IMPACT

Over 15,000 young people. One simple belief: every child has a song inside them.

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Since our founding in 2011, The Songwriting Charity (Nathan Timothy Foundation) has worked face-to-face with more than 15,000 children and young people across Kent, Essex, South East London, Southend-on-Sea, Greenwich, and Cambridgeshire. In our most recent years alone we have delivered over 60 school workshops and 150 individual mentoring sessions annually — reaching more than 1,700 young people every year. From mainstream primaries to specialist SEND schools, from Pupil Referral Units to NHS-supported one-to-one programmes, we go where the need is greatest. Our very first year set the tone: independent evaluation found that 96.6% of teachers rated our work as outstanding, 82.8% observed positive changes in pupil behaviour, and 100% said they would recommend us — a standard we have worked hard to maintain ever since.

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Programmes that make a real difference — in classrooms, communities, and beyond.

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Our core programmes — Bully Beat, School Anthem, Leavers' Songs, and Harmonious Minds — are designed to meet children where they are and give them something they can own. Bully Beat uses songwriting to help children understand and speak out about bullying, with over 118 sessions delivered to date. School Anthem workshops give every child in a school the chance to co-create and perform their own song. In 2021/22 we partnered with Dartford FC Community Foundation to deliver 18 Sports Tracks football-themed songwriting days, with the Education Manager describing delivery as "exceptional… so many great stories of children being engaged during the workshop and subsequently in school thereafter." Our Harmonious Minds pilot at Nexus School worked across 20 days with pupils with complex Special Educational Needs, in ways that went far beyond the classroom.

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The voices that matter most.

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We measure impact not just in numbers, but in moments. Scott Jarred, Head of School at Nexus School: "Nathan has been inspirational with his delivery and engagement techniques… we have seen students vocalise and perform in ways that they have never done before." Maddie Arnold-Jones, Head of School at Ifield School: "You have captured something truly special. It is a wonderful reflection of our school community." And one long-term mentee: "You are so much more than just a teacher. You are a mentor and a friend."

 

Across our workshop records, 75% of all sessions have been rated at 100% enjoyment — with zero negative ratings recorded.

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Recognised, trusted, and built to last.

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Operating continuously since July 2011, we were awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark for our Olympic Songwriting Marathon — engaging 120 schools and over 3,500 children, generating nearly 32,000 SoundCloud streams and a YouTube UK spotlight on the opening day of the London Olympics. We have been proud to count Guy Fletcher OBE (Chairman of PRS for Music) as patron since year one, Rupert Hine in 2012 with Sir Ray Davies joining in 2017/18.

 

Our supporters include Kent Community Foundation, Kent Music Hub, Southend-on-Sea City Council, and the Radcliffe Trust. Fifteen years on, we remain a small, dedicated team with an outsized commitment to the young people who need us most.