Ed Sheeran is taking his love for music education to a new level, launching a foundation to ensure that children in the United Kingdom have access to high-quality music education. This initiative is close to the singer-songwriter's heart,

Sheeran started writing songs from a young age, after encouragement from a teacher, and says he wants to help plug the gap left by reduced arts funding. To support the launch of the foundation, the Grammy-winner is visiting schools and youth groups in Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh and Belfast.

The singer said in a video that he launched the fund after hearing about the poor state of music education in the U.K. from one of his former teachers.

On Thursday, the British hitmaker announced the launch of the Ed Sheeran Foundation, which aims to help educate children about music. In a new Instagram post, Ed explained that he wanted to set up the foundation because music is "not taken seriously" in schools.

Ed Sheeran, a longtime proponent of music education, has announced the launch of The Ed Sheeran Foundation in support of children’s access to instruments, studio time, and instructors to properly help young artists navigate the music industry.