Draft:Sing Up Foundation

Board of Trustees

In 2021, three new trustees joined the Foundation's board: Dr Andrew McWilliams, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and researcher with experience studying the impact of arts and health interventions; Sleith, who had over 30 years of experience working with young people and music practitioners across music organisations and hubs; and Dr Motje Wolf, a Senior Lecturer in Education at De Montfort University and a member of the steering committee of 'Singing in Music Education' within the European Association of Music in Schools.^[5]

In September 2024, six further trustees were appointed to the Foundation board: Vernon Fuller, a musician, community singing facilitator and mental health and wellbeing tutor; Sarah-Jane Gibson, an ethnomusicologist and Music Lecturer at York St John University; Beth Ismay, Learning Programmes Manager at the National Youth Jazz Orchestra; Becky Kingsnorth, Assistant Director of Primary Care Strategy at NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board; Rhona Miller, an Associate Assistant Head Teacher at Addington School with experience in music and special education for young people with learning disabilities; and Zeny Zerfu, a teacher and trainer who has worked with the British Council in Ethiopia as a World Voice Master Trainer.^[6]

World Voice

In 2021, the Sing Up Foundation took on responsibility for continuing the legacy of the British Council's World Voice programme, which had run from 2013 to 2020.^[9] Developed by Artistic Director Richard Frostick, World Voice trained teachers in 23 countries to use singing as a tool for classroom learning, with projects adapted to support language learning, cultural awareness and work with children in refugee settings. Over seven years, the programme reached 1.55 million children and involved over 12,000 teachers.^[10][11]

An independent evaluation of the programme was commissioned by the British Council in January 2020 and carried out by Sound Connections, a London-based music education organisation. Published in 2023, the evaluation examined the programme's impact in Colombia, Ethiopia, Greece, Nepal and Palestine and informed the handover of World Voice resources to the Sing Up Foundation for further development.^[12]

The Sing Up Foundation makes World Voice training materials, the World Voice Teacher's Handbook and a World Voice Songbook of songs from participating countries freely available, and has developed new projects building on the programme's work with refugee and displaced communities.^[13]

Research into singing and refugees

In 2024, the Foundation published a report titled Then the dream started to be more: Singing and Music-Making with Refugee Children and Unaccompanied Minors: Insights From Research and Practice. The research was supported by a British Council grant to continue the legacy of the World Voice programme.^[14] Commissioned from a team led by Dr Hala Jaber, with Dr Fran Garry and Professor Helen Phelan from the University of Limerick's Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, the report drew on a literature review and interviews with organisations including Fairbeats, Music Action International, SurreyArts and Together Productions, as well as international partners from the British Council's World Voice project.^[15][16]

The research identified four thematic areas in the literature: challenges faced by refugee and migrant young people; the role of singing and music in social bonding; overcoming language barriers; and the creation of safe and inclusive musical spaces. Interview participants reported that participation helped children to feel free, valued and safe, and highlighted the importance of appropriate training and psychological support for facilitators working in these settings.^[17]

Building on the report's recommendations, the Foundation developed an action research project, Chorus of Hope, to create and disseminate an evidence-based model for vocal work with young refugees and unaccompanied minors in the UK and beyond.^[18]

Inspiring Voices podcast

In September 2023, the Foundation launched Inspiring Voices, a podcast examining the role of singing, songwriting and creative music-making in children and young people's mental health and wellbeing. ^[19] The first series, hosted by Baz Chapman, Joint Head of Foundation, featured nine episodes and was funded through Arts Council England's Cultural Recovery Fund. Guests in the first series included Professor Graham Welch, Chair of Music Education at University College London and Shlomo (beatboxer).^[20]

A second series followed, co-hosted by Chapman and Barberia with episodes exploring racism and cultural barriers in music, neurodivergence, and young people's experiences of creative music-making for wellbeing. Across both series, topics have covered many themes including singing with disabled young people, care-experienced children, neurodivergent young people, young refugees and those with long-term health conditions. Guests across both series have included Daisy Fancourt, Professor of Psychobiology and Epidemiology at University College London; Howard Goodall CBE, composer and broadcaster; and BAFTA award-winning vocal coaches and broadcasters David Grant MBE and Carrie Grant MBE.^[21]

Conferences and broadcasting

In May 2023, the Sing Up Foundation co-organised a two-day online conference titled Singing for Mental Health and Wellbeing: Spotlight on Children and Young People, in partnership with the Singing for Health Network and Music for Good. The conference brought together researchers and practitioners in singing and health to address the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, and was aimed at students, researchers, educators, healthcare professionals and singing practitioners.^[22]

In 2024, Chapman and Barberia appeared as guests on the Singing Teachers Talk podcast, produced by the British Academy of Singing Teachers (BAST), discussing the role of singing in children's mental health and wellbeing.^[23]

From December 2025, the Foundation became a contributing partner to Music Teacher magazine's health and wellbeing column, with Chapman writing on the role of connection in singing for children's mental health and wellbeing.^[24]

In February 2026, Chapman appeared on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour to discuss the role of singing in young people's mental health and wellbeing, the barriers young people face in maintaining access to singing during adolescence, and the Foundation's work with displaced young people.^[25]

The Foundation has also been cited as an authority on singing and children's wellbeing by regional and national press, including The Week Junior and the South West Londoner.^[26][27]