MISSION, VISION AND VALUES

OUR MISSION

Sing Inside provides group singing workshops in prisons across England and Wales.

We enable all participants to enjoy singing with others free from judgement or assessment, inspiring hope and confidence, and facilitating connection to others.

We train confident, inspiring community music leaders who deliver engaging, accessible singing sessions. We prioritise enjoyment in our approach to learning to increase confidence, promote teamwork and encourage participants to recognise their individual contribution to a shared goal.

OUR VISION

To see opportunities for group singing in every prison in England and Wales as part of a diverse range of educational and creative opportunities which inspire hope. These opportunities can be accessed by all people who live and work in prisons;

To see those with influence over prison regimes recognise that opportunities to have fun and share enjoyment with others is a prerequisite of positive community engagement and social behaviour;

To see social barriers between people in prison and the general public eradicated through improved understanding of life inside prison and to build a shared understanding of everyone’s capacity to contribute positively.

OUR VALUES

COMMUNITY DRIVEN

We will lead community singing sessions in which all participants are included, trusted, supported and respected, and we will centre collaboration and co-production in our work to form genuinely equitable partnerships. We will build environments in which narratives of judgement or assessment are replaced by the importance of having fun with others to inspire hope and build communities.

We will live this value beyond the team-building environments of our workshops, and strive for collaborative partnerships with prisons, local communities, volunteers and other organisations.

We want our partnerships to build on the unique perspectives and skills of different organisations and deliver projects which inspire people and change their lives.

INCLUSIVE AND
ANTI-RACIST

We want to see a radically changed prison system and society: an anti-racist, equitable and inclusive environment in which violence, stigma and stereotype against minoritized groups is removed.

We will strive to use any power and influence we have through our work to challenge violence, stigma and stereotype. We want our workshops to set an example of the incredible power that genuinely inclusive and anti-racist ways of working can have, and we commit to continuing to learn, listen and critique our work as we progress on this journey.

FLEXIBLE

We are flexible and we listen. We know that there are changing needs within the changing landscape of the criminal justice system. We will always respond to the individuals we work with and the systems we work within in order to deliver tailored and rewarding programmes for all.

AMBITIOUS

We will deliver high-quality educational sessions and think creatively about improving access to our work through continued remote engagement. We will pursue the importance of fun and enjoyment with others as a prerequisite for positive community engagement and social behaviours. We will stand up for the right of people in prison to access singing as a mechanism for this, and aim to change public perceptions around the importance of providing opportunities for fun to people in prison.