Company of the Year (less than £3m)
B Squared
B Squared’s EdTech solutions, including Connecting Steps and Evisense, are specifically designed to meet the needs of schools and educational institutions to support all students, especially those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Connecting Steps offers a flexible, data-driven platform for tracking student progress across various frameworks, enhancing inclusion and personalisation. Evisense serves as an evidence management tool that allows educators to securely document and share student achievements through multimedia, reducing administrative burdens while fostering stronger engagement with families.
Our marketing strategy effectively communicates with educational decision-makers, utilising webinars and partnerships to enhance brand awareness, exemplified by the success of our SENDcast podcast with over 350,000 downloads. Customer care is paramount; we provide personalised onboarding, ongoing training, and dedicated support, ensuring educators feel equipped and supported.
B Squared is committed to innovation, recently integrating AI into our products to streamline progress tracking and data analysis. Our focus on diversity and sustainability includes a leadership team that champions inclusivity and a digital-first approach to reduce paper use. Through initiatives like the SENDcast, we offer valuable professional development resources, aligning our mission with the broader SEND community while supporting educational excellence.
Educake
Educake is a socially responsible company centred around the value of caring, reflected in its approach to employees, teachers, and the community. The platform simplifies assessment by automating homework marking, identifying knowledge gaps, and providing actionable feedback, which reduces teacher workload and enhances student progress. This has led to widespread usage, positive recommendations, and key milestones, including 10-year partnerships and over 2 billion student questions answered.
Educake offers a broad range of subjects at Key Stage 3 and 4, recently expanding into Key Stage 2. Its customisable quizzes and extensive question bank are aligned with national curricula. The platform is continually updated based on teacher feedback, including new features like results analysis and reports on knowledge gaps.
With no sales team, Educake relies on product quality and teacher recommendations. The customer service is highly rated, and the company builds community engagement through initiatives like Freddo Fridays.
Educake also supports employees with flexible working, generous parental leave, and wellbeing initiatives, while maintaining a focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility. We ensure that schools with high FSM are fairly represented in competitions, and the company sponsors both school and local community events.
Hypothesis
Hypothesis is an innovative EdTech company that transforms traditional reading into interactive, collaborative learning experiences through social annotation. Since October 2023, the company has introduced key initiatives such as the Social Learning Innovator Award, product updates like the Reporting Dashboard and Auto-Grading, and the successful AnnotatED 2024 Virtual Conference with over 500 educators. Hypothesis integrates seamlessly with learning management systems and promotes student engagement by offering real-time insights and automating assessments.
The company also focuses on diversity, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility, ensuring its platform is accessible and open-source. Hypothesis supports educators with institution-specific workshops, over 100 training videos, and the Hypothesis Academy, where more than 300 educators have been certified. Their AI-focused course further equips educators for the evolving technological landscape. Testimonials from institutions like CUNY, Cerritos College, and Indiana University highlight its positive impact on learning outcome
iAM Compliant
iAM Compliant is an industry-leading web-based compliance tool built specifically for schools. It’s been designed to simplify the management of a school’s estate, health & safety, statutory reporting, staff training and more. Manage assets, create and record building condition reports, monitor energy usage, forecast budgets, track DfE policy compliance, produce governor reports, and manage risks and incidents.
iAM streamlines all compliance and estates management in one simple and cost-effective tool. And the new Insights tool brings it all together, compiling data so you can swiftly review or deep dive in specific locations or across multiple sites.
With sustainability a key focus, iAM’s estate management tool will include a unique digital solution for creating bespoke Climate Action Plans for schools. Using a mix of artificial intelligence, data, and learning content, this addition will be spearheading the mission of helping schools become resilient to climate change.
The system has packages available to suit all sized schools and budgets. With packages starting at just £1 a day, it’s one of the most affordable and cost-effective options on the market. And with school-specific content being added regularly to the 300+ animated and interactive learning courses available, it’s even easier to stay compliant in schools.
Learning by Questions
Innovation Brewed to Meet Modern Educational Needs
Learning by Questions (LbQ) are all about creating meaningful connections with educators, grounded in a friendly, down-to-earth conversation.
We started with a small UK pilot, refining our platform by listening to teachers, and since launching in 2018, we’ve grown into a movement. With prestigious awards like the BETT Innovator of the Year and rapid financial growth. LbQ is now used by schools across the country, delivering over 4.8 million personalised feedback messages to pupils every week. Our family of teacher subscribers has grown by 209% in the last two years.
