Building a community of young music makers in Southend on Sea

 The Song School is a not for profit social enterprise, established to breakdown the financial barriers associated with learning music by creating communities and spaces for music making that are accessible to everyone. They focus on group teaching in classes – which are more affordable than one to one tuition and offer subsidised places for those who could not otherwise afford it. The class based teaching also helps to build the strong sense of community, and they have successfully created an environment where young people feel safe and supported – as evidenced by a high proportion of neurodivergent members.

How the Song School makes an impact

The benefits associated with participation in learning and playing music include enhanced confidence, self esteem, mental wellbeing and social skills. There is a strong emphasis on personal and career development through members participating in mentoring programmes and leading projects, exposure to industry professionals and job opportunities. The Song School helps their members to develop general employability skills and supports them to develop careers in the music industry. They currently have over 140 members participating in weekly classes

Where Fredericks comes in

The Song School needed social investment, alongside its grant funding, to cover costs while growing it’s trading income – and specifically to add team resource to drive that growth. Fredericks invested £30,000 though a Revenue Participation Agreement.