Sherpa Kids School Body Engagements

Attended the SAPA - South Africa Principals Association - Regional Conferences: 2014/ 2015/ 2016 and 2017.
ISASA Dep Heads Conference 2014/ 2015/ 2017
ISASA Bursars Conference 2016
ISASA Heads Conference 2016
Proudly Primary 2016
Eduweek 2014 (speaker), 2016 (finalist Basic Education Supplier), 2017 (Panel Judge)
ICP (International Confedration of Principals)- 2013 Sherpa Kids International at Cairns Australia, 2017 Sherpa Kids South Africa Cape Town
GBF (Governing Body Foundation) National Executive – Sun 17 Aug 2014. Sean Coughlan arranged for Sherpa Kids to present at the GBF board meeting. Genevieve and Sean introduced Sherpa Kids and discussed opportunities for standard settings and quality bench marks in the South African OSHC Industry.
Intro meeting with FEDSAS (Federation of Governing Bodies ofSouth African Schools) Gauteng Regional Heads

Sherpa Kids Media Magic

ADELAIDE ADVERTISER : Mid Oct 2013. Sherpa Climbing to Global Heights
SUNDAY TIMES: 26 Jan 2014 : Taking Aftercare off schools’ busy hands
FNB BUSINESS SHOW: 03 Mar 2014 - 1^st Radio Interview 3 Mar 2014
THE STAR : Wed 9 Apr 2014 : Franchise Companies resilience following global trends
BUSINESS FRANCHISE AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND : Apr 2014 : International Expansion with Local Engagement
EDUCATION SA: May 2014 - Article written by Genevieve on making Primary Schools profitable by outsourcing services i.e. Aftercare.
ENTREPRENEUR Magazine - May 2014 - News Kids on the Block :
JO’BURG TV: 26 Aug 2014 - Featured Sherpa Kids Holiday Club Summit School. 2 ½ mins.Interviewed both Emma and Mariska.
YOUR BUSINESS MAGAZINE - Aug 2014 - Three page feature
DESTINY Magazine: Aug 2014. Two page feature.
CNBC Africa: 3 Sept 2014 - Fifteen minute Live Studio Interview with Genevieve. Feature on Innovation in Education. Please click on link to hear interview :
https://youtu.be/Y3nBFrQsY8Q
FNB BUSINESS SHOW: 10 Sept 2014 - Follow-up on 1^st Radio Interview 3 Mar 2014.

New Kids On The Block: Sherpa Kids
Sherpa Kids ready to bring quality after-school care to a market in need. By Tracy Lee Nicol May 26, 2014 4:10 am - Entrepreneur Franchisezone.

Vital Stats
Company: Sherpa Kids. Est: 1996, Brought to SA: November 2013. Contact: +27 (0)11 792 4679. Website: www.sherpakids.co.za

What is it?
Sherpa Kids is a franchised out of school hours care (OSHC) service founded by ex-South African Dawn Engelbrecht, in New Zealand 1996. It operates in over 150 schools in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and has arrived in South Africa.
“Unlike traditional after-care services that schools run because they have to, the Sherpa Kids programme allows schools to outsource the responsibility and provides a stimulating, engaging, fun and educational child-care environment that complies with an internationally benchmarked after-care curriculum,” says South African master franchisor and MD, Genevieve Allen.

About the franchisor
Geneveive has over 20 years’ experience in the education sector having been MD for two Advtech Group brands, and a member of the group’s executive committee.
“I took a sabbatical that included studying my Masters in Business Innovation, and an assignment got me researching education innovation. That’s how I found Sherpa Kids in Australia.”
Allen saw a gap in the market locally for quality OSHC. “Many working parents need after-care services but don’t really have a choice in the quality. Many schools have to provide aftercare but are over burdened and under resourced. I realised the opportunity for Sherpa Kids in SA,” says Allen.

