The Singing Side By Side toolkit is launched!

We are excited to be announcing the launch of "A Singing Facilitator’s Toolkit to Support Mental Health Inclusive Singing Groups", which has been the culmination of our work over the past 2 years.

What started as an exploration of the qualities, knowledge and needs behind facilitating group singing for the greatest benefit of all involved, evolved into a community of practice with a growing network of people with ideas and experiences to share and learn from each other.

This project covered a wide range of methods for data collection, including literature reviews, surveys, action research sessions, and group discussions, and participants with group singing experience from both academic as well as practical viewpoints. Our action researchers were a select group of individuals from across the UK (and beyond!), who took the time to share with us their thoughts, concerns, tips and tricks, and heartwarming experiences, enabling us to develop a toolkit backed by research which also resonates with the reality of facilitating group singing. We are very grateful to everyone who contributed in some way, and the toolkit we present is the result of a great team effort!

In our toolkit, we consider both the perspective of the singing group participants, ensuring their safety, as well as considering themes such as how to provide a welcoming environment and resolve conflict between members. It is essential, nevertheless, to take into account the mental wellbeing of the group singing facilitator, too, and we explore the roles which such facilitators may take upon themselves, and the ways in which it is possible to set boundaries and practice self-care, in order to look after their own mental health and wellbeing, and hence also provide the best experience for their singing group.

The toolkit is designed in a modular fashion, to be 'dipped into' at any section of the reader's choice, including both theory as well as examples of practical exercises that a group singing facilitator may like to try. We also include many case studies, shared generously by our action researchers, of their own experiences and stories which may resonate with others in similar positions.

We hope you find this toolkit interesting and useful, and look forward to hearing how you have made use of it in your own practice.

Please join us in our Slack group and new community of practice meeting for singing facilitators, or find us on facebook, twitter or spotify.

A taster of the toolkit was shared during our Singing Side by Side Conference a couple of months ago, which you can check out for yourselves here!

Download the toolkit here!