Tappy Toes creates life-ready children, one dance step at a time! We are a baby and toddler dance franchise with development at the forefront of our classes. Claire Munday created the Tappy Toes concept through a sheer love and passion for dance and we now have 32 franchises across the UK and Dubai, operating out of over 100 locations.
Tappy Toes is a multi award winning dance and movement syllabus for the Under 5’s, providing fun and structured developmental classes for this age group. We are a non-ballet dance class offering classes from 6 months to 6 years.
Watching our mini dancers blossom and grow is an absolute delight, and makes being a Tappy Toes teacher a very rewarding job! Tappy Toes offers different syllabi, exclusively developed for the different age groups: Teeny Toes for babies 6 months to walking, Toddle Toes for those who are walking to around 2.5 years, Tots Toes for children aged 2.5-5 years and Tip Toes is our ballet syllabus for 3-5 year olds. In addition to this we offer SEN specific classes and inter-generational classes within residential settings.
Classes are structured in such a way that the learning is fun and engaging, even for the most distracted child, and amazing improvements are seen in our dancers every week. Our ethos is to develop life ready children, one dance step at a time!
Parents notice a real difference in both the child’s ability and confidence, in just a few classes. We have over 600 5 star reviews from happy parents.
Customer service is extremely important to us, and we have robust systems in place to ensure no customer falls through the cracks or feels ignored at Tappy Toes. We regularly check in with our customers and get their feedback on our classes.
In addition to our classes we offer parties, classes within nursery sessions and a wide range of merchandise for our mini dancers.
The Tappy Toes franchise network is a friendly and welcoming environment. New franchisees are partnered up with existing ones, to act as mentors and help them in their set up stages. Support and training is tailored to specific indiviudal needs, and regular webinars are held for additional training, including social media, finances, mindset, setting and achieving goals and much more.
Being a Tappy Toes franchisee feels like being part of a family, and we have worked hard to create that culture within our network. Our ambitions to grow do not detract from our ethos, and many times we have turned prospective franchisees away as we did not feel they were the right ‘fit’.
Our typical franchisee training starts with 4 days of in-depth training. 2 of those days take place in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, where you will be invited to join in with a class. We then teach part of the syllabus ready for your launch. Behavioural management and techniques to ensure the children are fully engaged are discussed in detail, along with how to deliver our Tappy Toes parties.
Two days are spent online via zoom. This training covers all of the set up of the business (including social media pages), a detailed marketing plan (including on and offline marketing), a retention plan to keep customers coming back time and again and all the basics of running your own business.
In addition to this iniital training, you will receive full training from the company that operates our booking system. You will book in to a series of one-hour training sessions with them, to ensure you know exactly how to book your customers and look after them.
We continually offer extra training and webinars from outside experts which take place on zoom. If you are unable to attend these, they are recorded and added to our operations manual.
We offer a monthly 1-2-1 call to discuss any issues, your business growth and to ensure you are achieveing your goals, and monthly group meetings with our other franchisees where you can share advice, tips and anything else.
Finally we have our annual conference, which takes place on the first Saturday of March every year, in Bishop’s Stortford. This is an amazing opportunity to come together with the entire network and listen to an array of amazing speakers. Finished off with our in house award ceremony!
I’m Tiffany Matthews, based in Fareham, Hampshire, and I’m thrilled to share my journey as a Tappy Toes franchisee. My life revolves around my husband and two adorable girls, and Tappy Toes fits right into our family rhythm. I teach classes and handle admin duties three days a week, making sure to schedule everything around my kids’ school runs and childcare.
My home doubles as my office, where I brainstorm ideas and manage the business side of things. Classes take place in community centers and halls, that I rent by the hour, all within a quick drive from home. Having a car is a must for hauling around all those fun props!
When it comes to getting the word out, Facebook is my go-to, but I also love tapping into local parenting networks online. Plus, the Tappy Toes head office does a great job promoting us nationally!
The support and training has been fantastic! From hands-on sessions with Claire, the founder of Tappy Toes, to ongoing online training and a supportive community of fellow franchisees, I’ve never felt alone in this journey.
And the downsides? None! Seriously, every day feels like a blast. I get to dance, laugh, and watch these little superstars grow right before my eyes. It’s not just a job; it’s a joy!
If you’re a mom looking for flexibility and fun, I can’t recommend Tappy Toes enough. You get to build your own business while still having plenty of time for those precious family moments. And trust me, seeing those smiles and wiggles in class? There’s nothing quite like it!
My typical day starts with school runs, followed by setting up classes, teaching, and then diving into admin tasks. But amidst all the hustle, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Tappy Toes isn’t just about dance; it’s about spreading happiness and watching these little dancers shine.
So, if you’re passionate about dance and want to make a difference in your community, Tappy Toes is where it’s at. Come join the fun!
