Singing Mamas Community Leader Training

Our core mission is to support perinatal women – mums-to-be and mums with babies and young children. That’s where Singing Mamas began, and it’s the community we are most passionate about serving.

That said, once a group is established it often evolves. Some women continue coming as their children grow, and others join without children at all – women at different ages and stages who simply want to be part of the circle. As a leader, you’ll shape your group in a way that reflects your community’s needs – but the training and our network are intentionally focused on supporting perinatal mothers first and foremost.

Come. You’ll be in the company of other women, also nervous, also uncertain. You are welcome and you’ll be a valued participant. The training is held in a way that promotes absolute inclusivity for women who have NO experience of this work. You won’t be exposed, ever. You will be guided until you are comfortable and ready to have a go. You will be encouraged and supported to find your courage.

Not only will you learn a ton of new songs, but you’ll also explore how to integrate NHS wellbeing frameworks into your practice. You’ll have the time and space to pause and reflect on your values and purpose as a singing leader and give some much needed attention to your own wellbeing.

Singing Mamas are the largest network of singing for perinatal wellbeing in the UK. We're a national non-profit working with multiple Universities, researchers and academics and we're at the forefront of developing cutting edge practice in the field. 

By joining the movement you will gain passionate colleagues, the backing of a well respected network and the opportunity to influence this work strategically at a national level. 

Our training is designed for women who want to create Singing Mamas groups in their local community. There’s no pressure to launch immediately, but the whole journey is about preparing you to step into the role of community leader.

Many women are ready to get started as soon as they finish and move straight into membership. Others take a little more time. Either way, you’ll leave the training with the skills, confidence, and support to share songs, build community, and make a difference when the moment feels right.

Absolutely not! We’re a non-profit movement, committed to improving the wellbeing of other women through singing. While there are certain things we expect all leaders to do when running their groups (which you will cover in module 6), we trust in the unique skills and abilities of each of our leaders to deliver singing groups in a way that works for their communities. We choose to come together under the Singing Mamas umbrella because we recognise the power of the collective, both to influence change and to offer support to the changemakers.

Yes – once you’ve completed the training, you’ll need to join our Community Leader Membership in order to run a group under the Singing Mamas® name. Membership costs between £10–£20 per month and gives you everything you need to lead with confidence: your licence, insurance, safeguarding policies, the Singing Mamas Song Bank, our Leader Library of resources, plus ongoing peer support and connection through our network.

In other words, membership is what turns your training into a thriving, supported group in your community – and ensures you’re never doing this work alone.

Not at all. Our group leaders can charge fees for their groups and earn a living from delivering this work. Not-for-profit means we calculate the full cost of delivering the work (including a leader's admin time, prep time, training, travel expenses etc) at an appropriate hourly rate. If a leader's earnings were to surpass the full cost of delivery then they would be asked to donate the excess profits back into the organisation, but the standard charges for groups combined with the expenses incurred means that happens vary rarely (after all bigger groups with bigger earnings mean more admin).

Yes. We include both women who were born female and trans women. We also welcome female-bodied non-binary people who are mothers. For more information please see our EIDAR policy (Equality, Inclusion, Diversity and Anti-Racism).

Yes — we do have a small number of bursary places each year, and we prioritise women from marginalised communities or those who are under-represented in our network. Our bursary fund is limited and means we can only offer around four places annually.

Because they’re so limited, we ask anyone applying for a bursary to also explore other ways of helping cover the cost of training. In the past, women have:

• organised small fundraisers with friends, family or their community,

• approached local charities or funders who support women, wellbeing or leadership,

• or asked their employer to invest in their training and development.

We know it can take a bit of creativity and initiative, but we’ve seen again and again how powerful it is when women rally their communities behind them.

To apply for bursary funding towards the cost of your training please complete this Google form.