SOUNDS OF
Report and Financial Statement For the year ending 31 March 2025
INTENT
Sounds of Intent
Administra1ve and reference details
For the year ended 31 March 2025
Charity number 1172441 Registered office 64a Princes Way, London SW19 6JF Trustees Adam Ockelford (Chair from 21 April 2017) Felicity Ockelford Tim Smith Johnny SGrling Simon Vincent Graham Welch
Bank CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4TA
Independent examiner Alex Medhurst
Structure and governance
Sounds of Intent is a charitable incorporated organisaGon registered with the Charity Commission on 6 April 2017.
All trustees give their Gme voluntarily and receive no benefits form the charity.
Objec1ves and ac1vi1es
- The objects of the CIO (as set out in the ConsGtuGon) are:
“for the public benefit, the promoGon of the educaGon of children, young people and members of the public generally, with a parGcular (but non-exclusive) focus on those with learning difficulGes, through
invesGgaGng, researching, developing and promoGng educaGonal, therapeuGc and recreaGonal strategies and resources that support and encourage the creaGve and aestheGc development of such people through the performing arts and in parGcular (but not exclusively) their understanding and appreciaGon of and engagement with music.”
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The main Sounds of Intent online resource is to be found at www.soundsofintent.org. It is aimed at those who are working through music with children, young people adults who have learning difficulGes. It provides informaGon, downloadable resources and an online training programme. The site is available in English and, currently, German. Future translaGons are planned. The site was created and is managed by Max Mai.
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A development of the main Sounds of Intent framework, for all children in the early years, is to be found at eysoi.org. This was developed as part of a Youth Music funded project – ‘Sounds of Intent in the Early Years’.
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Projects and services
Opera resources for sensory learners (Royal Ballet and Opera)
In collaboraGon with the Royal Ballet and Opera, the University of Roehampton, music hubs and Live Music Now, Sounds of Intent has contributed to the development of online sensory-learning resources designed to make opera and ballet accessible to children and young people with profound and mulGple learning difficulGes. The materials include themed lesson plans, short films and mulGsensory classroom acGviGes linked to major producGons, all structured using the Sounds of Intent framework.
Take Note
‘Take Note’ is a new mulGmedia resource aimed at the carers of older people, parGcularly those with demenGa. A launch took place November 2024 in partnership with the University of Roehampton and the Cinnamon Care CollecGon. This will be followed by a naGonal roll out, region by region in England, and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The ‘Mugo’
The ‘Mugo’ (Music Unit; Gesture Operated) is a new device that translates movement (of any size or direcGon) into MIDI signals, which can be converted into any sounds through a suitable app (such as ‘Thumb Jam’). A prototype has been constructed and is being trialled. In the future, funding will be sought in partnership with the University of Roehampton and The Amber Trust to develop further iteraGons of the product and ulGmately to develop it commercially.
Awards and CerGfcates in Musical Development (ACMD)
Using the Sounds of Intent framework, Trinity College London now offers a naGonally recognised suite of inclusive music qualificaGons, enabling learners at all stages of development – including those at the earliest levels of engagement with sound and music – to gain formal accreditaGon. Through the NaGonal Sounds of Intent Centre, these awards can be accessed internaGonally.
‘My Music’: Online assessment tool for Key Stage 1
An automated online assessment system is currently being planned in partnership with Merton Music FoundaGon and Anglia Ruskin University. Using a series of short musical games and AIsupported analysis, the tool will esGmate children’s levels of musical engagement using the Sounds of Intent framework and suggest targeted teaching resources, supporGng both classroom pracGce and curriculum evaluaGon.
Sounds of Intent Music Awards for Schools
A new awards scheme for special schools and resourced units is being created, offering bronze, silver and gold levels of recogniGon. Schools will be assessed on learners, staff experGse, resources and insGtuGonal policies, all in relaGon to their delivery of music educaGon informed by the Sounds of Intent framework.
Mini Musicians
Mini Musicians is a two-year research and development project focused on musical development in infants and young children at Key Stage 1. Conducted with twelve primary schools in partnership with Merton Music FoundaGon, the project involves the creaGon and evaluaGon of new classroom resources grounded in the Sounds of Intent model, with analysis currently underway.
First Songs (Calderdale)
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Working with NHS partners in areas of high social and economic deprivaGon, Sounds of Intent has developed and piloted early-years music resources based on familiar children’s songs, differenGated using Sounds of Intent principles. These will be available as online and print materials to support families and early-years pracGGoners.
Tuning In to AuGsm
Current work in auGsm includes doctoral research exploring how structured musical interacGon can support the development of cogniGve and affecGve empathy in auGsGc children, alongside the creaGon of pracGcal resources for families and professionals. This work builds on earlier family-centred music iniGaGves and applies the Sounds of Intent framework to both assessment and intervenGon design.
