About Merton Music Foundation

About MMF

Moving Music Forward since 1991

Boy playing guitar

Our vision

A borough where music resonates along the corridors of every school and echoes throughout the community. A place of aspiration where every child can find their first notes, make progress and flourish as a young musician.

Music Production student at Soundwave

We aim to be…

A centre of learning and a musical launchpad, unlocking talent both now and in the future. An asset to our community and an ambitious supporter of every child’s creativity. An inclusive cultural organisation – not just in what we say, but also in what we do.

To achieve this, we must be…

Dynamic, Inquisitive, Values-Led, Effective, Resilient, Self-Accountable and Engaging. These are our characteristics.

Our values

Courage

We will be brave, persevere and take risks together.

Commitment

We always aim for better. We encourage, challenge and support each other.

Joy

Music is for life – Music is life. Happiness should permeate everything we do.

Our story

Charitable Object

The principal object of the Merton Music Foundation is to “advance musical education within the framework of the arts for the benefit of the public in the London Borough of Merton and elsewhere”. Our mission is to encourage participation, enjoyment and achievement by providing the highest quality learning opportunities in music and the performing arts.

Moving Music Forward

Founded as an independent charity in 1991, Merton Music Foundation (MMF) has been providing high quality music, arts and cultural education programmes to the young people of Merton and the surrounding areas for over 30 years. We believe that music is for life and for everyone. Every single child deserves the chance to experience a rich musical education, both in and outside the school environment.

Our Merton

About the logo: It features the word swl music in bold, colorful letters, surrounded by a circular burst of multicolored bars resembling sound waves or a sunburst pattern.

London Southwest Music Hub

MMF is a consortium member of South West London Music, lead organisation of the London South West Music Hub. Music Hubs are groups of organisations funded by the Department for Education, via Arts Council England, that work together to create joined-up music education provision, respond to local need and fulfil the objectives set out in the National Plan for Music Education.

What We Do

Working with our hub partners, we support and advocate for music in Merton schools via staff training, whole-class teaching / First Access and special projects. We organise large scale concerts and events and actively contribute to the national discussion about music education. We offer pupils one-to-one and small group instrumental lessons in school, out of school & online, operate an instrument hire service, provide financial assistance to enable young people to access lessons, and run a wide range of groups, ensembles and choirs from our Music Centres.

Our team

A Learning Community

MMF is made up of a small core team of leadership, curriculum and administrative staff and a larger team of over 100 peripatetic instrumental teaching staff. We are proud of our inclusive learning community and constantly inspired by the dedicated, talented people and organisations that we get work with.

Meet our team

Making Our Vision a Reality

We regularly undertake a rigorous process of self-evaluation and improvement planning. Each year, we reflect on our progress and agree our priorities for development during the following academic year. Next we set about action planning to ensure that our Vision is made reality.

MMF in action

Photographs by Rebecca Cresta for MMF