applaud the hard work they have all put in throughout 2018 to reach this point. We wish them all the best of luck for the EWIF Awards 2019, which will be held this year on Wednesday 1st May.

What’s On 4 Kids 2019 Awards are now open

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The What’s On 4 Kids 2019 Awards are open for nominations!

We would love if you could spare a moment to nominate diddi dance as a company and put your reasons in the box provided by visiting here

What’s On 4 Kids UK  – Children’s Activities, a site where you can search for local activities, classes, groups and events for kids, children and babies. You can find hundreds of fun things to do with your children and family.

We thank you for your continued support 🙂

diddi founder shares the secrets of her success

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Our very own Anne-Marie Martin, founder of diddi dance, is going to be sharing her story and experience of becoming one of the UK’s most successful and multi award winning franchisors in the children’s activities sector.

You can catch Anne-Marie speaking at the following events over the next couple of months:

5 February 2019 @ Space at 61, London SE15

8 March 2019 @ Mama Tribe for International Women’s Day

2 April 2019 @ Girl Tribe Gang monthly SE London group meet up, at St John The Unicorn Pub, London SE15

23 April 2019 @ MIBA South London, at Louie Louie Cafe, London SE17

Do come and join us if you’d like to hear more about Anne-Marie Martin’s journey to successful franchisor and mumpreneur. We’d love to see you there! As well as speaking at these events, Anne-Marie has also been invited along to a local secondary school to participate as a Dragon in their Dragons Den event in February.

diddi dance nominated for a Club Hub Award 2019

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diddi dance are excited to announce we’ve been nominated for the Club Hub Awards 2019 in the following categories:

  Franchise of the Year
  Leader of the Year

Club Hub is an award winning kids directory on children’s activities all over the UK and these awards celebrate the UK’s best children’s clubs and classes, along with leaders and volunteers, party providers, places and activity-based products for children – as nominated and voted for by the experts – parents, carers and parents-to-be.

The more nominations we receive the more likely we are to become a finalist so if you can spare a minute please nominate us then wish us luck 

 

diddi dance Wins Awards for Best Childhood Dance Classes

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SME News Announces the Winners of the 2018 UK Enterprise Awards and diddi dance is one of them!

toddler early years dance class award winning

We are thrilled with the news that this year we have been awarded Best Early Childhood Dance Classes. The 2018 UK Enterprise Awards showcase the very best businesses from across the UK’s corporate landscape.

Jessie Wilson, Awards Coordinator, discusses the success of this year’s programme:

“UK based enterprises are renowned for their diversity and ability to progress through tough times. As we turn our backs on the recession it is now more important than ever to seek out hard working, innovative and diverse business owners and offer them a platform to further succeed, and as such it is my pleasure to announce the publication of this year’s awards. Congratulations to all of my winners; you have each exhibited determination, passion and a will to succeed which I hope continues into the future.”

Founder of diddi dance, Anne-Marie, said of the win:

“At diddi dance we are really honoured to have won this award. It always makes us feel proud to gain industry recognition for our business. I feel the reason for our success is down to our passion. Not only do we love working with children, and seeing them develop, but also being able to offer other individuals a flexible working opporutnity

SME News prides itself on the validity of its awards and winners. The awards are given solely on merit and are awarded to commend those most deserving for their ingenuity and hard work, distinguishing them from their competitors and proving them worthy of recognition.

See all the other deserving winners in the winners supplement and find us on pg 70 or read our feature below.

diddi dance Franchisees win at 2018 Conference

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Earlier this month, 30 June & 1 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 from industry experts to help them better their diddi dance business.

franchise franchisee conference business

A highlight of the conference for founder Anne-Marie, and we think the rest of the diddi dance network, 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:

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 motivation and inspiration our fun awards invoke 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 next year!

Now we are pleased to announce the 2018 winners are…

franchisee award winningdiddi debutante for the fastest growing franchise from a franchisee who launched in 2017 (based upon overall business growth):

Highly Commended – Tatiana from diddi dance Oxford & Surrounding

Winner – Wendy from diddi dance South Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Ayr & Surrounding

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

Winner – Liz C from diddi dance South East Hampshire & Chichester

diddi diva for the biggest growth by a franchisee from June 2017 to May 2018:

Highly Commended – Anuschka from diddi dance North Londonfranchisee award winning

Winner – Emily from diddi dance Bristol

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

Higly Commended – Sacha, who teaches for Emily from diddi dance Bristol
franchisee award winning
Winner – Natalie, who teaches for Lisa J from diddi dance West Berkshire, South Oxfordshire, Tadley & Marlow

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

Winner – Lisa J from diddi dance West Berkshire, South Oxfordshire, Tadley & Marlow

diddi doer for the franchisee with most innovative marketing & promotions:franchisee award winning

Highly Commended – Charlotte from diddi dance North Essex & South Suffolk

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:franchisee award winning

Highly Commended – Julia from diddi dance North & Central Leeds

Winner – Charlotte from diddi dance North Essex & South Suffolk

diddi dude for the franchisee that is most supportive and active amongst the network – as voted for by the other franchisees:
franchisee award winning
Highly Commended – Emily from diddi dance Bristol