Sherpa Kids and schools
Sherpa Kids officially launched in SA in November 2013. Sherpa Kids offers before-school care (including a breakfast club); after-care for homework supervision and engaging structured activities; and holiday care and stimulation.
“Our pilot sites will be operating from the April holidays as it’s a time of great demand from schools, and we have a number of franchisees in the pipeline.”
What’s more, the model is scalable. “This can be, but isn’t restricted to being a single site, owner-operated type of business. Depending on career goals, a franchisee can run OSHC at a cluster of primary schools in their area provided they have qualified staff supervising children.”

Ideal franchisees
“There are many teachers and retired teachers attracted to franchising because of its structure and don’t feel like they’re running a business on their own. Sherpa Kids is also an ideal flexible, part-time business.”
Franchisees must have passion for working with children, blended with strong business and customer acumen. Sherpa Kids suits professionals with childhood development/social work/child psychology backgrounds.
Provided Sherpa Kids centre managers are qualified in education or childcare, and the assistants skilled (graduates or final year students), franchisees needn’t be education professionals.

Sherpa Kids assists franchisees with:
Development of territory and broad business plan
Training and ongoing support during and after start-up
Franchisee guidance with activities and planning.

Benefits of the model:
Low barrier to entry and customizable
No rent or lease agreements for existing schools’ facilities
Franchisor assists with school proposals
No direct competition.

SCHOOL ENGAGEMENTS
Sherpa Kids visited more than 50 Gauteng schools (primarily Joburg North, South, East, West) engaging one-on-one with Principals and Deputy Principals. So far, a total of 160 schools have been contacted during our first year.

Sherpa Kids INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Sherpa Kids South Africa extends a warm, sunny South African, welcome to Mr John Miles, newly appointed Country Master Franchisee for Ireland. John, a former financier who moved to rural Ireland from London with his young family, said Irish families were crying out for affordable, high quality, school-based care. John is a results driven director with a proven track record of successfully shaping and managing businesses to deliver improved bottom line results as well as operational and regulatory excellence.

His strong background in leadership, driving change management by mentoring start-up businesses across sectors in the UK and Ireland, arms him with the skills, drive and gravitas for the changing Irish child care environment. The environments in which John excels are generally characterized by a focus on continuous improvement, creative idea generation, clarity of decision making and the capacity and mandate to mobilise solutions. His mantra – making the complex simple!

1^st Sherpa Kids School opens St Joseph’s National School in Clonakilty, Cork, Ireland, Sat 6 Sept 2014.

More activities thanks to mum - Sherpa Kids South Africa congrates mom, Navdeep Sandhu on joining the Sherpa Kids International Team.................. Published: Sat, 06 Jun 2015 08:30:05 GMT - Newbury and Thatcham Chronicle

A THATCHAM mum has been appointed as the local franchisee for an international company that runs primary school-aged care. Navdeep Sandhu has been chosen to represent Sherpa Kids, a company that runs before and after school clubs and holiday activities for youngsters. She will be giving primary schools in Thatcham and Newbury the chance to run the company’s programmes including arts and crafts, music, drama, sport and cooking. The programmes are tailored around the school and adhere to early learning frameworks.

Ms Sandhu said: “As a mother of two young children I understand how difficult it is for many women to go back to work due to the high cost and shortage of childcare in many parts of the UK. “There are many wonderful child-minders and nurseries in our area, however, I believe that many parents would like to see more after-school care and holiday clubs available in local primary schools too and I hope that I will be able to help them through my new post at Sherpa Kids.” The company currently has more than 100 franchises worldwide, in locations including Australia, Canada, Dubai, Ireland and South Africa, and it intends to continue to expand across the UK.

- See more at: http://www.newburyandthatchamchronicle.co.uk/news/newbury/articles/2015/06/04/966850-more-activities-thanks-to-mum/#sthash.YHK7AqSk.dpuf

Taking aftercare off schools’ busy hands

7 May 2014

GENEVIEVE Allen is a franchisor and licence holder for Sherpa Kids South Africa, which runs after-school programmes on school properties. She tells Margaret Harris that her experience as the eldest of six children means management has been her profession since she was three years old.

What does your work involve?

