0333 011 0476
Jessica Grant is the owner of performing arts school Dramarama and hires facilities at our Haverstock School in Camden. We caught up with Jessica to find out how she is managing her sessions in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Q. Tell us about Dramarama
A. Dramarama is a performing arts school that delivers a variety of programmes designed to instil confidence and skill in its participants. The school isn’t just for aspiring theatre professionals. It is also a safe space for children to develop confidence, concentration and focus, supporting them in their daily lives.
Q. How have your hiring needs changed over time?
A. Dramerama has been running for over thirty years. We started out in community spaces, including church halls and schools. It has become a priority for us that the spaces we operate in are nice, light and inviting. Certainly, as we’ve grown and the classes we offer have evolved into not only drama but also street dance, singing and musical workshops, the need for larger spaces has meant that we now rely on schools to facilitate our classes.
Q. What measures have you implemented to ensure your participants are safe?
A. Right now, our priority has been ensuring the spaces hosting our clubs are safe. This has meant ensuring our spaces are clean, large and offer the ability to stagger entry and exit. In amongst this is the concern that parents may congregate outside the classes, so it has been important to us that the space we operate in can discourage this.
Q. How have your participants, and their parents responded to the recent reopening of your club?
A. We have had a fantastic response from participants and their parents. Kids have been excited to be able to take part in activities with their friends, and parents have been reassured by our commitment to safety measures. We have had some great feedback from parents who found that our temperature checks and glove-wearing had added an extra level or reassurance that they need during this time.
Q. How has Kajima Community been able to support you?
A. Kajima’s work has proven to us the value of working with our venues to allow everyone involved to get the best out of their space and the best out of their business.
Working closely with Christina in the Guru team, we have felt comforted by Kajima’s attention to detail and commitment to our needs – from chatting through risk assessments and safeguarding, to ensuring that we have the staggered drop off and collection schedules to minimise risk for our participants and their parents.
The venue we are operating in now, Haverstock School, is exactly right for our requirements, with two drop off and collection points, and has plenty of space to allow us to do what we do best.