IMAGINE: Deafness and hearing loss
Since 2021, Sounds of Intent has worked with the NaGonal Deaf Children’s Society and Audiovisability to develop, pilot and evaluate music resources for families with young deaf and hard-of-hearing children. The project reconceptualises musical engagement as mulG-sensory, encompassing listening, feeling vibraGon, visual percepGon and movement, and will culminate in a book and associated website scheduled for publicaGon in 2026.
Music and blindness
Work relaGng to visual impairment includes the long-running Limle Amber and Amber Plus iniGaGves, focusing on musical development in blind children; Points of Contact, which explores tacGle approaches to music notaGon; and current doctoral research on music memorisaGon strategies in blind learners using Sounds of Intent developmental levels. Together, these projects aim to expand access to musical learning and assessment for children with visual impairments and complex needs.
Count Me In!
Count Me In! is a naGonal inclusive-music iniGaGve developed with partners in educaGon services to support teachers in mainstream and special schools. It provides structured lesson plans and acGviGes based on the “deconstrucGon and reconstrucGon” of musical materials, enabling pupils at different developmental stages to parGcipate together, with progress understood through the Sounds of Intent framework.
Sounds Right
Sounds Right: Resources for Inclusive Music Making is a substanGal book and companion website offering pracGcal strategies for teachers, therapists and visiGng musicians to engage children, young people and adults across a wide range of abiliGes and needs in meaningful musical acGvity. It represents a full expression of the Sounds of Intent framework and is aligned with the Awards and CerGficates in Musical Development offered by Trinity College London. Physical resources are due to be published later in 2025.
InternaGonal work
While Sounds of Intent has been taken up in a number of countries round the world on an ad hoc basis, a more strategic approach is being planned, with Slovenia becoming a hub in the EU for a systemaGc roll out.
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Financial statements
The charity is exempt from preparing a full statement of accounts under secGon 133 of the ChariGes Act 2011. Instead, the trustees have prepared –
(a) a receipts and payments account, and
- (b) a statement of assets and liabiliGes.
(a) Statement of receipts and payments
For the year ended 31 March 2025
Income
| DonaGons £ |
Consultancy £ |
Grants £ |
Gip Aid £ |
NaGonal Centre |
2024/2025 Total £ |
2023/2024 Total £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13,700 | 750 | 13,450 | 2,919 | 641 | 31,460 | 28,604 |
Expenditure
| Governanc e £ |
AdministraGo n £ |
AdministraGo n £ |
Consultanc y £ |
Bank charges £ |
NaGona l Centre £ |
2024/2025 Total £ |
2023/2024 Total £ |
2023/2024 Total £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 517 | 35,302 | 60 | 1,321 | 37,200 | 31,999 | |||
| Surplus/ (Defcit) |
-£5740 | -£3395 |
All funds are unrestricted.
(b) Statement of assets and liabili1es
For the year ended 31 March 2025
| Assets (£) | 31/03/25 | 31/03/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash at bank 31 March 2025 | 4,655 | 10,382 |
| Liabili5es (£) | 31/03/25 | 31/03/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Consultancy fees | ||
| AdministraMon | ||
| Legal fees |
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Total Nil Nil ~~a~~ ________________
Signed on behalf of the Board
Date 24 Jaunary 2026
Professor Adam Ockelford Phd ARAM honFTCL
Chair of Trustees
www.soundsofntent.org www.soundsofntent.com @soundsofintent facebook.com/SoundsofIntent
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Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees Charity Name Sounds of Intent On accounts for the 31 March 2025 year ended Set out on pages 4
Charity no 1172441 (if any) (remember to include the page numbers of addiMonal sheets)
I report to the trustees on my examinaMon of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/2025
Responsibili5es and basis of report
As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparaMon of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the ChariMes Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examinaMon of the Trust’s accounts carried out under secMon 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examinaMon, I have followed all the applicable DirecMons given by the Charity Commission under secMon 145(5)(b) of the Act.
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Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examinaMon. I confirm that no material ma\ers have come to my a\enMon in connecMon with the examinaMon which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounMng records were not kept in accordance with secMon 130 of the ChariMes Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounMng records; or
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• the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the ChariMes (Accounts and Reports) RegulaMons 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a ma\er considered as part of an independent examinaMon.
I have no concerns and have come across no other ma\ers in connecMon with the examinaMon to which a\enMon should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
- Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Signed:[A Medhurst ] Date: 29.01.2026
Name:[Alex Medhurst]
Relevant professional N/A qualifica5on(s) or body (if any):
Address: 55 Hamilton Road
Twickenham TW2 6SN
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
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Give here brief details N/A of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
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