Though we’re a small team of 34, ranging from our 20’s to our 80’s(!), we’re united by a shared passion. Our backgrounds may vary, but our goal is the same: to ensure every child reaches their full potential. That’s brewed in the quality of the conversation – ensuring that what we do is not based on something that just sounds flashy, but on what teachers actually need.
Whether it’s through webinars, blogs, or a quick message, LbQ is all about listening, learning, and making sure every child has the chance to thrive. So let’s get the kettle on.
Literacy Tree
At Literacy Tree, we provide primary school teachers with a transformative book-based approach to teaching English that blends innovation with a deep understanding of classroom needs. Serving over 1,100 member schools and reaching more than 5% of UK primary schools, our expertly crafted resources support all aspects of literacy provision, from writing and spelling to reading comprehension.
We’re evolving and recently made significant strides by launching the Literacy Tree App, a game-changing tool designed to improve teachers’ work-life balance. This app enables teachers to annotate lesson plans, track student progress, and capture work samples.
Our resources, created by a team of experienced consultants, integrate seamlessly into existing teaching frameworks and offer flexibility to meet the unique needs of different settings. In addition to the planning materials, our comprehensive CPD programme provides schools with ongoing support, ensuring that teachers are equipped with up-to-date pedagogical insights and practical classroom strategies.
Literacy Tree is not just about teaching literacy; we are shaping the future of English education in a digital world. Our transformative platform empowers teachers to deliver high-impact lessons that spark a love of reading and writing in children, positioning us as leaders in EdTech innovation and educational support.
TeachMateAI
TeachMateAI is an online assistant for teachers and school leaders comprising over 100 AI-powered tools created to reduce workload and enhance learning. From lesson planning and resource creation, to administrative and leadership tasks, TeachMateAI’s suite of innovative tools save teachers and school leaders on average over 10+ hours every week.
Trusted by over 220,000 users worldwide, TeachMateAI’s easy to use yet powerful online platform enables all teachers to leverage the transformative power of AI, whilst retaining their professional expertise and oversight – we’re assisting teachers with AI, not replacing them.
Innovative features, such as our ‘Tool Linking’ and ‘Refinement Bar’, along with our seamless integrations with productivity tools, offers a complete solution for educators looking to embrace AI to enhance their planning, resource creation and wider school duties.
TeachMateAI is fully GDPR compliant with no user data being used to train AI models, making it the trusted school-wide AI platform for over 1000 schools, colleges and MATs.
Trusted AI built for education.
Vivi
Vivi is a pioneering EdTech company dedicated to enhancing teaching and learning experiences in UK educational institutions. With a turnover below £3 million, our three-year-old UK division focuses on delivering high-quality, scalable solutions that are accessible and affordable for schools, colleges, and universities. Our user-friendly wireless screen-sharing technology and comprehensive digital signage platform empower educators and administrators to improve collaboration and communication while minimising technical challenges.
Vivi’s innovative approach includes the recent launch of the Vivi Display App, which enables institutions to manage digital signage and screen sharing flexibly, without the need for additional hardware. We prioritise outstanding customer care, providing ongoing technical support and resources to ensure our solutions are maximally effective. Committed to diversity and sustainability, we actively reduce our environmental impact through software-driven offerings. Our dedication to meeting the evolving needs of the education sector is reflected in our consistent sales growth and positive customer feedback. Vivi envisions itself as the operating system in the classroom, driving engagement and success for educators and students alike, ultimately preparing them for the future of education
Zero Gravity
The UK has one of the worst rates for social mobility in Europe. Zero Gravity is changing that through the power of technology. Our platform finds talented people in low-opportunity areas and brings opportunity to them – unlocking their potential all the way from school into top universities and careers.
Zero Gravity is packed with features designed to take talent to the top – from mentoring, masterclasses, internships and scholarships to personalised career opportunities. Our members get totally free access to our community, all working together to make their ambitions real.
The Zero Gravity community secures top results, doubling a student’s chances of winning a top uni offer and top career role. We’ve already supported 8,000+ students into highly-selective universities. In 2024, UCAS reported that regular engagement with Zero Gravity almost doubled students’ chances of attending a top university and increased their likelihood of gaining admission to Oxbridge nearly fivefold. We now partner with leading graduate employers like HSBC, Snapchat and Perkins Coie to power Zero Gravity members into highly-selective careers.
Talent is spread evenly, opportunity is not. Zero Gravity is changing that.
