Who we are

Services For Education (Charity no. 1148848) uses the power of learning and of music to create and build confidence amongst children, young people, adults and communities across the city of Birmingham.  Our mission is to bring music and learning to life.

We believe that every young person should be able to grow up to be the very best that they can be, regardless of their background.

To this end the charity was formed in 2012 to provide more opportunities for children of all ages and abilities in Birmingham to reach their full potential.

Find out more about our
three main offers:

SCHOOL SUPPORT 

MUSIC PROVISION 

MUSIC LESSONS     

 

Services For Education Limited

CE: Sharon Bell

Senior Leadership Team: Lindsay Allen, Stuart Birnie, Carl Black, Tracy Carlton, Kirsty Jones and Sarah Marshall

Registered Number: 07739831
Registered Charity in England and Wales: 1148848

Registered Address:
Unit 3 Holt Court
Holt Street
Birmingham Science Park Aston
Birmingham
England
B7 4AX

Key contacts

Sharon Bell

sharon bell
chief executive

Sharon recently took over the role of CE, she was previously Group Vice Principal (Commercial and International) at WCG (Warwickshire College Group).

Send Sharon an email.

Tracy Carlton - Marketing and Development Director

tracy carlton
Director of Marketing & Business Development

Tracy is responsible for establishing, developing and growing our marketing and business development function, together with managing the fundraising team.

Send Tracy an email.

Stuart birnie
head of the music service

Formerly an Advanced Skills Teacher, Assistant Head of Service and Head of Whole Class Instrumental Teaching, Stuart is now Head of the Music Service.

Send Stuart an email.

kirsty2

Kirsty Jones
Head of School SUpport

With 20-years’ experience in school leadership spanning mainstream, special schools and alternative provision settings, Kirsty is now Head of School Support.

Send Kirsty an email.

MEET MORE OF SFE >

Our Governance

As a charity, our executive leadership team are overseen by a Board of Trustees, the current trustees are:

Sarah Smith (Chair) – Director of Education for the Diocese of Birmingham and a former head teacher

David Bolton (Deputy Chair) – trained with a Birmingham accountancy practice and now works for the world’s largest cash machine deployer with internationally based teams. David’s three children have learned brass instruments through Services For Education

Clive Stone DL – currently Clive is CEO of Professional Services company and former  Chairman and CEO of a leading Midlands’ catering and events company. Clive is also a Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands

Laura Williams – works in the public affairs department of a major charity and has strong personal connections in education and music

Joanna Cooney – who grew up in the West Midlands and is a solicitor at Irwin Mitchell. Since joining Irwin Mitchell, first as a paralegal, Joanna has worked for several years within the employment team where she developed my interest in employment law issues in the education sector. During this time she supported numerous educational clients on a range of employment issues

Martin Hall – 33 years in the corporate insurance broking sector, Martin now runs a consultancy which works directly with clients to leverage their broker/insurer relationships.  Martin sits on the board of small tech based businesses, is Chair of Governors for a Primary School and an Enterprise Adviser to secondary schools in Tamworth

Jamie Barry – Head Teacher of Yew Tree Primary School in Walsall. Mr Barry started his teaching career in Birmingham and has more than ten years of headship experience in academy and maintained schools in three different local authorities. He is a former Branch Secretary of the National Association of Headteachers and has gained an NPQH (national professional qualification for headship) as well as currently studying for NPQEL (the national professional qualification for executive leadership).

Dr Peter Borg-Bartolo – is the current Chair of The Lunar Society. After a wide-ranging career in medicine, including 34-years as a general practitioner in Birmingham, he is now Senior Clinical Mentor with NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Dr Jory Debenham has worked in music education for more than 25 years as a private instrumental teacher, examiner and university lecturer, alongside roles in corporate communications, investor relations and government policy. She is currently a Senior Policy Advisor for Defra – The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – as well as being a committed instrumental teacher and assessor.

Awards we have won for our services

During the past few years, we have been honoured with several major accolades, both regionally and nationally, in recognition of our work, approach and achievements.

2024 Award Winner

2024 Winner
Training Provider or educational establishment of the year

music & drama awards

2023 Winner
Excellence in SEND

In partnership with Soundabout

Hallmark-CA2022-winner-logo

2022 Winner
the Arts, culture and heritage award

2022 Winner
Outstanding Charity of the Year

music & drama awards

2021 Winner
OUTSTANDING MUSIC EDUCATION RESOURCE

music & drama awards

2021 WINNER
#GOLDSTARS AWARD

west-mids-tech-awards

2021 Winner
Innovation in Education Award

Birmingham chambers logo

2021 Winner
Excellence in Training and Education

2019 Winner
Excellence in Training and Education

2019 Winner
Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community

Music Teacher Awards For Excellence Logo - Services For Education

2018 Winner
Music Education Council Major Award

Birmingham Awards - Services For Education - Music Service

2018 Winner
Contribution to Education

Brass bands england award logo, won by services for education

2018 Silver winner
Birmingham schools' brass band championship sections

Our values are extremely important to us

Our mission is to provide services in support of excellence in the teaching, learning, and wellbeing of young people and adults. We do this by applying these principles:

VALUE FOR MONEY
BENEFITING OUR CUSTOMERS
PASSION
SECURE EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY

What our customer and students say about us…

debbie poole – class teacher – baskerville school

“Our students do not easily collaborate so to work together, editing and improving to make music, has been a positive challenge and they are visibly learning and enjoying the experience. It’s the layering of their combined efforts which is lovely to witness.”

Emily – tiger tiger

“I just wanted to send you a message to say how amazing M and my dad found Tiger Tiger – when I called my dad after work he was absolutely buzzing about it and it sounded incredible!! Both M and the other service user who went got so much from it. I had a tear in my eye when my dad was talking to me about it all and how much M communicated non verbally. I really hope it is successful for you all because it is such a wonderful opportunity you are giving to adults like M. I really hope there is one session in a half term so that I can go with M!!! Congratulations on this amazing project. Best wishes, E x’“

lucas houldcroft – trumpet student

“I’ve been able to improve my playing immensely thanks to orchestra peers and tutors pushing me, I have made a number of friends and have had amazing opportunities throughout the year to play some great music in some of the UK’s most renowned concert halls.”

liam fadden

“Jo delivered our Safeguarding training in September 2019 to all our staff and governors. I asked Jo to cover a wide variety of safeguarding areas and she did this with great clarity. As a school leader it is reassuring to know that all your staff are getting very good quality safeguarding training. All staff feel much more confident having had a full day to listen, reflect and discuss a wide range of safeguarding topics.”

Assistant head teacher – Safeguarding course

“Great opportunities for an honest discussion across schools and to see successes from other schools and to see and compare and share good practise tips.”

See more of our testimonials >

Page Last Modified:  03/11/2023 13:35