Over the past few months, we have been hosting a series of focus groups exploring singing for mental health and wellbeing, bringing together experts from across the field with experience running and managing these singing sessions. We started looking at these singing sessions and getting a clear idea of what makes them different from 'regular' singing sessions. You can read up on that discussion on our blog. Following on from that, we started to explore what is needed from the leaders to deliver positive singing sessions for mental health and wellbeing. Through the conversation and thinking about their own experiences, the group decided that the characteristics, knowledge and expertise could be organised into broader personal and professional domains, ultimately thinking about what a singing leader needs to DO, KNOW and BE to deliver a positive experience when leading singing for mental health and wellbeing. We eventually organised the groups' ideas into the following and realised subsequently that they could be presented as a Leadership Schema (see the figure below). DO Practice Music Leadership Skills and Knowledge Learn repertoire thoroughly Prepare and be flexible Have wide and varied repertoire Use ice-breakers appropriately Deliver appropriately paced and pitched workshops Teach and lead groups effectively KNOW Appropriate Mental Health Awareness Awareness of mental health conditions Know clients’ triggers Have techniques and tools to deal with specific behaviours Observe (read the room) Understand the context/environment/people Trauma and mental health informed The 'DO' and 'KNOW' parts of the schema are pretty self-explanatory. The group had a lengthy discussion about the innate and learned leadership qualities that make up what has been grouped under 'BE'. When working in singing for mental health and wellbeing, given the context, the participants' needs and the purpose of the activity, there was a feeling that there really are special personal attributes that will make a leader more likely to flourish leading singing for mental health and wellbeing. It is of course important for all leaders to have some of these skills to varying degrees, but the context of the work makes some of them more critical. BE Authentic & Self-Aware Understanding Genuine interest and drive Be real/authentic Emotional intelligence/perceptive Be you! (Leave your baggage) Inclusive Non-judgemental Do normalise the group singing experience Just sing – singing not just being ‘done’ to the group Innate Qualities Be warm and funny Sensitive – awareness of non-verbal communication Demeanour – body language Be unshockable/unphasable Have an understanding and recognition of resilience Know yourself Learned Qualities Respond sensitively to clients’ needs Be able to respond appropriately and sensitively (empathy) Be encouraging Be Resilient Be Flexible (musically and personally) Be adaptable Be patient Being part of a team Team player Organisational support for leader Change of face Knowing ‘Team Teach’ Knowing your own levels and limits Needs to be supported (self-care) Taking it further Thinking about the way the identified domains – DO, KNOW and BE – could potentially be presented, the figure above was developed. Depending on the participants’ needs and the context of the singing activity, the leader’s use of their knowledge, skills and interpersonal qualities would fluctuate between the domains themselves using their expertise to guide their practice. In other words, each leader would recognise the needs of their audience and then weight their skills appropriately towards those needs. We could also potentially plot different contexts against the domains to help determine and recruit leaders to deliver singing for mental health and wellbeing. The group felt that this schema could be a useful and flexible tool for those commissioning singing for mental health and wellbeing and also those wanting to work in the area. Could this schema potentially help to provide a framework for recruitment or maybe help vocal leaders think about the gaps in their own knowledge and skills? Questions to think about Is this a useful tool to have? How could you use it? Do any of the circles take precedence over the others? What do you think could go in the centre of all three circles? What are your thoughts? We're keen to continue developing the conversation and would love to hear what you think. Please join in and add your comments or get in touch.

