What is the Sing Up Foundation?
The Sing Up Foundation was created on Sing Up’s 10th birthday to encourage and support children and young people’s wellbeing through singing. The Foundation, via their website, provides information, advice, and guidance for organisations, teachers, and other professionals looking to use singing to support the children and young people they serve. They are also contributing to the large and growing body of research into the benefits singing can have on this age-group.
Why the mental health focus?
With all that has been going on in the world of late, it’s become clear that we need to find ways to address the growing needs of our children and to help them find outlets for all of the worries and emotions that come from living in these difficult times.
With over 15 years of experience providing stellar singing resources for schools, we knew we could commission an uplifting and inspiring Sing Up Day anthem with a great message, but we wanted to go one step further. We wanted to create opportunities for young people to express their own thoughts and feelings both around Sing Up Day and beyond.
Time to get creative – get the most out of your resources
Learn and perform In me I trust in style
You’ll uncover:
- High-quality backing tracks: get the feel of live performance with our backing tracks (in versions that come with or without optional harmony parts included on the track).
- Whiteboard mode: get interactive and have lyrics and notation displayed and synchronised with audio tracks. Music notation and lyrics are also available to be downloaded separately.
- Lyric video: need lyrics for a bigger screen? Learn the lyrics in style with our colourful, animated lyric video – great for use on a big screen and handy for assemblies!
- Teaching notes: handy tips for teaching the song with practical advice on how to learn/rehearse/perform it.
KS2 Rap and songwriting activities
We know that songwriting and composition are great ways to give young people a voice and means of expression, and to create a sense of agency which is beneficial for their self-esteem.
Ashleigh-Mae’s song In me I trust has a fun and rhythmic rap section, which we thought could be great inspiration for children to have a go at writing their own! To help make this happen, we’ve commissioned a brilliant resource (for KS2 and KS3) from award-winning educator and Rap Club founder Ben Turner. In it, you’ll explore what makes a great rap, and try activities connecting rap to self-belief and wellbeing.
Have you heard the Foundation’s brilliant Inspiring Voices podcast yet? If so, you might have caught the episode ‘Rap club: finding a connection’ where Ben shares how he used rap as a way to connect with disengaged pupils, helping them communicate their thoughts and feelings beyond the music.
Want a slightly different approach to lyric writing? We’ve made a lovely KS2 songwriting project available to Sing Up Friends for free that will help you dive into the practical basics of writing song lyrics in a group setting. We’ve added some extra tips from the Sing Up Foundation to help you frame this for mental health and wellbeing.
Assembly plan
To help you integrate Sing Up Day into your school day, we’ve provided an engaging assembly plan written by spoken word artist, educator and mental health advocate Yasmin Ali a.k.a Y.A. Poet. The assembly plan will help your pupils discover their inner strength and explore how affirmations can help to build a more positive mindset. It will also show them how to challenge negative self-talk and encourage themselves with uplifting words during difficult moments. By the end of the assembly, your pupils should feel stronger and ready for the day.
Delve deeper into singing for mental health and wellbeing
On our Get involved page, we’ve included some handy links to articles from the Sing Up Foundation that are the perfect starting point for learning more about the benefits, evidence, and current practice and guidance around singing in the context of mental health and wellbeing.
So there you have it –lots to get stuck into! Head back over to the Get involved page to explore your resources and see how you can get involved in our 2025 Digichoir video – this will be a compilation of all your performances.
Let us know how you’re getting on and share any special stories or activities with us on social media or email us at [email protected].