I manage a team of individuals who are all experts in their areas of business development, childcare and development, client relations, information technology and education, so my role is to bring out the best combination of their qualities.

I try to steer the business in the direction it should be going, but I rely on my team to ensure they anticipate change and act accordingly.

I work very closely with my customers and partners, discussing their requirements and making sure Sherpa Kids answers their needs. I also act as a “weatherman”, anticipating changes in my customer and market “climate” and preparing for the changed conditions.

The role I play is perfect for my entrepreneurial spirit, combining my love of working with and developing people while providing solutions for neither parents nor schools. I use my expertise and networks in education to identify a gap in the market where both parents and schools are currently well served.

Tell me about Sherpa Kids.

It is a franchised, out-of-school-hours care business. The aim of the company is to establish quality on-site programmes at primary schools in Southern Africa. The programmes are structured, fun, safe and educational, and the services cater for the varying needs of different communities and diverse cultures. Sherpa Kids serves the needs of local communities, keeping children engaged, and returns an income to the community in which it is based.

What drew you to this career?

I have always worked in education. My first career choice was teaching because I look up to my mother, who was a teacher and then became a self-made entrepreneur in events and tourism. I turned down a teaching bursary in Grade 12 and studied marketing instead. This was a risky choice, but it worked out well because the college that offered me a bursary in my second year became my first employer. I grew my career with them for the next 20 years, moving from a role in campus administration to campus principal, project manager, brand manager, general manager and finally managing director. My final role included responsibility at group executive level at the Advtech Group.

My time at Advtech set me up perfectly for Sherpa. I am the South African master licence holder for the global franchise. This means I run my own business within the context of a franchise system that provides me with technical expertise.

Out-of-school-hours care focuses on aftercare and holiday care on school properties. This provides schools with an outsourced solution for something they do themselves. I am the eldest of six children, so management has been my profession since I was three years old.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

Teaching was my first interest. You learn so much more in working with someone else to guide them in improving their understanding. As the eldest of six, with parents who both ran multiple small, often struggling businesses, I really benefited from my time with my younger siblings. Watching them learn and grow was inspiring, and once the bug bit I was hooked.

What do you love most about your job?

Each day is new. I never really know what each day will bring, but I am confident about what I know and how it adds value to the communities we serve. The support to working mothers — and families, who are so busy — is important. I believe that teachers and schools need to be supported, not maligned, with practical and effective solutions. I am proud to meaningfully add value as well as improve, at the very least, in terms of logistics and pressure points and hopefully really shape lives.

What challenges do you face in your work?

Working with and taking joint responsibility for other people’s children is something I have always taken very seriously. I have always been very careful when choosing projects and environments to ensure the best interests of the children involved are kept in mind.

At another level, running a business comes with the stress of thinking about your staff and your suppliers and ensuring that the commitments you make can be honoured. Priorities need to be carefully managed and considered.

What would you do if you could not do this job?

I love to teach and I currently lecture part time. I enjoy mentoring and professionally coaching people — I make this part of my active work with my staff and franchisees. I could see myself in this type of role, but I would prefer the more “active” coaching role with my franchisees to something more independent that would result from consulting.

What qualifications do you have and how do they help you do your job?

I hold an undergraduate qualification in marketing, an MBA and have recently completed a master’s in business innovation from Deusto University in Spain (in conjunction with Judges Business School in Cambridge). I have been professionally trained in branding through Vega and have done a finance for nonfinancial managers course through Wits Business School. I hold a qualification in quality assurance. I also completed a management development programme and various leadership development programmes.

My qualifications are wide-ranging and have grown my skill set. I am constantly learning, enabling me to grow and develop my people and my business. I learn more from my team than they do from me and collectively we are successful in our efforts.

What qualities do you need to do this job?

Perseverance, perseverance, perseverance. I use my gift with people — we all have it, but it needs to be honed. Really listen to what they say. Feel and channel their emotions. Connect by acknowledging.

BY MARGARET HARRIS, JANUARY 26 2014, 11:10

• This article was first published in Sunday Times: Business Times