At our recent focus group, we explored what is meant by singing for mental health and wellbeing and what makes these singing sessions distinct from others. Join in on the conversation and let us know what you think. With so many people now recognising the wider benefits of singing on mental health and wellbeing, it's wonderful that we're starting to see more and more singing groups with a focus on improving people's wellbeing. It's also clear that with more emphasis on social prescribing through the NHS, local community connectors and GP surgeries may begin recommending local singing groups to their patients to improve their mental health and wellbeing. In terms of young people, this will also hopefully cascade down through to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) with more children and young people provided with opportunities to join singing groups for their mental health and wellbeing. It's important to then start thinking about what actually makes these singing groups different? What about them and how the singing leaders lead and organise them provides a rich environment where people can feel an improvement to their mental health and wellbeing? Can we identify some of these characteristics and help to ensure when children, young people and adults attend singing sessions for their mental health and wellbeing, they can take part in a group that has the ability to do that? In April, we held a focus group with experts working in singing for mental health and wellbeing to begin to explore some of these issues. The group included, Kate Burnett, Lea Cornthwaite, Emily Foulkes, Rebecca Johnson, Rebecca Ledgard, Cindy-Jo Morrison, Chrissy Parsons-West and Jeremy Sleith. It's fair to say, that from the beginning there was ample discussion regarding whether or not there actually was a difference between 'regular’ singing sessions (for lack of a better term) and singing with a view to improving mental health and wellbeing. As all of the singing leaders present had extensive experience running singing for mental health and wellbeing, many of them felt like they considered the effects on the participants' wellbeing as a natural part of their practice in all singing sessions regardless of the context. Eventually though through the discussions, the group came to agree that there is a difference. 'Regular' singing sessions were described as sessions where the musical goal is most important and where 100% of the development of the group is through music. In singing for mental health and wellbeing, the focus group felt that the leader must cater most to the emotional needs of the participants but that ultimately "music is the agent of change" and that there is less focus on technicalities and the ability of the participants. Thinking about it further, the focus group did agree on a number of key considerations to differentiate 'regular' singing sessions from singing for mental health and wellbeing. The considerations can roughly be organised into four main areas - group set up and organisation, leadership, support for the singing leader and mental health knowledge. Group Set Up and Organisation The focus group agreed that in singing for mental health, group size is critical and depending on the needs of the participants and the context, the leaders must think very carefully about ratios and what type of other support the leader may need in the room (ie pastoral support). It was also noted that structure is important to provide familiarity and comfort for the participants with some time provided in the singing sessions for social time so that participants can connect socially with the rest of the group. There was also a feeling that singing sessions for mental health and wellbeing must constitute stand-alone, complete, satisfactory sessions. This is because participants might find it difficult to regularly attend a series of sessions for any number of reasons. This also highlights the potential difficulty of making a sustained difference to hard-to-reach groups. Leadership We'd all agree that good quality vocal leadership is critical in all singing sessions but given the context of singing for mental health and wellbeing, the focus group highlighted some specific areas for leaders to bear in mind. Preparation is key and much more thought needs to go into the repertoire and content chosen for the group to sing as it's important to consider potential triggers and sensitivities of the participants. There also was a feeling that leaders need to be much more flexible and much more responsive when leading singing for mental health and wellbeing as there needs to be a plan but the leader needs to read their audience well and be brave enough to abandon the plan if necessary. Given the context, professionalism is, of course, key. Support for the singing leader Another area which was highlighted was the increased need for the leader themselves to have external support to mitigate any potential impact on their own mental health and wellbeing. There was a feeling that much greater emotional resilience is needed to deliver singing for mental health and wellbeing. Clearly, self-care is important, but there should be a duty of care from the organisers to ensure the good health and wellbeing of the singing leaders in the same way that employers would approach health and safety standards in the workplace. Depending on the settings and how challenging they may be, the leaders may also benefit from receiving some supervision and support from mental health support workers. Mental Health Knowledge Needless to say, there is a need for any one leading and delivering singing for mental health and wellbeing to have a level of awareness, knowledge and understanding of mental health. Depending on the setting, leaders may also be asked to contribute to case notes. As mentioned previously, the leaders need to have a level of awareness to help avoid triggers that may affect participants. This increased awareness should also improve a leader's ability to observe and respond to the group. Your thoughts We hope some of these ideas have inspired you to think about how you set up your singing groups. Naturally, they will spark many more questions and the discussions we had during our focus group were complex with many more ideas arising that we've still got to unpick and consider. This is very much just the beginning of an exciting journey in developing singing for mental health and wellbeing and ensuring that many more children, young people and adults can experience the life-changing benefits of singing. We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences. What are your views? Have you got experience running singing sessions for mental health and wellbeing? Do you agree with the ideas explored by our focus group? Have you got more to add? Want to know more about the benefits of singing? Check out our list of relevant research. Make sure you also subscribe to be kept in the loop about all our latest developments. Please use the comments below to join in the conversation.

We want to know about your experiences of children and young people's mental health and wellbeing. As part of our work, we're looking for your views and experiences of children and young people's mental health and wellbeing. If you work with children and young people either in school (primary or secondary) or out of school, we'd love to hear your views. Teachers play an important role in identifying and supporting their pupils' emotional wellbeing and we're interested to know your experiences and how the Sing Up Foundation can help support your work. Please take our survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8GRWHPJ The Sing Up Foundation aims to produce, promote and create opportunities for children and young people to improve their mental health and emotional wellbeing through singing.

This week, Sing Up staff spread some festive cheer in Charing Cross Station and helped to raise money for Samaritans. As part of the #SingforSamaritans campaign, Sing Up Staff sung to raise funds for Central London Samaritans at Charing Cross train station on 12 December 2018. Samaritans provide support to anyone experiencing emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide. They are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and run various programmes and provide support via phone, email and face-to-face. Given the Sing Up Foundation's aim of using singing as an aid to mental health and wellbeing, we're particularly pleased to be able to support #SingforSamaritans this Christmas. Get involved There are many ways to get involved and support the work of Samaritans. If you're interested in running your own #SingforSamaritans event, visit https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/sing-for-samaritans. If you'd like to find out more about the benefits of singing to aid mental health and wellbeing, there's a wealth of relevant research to explore on our Singing & Health page. Here's a video of our staff carol singing in Covent Garden and at Charing Cross in aid of Samaritans.

As part of Sing Up’s 10th birthday, we established a new charitable foundation with the purpose of supporting and promoting singing for mental health and well-being. Taking inspiration from Sing Up’s work and the impact that it has had on young children’s lives, the Foundation will aim to take Sing Up's ethos and values forward in working with teenagers and young people. During Sing Up's funded period, the benefits of singing for wellbeing came to the forefront following years of Sing Up activity in schools. It became clear after the first few years of Sing Up funding that there were so many wider benefits to singing in schools – from greater social cohesion to building individual children's confidence and much more. Originally, the Institute of Education (IoE) which was tracking and evaluating the funding from government was never asked to track wellbeing as part of the study. Significantly, half-way through the funding period with so much anecdotal evidence coming back regarding wellbeing, the IoE was asked to add wellbeing to the study and eventually this came out as being one of the most significant impacts of Sing Up. Given the research and statistics, it's clear that mental health issues begin in early childhood. For this reason, we are clear that through the work of the Foundation, we will aim to focus on prevention with the youngest children using singing to build resilience, self-esteem and confidence helping to build a foundation for better mental health. For adolescents and young adults, the focus will be on prevention as well, but further work will also be developed to work with children and young people with more acute and established mental health needs. If you're interested in talking to us about your experiences with singing and mental health and wellbeing or if you'd like to talk about working together, please do get in touch.