The beginning (2005)
Pyjama Drama Head Office is situated in beautiful Mid Wales and is run by founder Sarah Owen and her sister, Rachel McKenna. Sarah, an experienced drama teacher and mum of three, launched the first Pyjama Drama business in 2005 whilst on Maternity Leave, and quickly realised the immense benefits that children derive from imaginative play. Rachel has a master’s degree in Teaching, as well as two young children of her own and many years’ experience of running her own design business.
The first UK franchise (2009), the first International franchise (2015)
The first franchise was sold in 2009 and Pyjama Drama expanded rapidly in towns, villages, and cities throughout the UK. In 2013 Sarah was commissioned to write a series for CBeebies Radio, in 2015 Pyjama Drama classes were launched in Australia and Malaysia, and at the beginning of 2016, classes started in California, USA.
Award-winning training opportunities (2020)
In 2017, Sarah took her knowledge and understanding of training franchisees into the development of training courses and resources for early years practitioners, along with American colleague, Sarah Rijnen. Rachel and the two Sarahs worked hard to develop their first online course, 'How to Become an Expert in Early Years Imaginative Play' which was shortlisted for Teach Early Years Awards in the CPD category in 2020 and 2021. Their second online course. 'An Introduction to Early Years Imaginative Play' won the Teach Early Years Award in the Language and Communication category in 2020 and in 2022, 'Dip into Drama', Pyjama Drama's resource subscription was launched (and is also shortlisted for an award). Pyjama Drama is proud to host its subscription service and online courses on MyCPDGroup, a one-stop shop for educators looking for inspirational, high-quality training opportunities.
Pyjama Drama in China (2021)
When the pandemic first hit in 2020, Pyjama Drama franchisees took their classes online and in 2021, Sarah and Rachel started talking to Chenyu Ling from the education company LE FU Culture based in Shanghai. In February 2022, Chenyu started training to become a Pyjama Drama teacher and is set to take the programme across the city, and beyond!
Pyjama Drama in India (2022)
Sarah and Rachel continue to collaborate with exciting international companies, most recently, Jalsa Ventures in India, whose vision for the future of children's education marries perfectly with their own. Currently providing training for early years practitioners throughout India, Sarah and Rahel look forward to a long and successful collaboration with them.
Future plans
Post-pandemic, Sarah and Rachel are all too aware of the need for high-quality activities that specifically target the development of children's life skills and will be eternally grateful for their team of wonderfully passionate franchisees, without whom, Pyjama Drama would not be where it is today.