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Quick quiz for you - if you answer, 'yes' to the following, you're most likely perfectly suited to being a Pyjama Drama franchisee...

This week we delivered our drama and imaginative play training for nearly 50 teachers as part of the Collective Learning Conference in Cardiff. Before we started, we asked everyone to consider how they felt about using drama and imaginative play and give themselves a score - 1, 2, or 3.

We all love winning new business but there's something special about those who were around when you very first started. Park Lane Nursery in Welshpool was the very first setting I taught in, over 15 years ago, and they still have a Pyjama Drama class every single week!

Long gone are the days when parents or teachers worried that a child’s imaginary friend was proof that they had no ‘real’ friends or that they were displaying signs of psychological trauma or social deficiency. It’s now accepted that it is not uncommon, nor in itself worrying, for young children to have an imaginary pal.

We've all heard the phrase, 'Do as I say, not as I do' but children actually do both. They imitate behaviours they see AND hear, and that's why drama is the perfect preschool learning tool. When they take on different roles and communicate with different characters, children get a unique opportunity to observe the world around them in the safe and supportive environment of the drama.

This is Louie. Louie is five and with his infectious smile and sense of fun, he is a much-loved member of Pyjama Drama. When he first started, Louie was reluctant to share his ideas and sometimes sat at the side and watched the others play, but now he joins in with all our activities and LOVES to pretend.

This is Amelie. Don’t be fooled by the bashful smile, Amelie is bold and brave and at the centre of every Pyjama Drama adventure.

This is me. Someone who was shy as a child, someone who hates having their photograph taken, and someone who almost gave up teaching due to extreme anxiety brought on by the fear of being observed by other adults. 

This picture is taken in one of our after-school drama clubs. It shows a group of five and six-year-olds in role as a family, taken down by the same sickness bug. The children were asked to freeze in role and as you can see, did an amazing job of using their facial expressions and body language to express their character’s feelings.

This is Alex. His smile is everything because until just a few weeks ago, I rarely saw a smile and for months, Alex chose to observe Pyjama Drama from the sidelines rather than join in. Thankfully, Alex attends an amazing nursery with a wonderful practitioner, Julie Morton,  who has seen this before and knows not to assume that because a child isn’t participating, they’re not learning. So, we work together and don’t insist, bribe, or cajole. And we certainly never label a child as ‘shy’. Instead, we go about our business of play with gentle encouragement, and we wait.