Team & Partners
The people delivering Play Northwest CIC’s music wellbeing programmes — and the organisations we work alongside.
Our founder
John Paul Randles
Director · Designated Safeguarding Lead · Lead Facilitator
Working musician, DJ, music producer and tutor — and a health-and-social-care practitioner with over a decade of experience across the NHS, home care, prison healthcare and mental-health settings.
As a parent of a child with autism, John Paul brings lived experience of SEND families into every part of how Play Northwest works. He holds an Enhanced DBS certificate and completes safeguarding training annually.
Contact: hello@playnorthwestcic.com
Our delivery team
Sessions are delivered by Play Northwest CIC’s sessional facilitator team, drawn from Merseyside’s music and wellbeing communities. All sessional facilitators:
- Hold an Enhanced DBS check before delivering any session
- Complete safeguarding training on induction and refresh annually
- Are briefed on Play Northwest CIC’s published Safeguarding Policy
- Work under the supervision of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
We deliberately keep facilitator profiles off the public site by default to protect freelance privacy. Funders and commissioners who need named-staff information for a partnership agreement can request a full team list via email.
Interested in joining our sessional team?
We’re always open to hearing from experienced music facilitators, sound healers, audio engineers and wellbeing practitioners with a connection to Merseyside. Get in touch via hello@playnorthwestcic.com with a short note about your work and a CV.
Governance
Play Northwest CIC is a Community Interest Company registered in England & Wales (Company No. 15796794). As a CIC we operate under a legally-binding asset lock — all surpluses are reinvested into delivery and bursary places. No part of the CIC’s income is distributable for private benefit.
Our governance currently sits with a sole director (John Paul Randles). We are actively working to recruit lived-experience board members during 2026 — one of our published year-one strategic priorities.
Key policies are reviewed annually:
- Safeguarding Policy (PDF)
- Privacy Policy (UK GDPR-aligned, on-device data storage by default)
- Complaints Policy (Fundraising Regulator-compliant)
- Accessibility Statement
Our partners
We work with referral partners, NHS services, education providers and community organisations across Merseyside. We list partners on this page only where the relationship is established and the partner has agreed to be named publicly — otherwise the commitment isn’t real and you shouldn’t trust a page that lists them.
Categories of partner we work with (named partnerships listed as they’re confirmed):
NHS & ICS
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust (in conversation) and the Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care System VCSE hub.
Local authority
Knowsley Council Public Health and Adult Social Care commissioning teams.
SEND education
SEND schools across Merseyside (named in funder applications under data-sharing agreements).
Music industry
Liverpool festivals, venues and producers (forming for the Sound + Skills NEET pathway).
Higher / further education
Knowsley Community College, LIPA and BIMM Liverpool (progression pathway).
Statutory referrers
Job Centre Plus, Probation Service and youth services across Merseyside.
If you’d like to discuss a partnership — a referral agreement, a research collaboration, a placement opportunity for one of our cohorts — email hello@playnorthwestcic.com.