Winner – Julia from diddi dance North & Central Leeds

diddi deliverer, a new award this year, for the franchisee who is running the best business overall:

Highly Commended – Emily from diddi dance Bristolfranchisee award winning

Winner – Emma H from diddi dance North Shropshire, Wrexham & North West Stoke-on-Trent

 

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 – Nicola B from diddi dance Lancester, Preston & Kendal

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

diddi dance Summer classes for 2018

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diddi dance is open

With school out and children to entertain why not bring your little ones, and if you want their older siblings, to diddi dance over the summer! Some of our diddi dance locations will continue to run classes through July & August so if you are looking for something to do look no further! See who’s running what and where right here (classes listed by location from North to South):

diddi dance Lancatser, Preston & Kendal will be running the following, which all can be booked online:

toddler preschool dance activity summer classes lancaster preston kendal

diddi dance York, Ryedale, Selby & Surrounding will be running the following taster sessions over the summer before they launch in September. Contact Hayley for more informatin or to book a place:

toddler preschool dance class activity York selby ryedale selby

diddi dance North & Central Leeds will be running the following, all of which can be booked online:

preschool toddler dance activity summer classes leeds

diddi dance Wirral will be running the following classes at £5.50 per session either pay as you go or can book in block through website! Siblings younger and older welcome if joining in must pay:

  • Monday 6th, 13th & 20th August @ 9.30am – Jireh Hall, Teehey Gardens, Bebington, CH63 2JH
  • Friday 10th, 17th & 24th August @ 9.30am – Jireh Hall, Teehey Gardens, Bebington, CH63 2JH

diddi dance Chester & North Wales will be running the following classes:

  • Mondays @ 9:45am, 23 Jul 2018 to 20 Aug 2018 – Cheshire County Sports Club, Plas Newton Ln,, Chester, Chester, Cheshire , CH2 1PR
  • Fridays @ 9:45am, 27 Jul 2018 to 31 Aug 2018 – Saughall Methodist Church, Church Road, Saughall , Chester, Cheshire , CH1 6EN
    Drop in available or 20% off for a block booking

diddi dance Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire & Stafford will be running the following, all of which can be booked online:

toddler preschool dance activity summer classes wolverhampton stafford staffordshire

diddi dance Loughborough, Hinckley, Oadby & Surrounding will be running the following at £5 per session, all of which can be booked online:

  • Monday, 16th July and 23rd July @ 10am – Elizabeth Park Community Centre, Checkland Road, Thurmaston LE48FN
  • Tuesday, 17th July and 24th July @ 9.45am – Civic Centre, King Street, Enderby, LE19 4NT
  • Sunday, 22nd July and 5th August @ 10am – Parklands Leisure Centre, Washbrook Lane, Oadby, LE2 5QG
  • Wednesday, 8th August @ 11.15am – Woodhouse Community Hall, Forest Road, Old Woodhouse, LE12 8TZ 
  • Monday, 13th August @ 10am-  Woodhouse Community Hall, Forest Road, Old Woodhouse, LE12 8TZ 

diddi dance North Essex & South Suffolk will be running the following sessions over the summer:

toddler preschool dance activity essex suffolk classes summer

diddi dance Reading & Wokingham will be running the following classes, which all start at 10am. All classes should be booked online in advanced and are £6 per child (£3 for siblings):

  • Wednesday 25th July, 22nd Aug and 29th Aug – St Barnabas Church Hall, Elm Road, Earley, Reading, RG6 5TS
  • Thursday 26th July, 9th Aug, 23rd Aug and 30th Aug – Wokingham Youth & Community Centre, 35 Reading Road, Wokingham, RG41 1EG
  • Tuesday 7th Aug – Emmanuel Church Centre, Southlake Crescent, Woodley, RG5 3QW

diddi dance Bristol will be running the following classes, which can be booked online:

bristol dance preschool toddler activity classes

diddi dance Harrow & North Hillingdon will be running all the following classes at £7 per child, which can be booked online:

  • Wednesdays 1st  &  8th August @ 10:00am -Eastcote Methodist Church, Pamela Gardens, HA5 2QU.

diddi dance North London will be running all the following classes:

toddler preschool dance activity north london classes summer

diddi dance South East London will be running all the following classes:

toddler preschool dance activity classes summer se london

diddi dance Richmond Upon Thames will be running all the following classes:

  • Thursdays, 2nd & 9th August @ 10:00am – St Johns Centre Isleworth, 80 St Johns Road, Isleworth, TW7 6RU

diddi dance Brighton, Worthing & Horsham will be running at one location over the summer, £6.50 when booked via the website or £7.50 drop-in:

  • Thursday 2nd, 16th & 30th August @ 10am – Church of the Good Shepherd, Dyke Road, Brighton BN1 5AE

diddi dance Plymouth & Surrounding will be running the following classes, all of which can be booked online:

toddler preschool dance activity summer classes hampshire chichester

If you have any questions about any of the information above contact your local diddi dance via our enquiry page.
So join us if you can for our Hula Theme!toddler preschool dance classes hula

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