COMPANY OF THE YEAR (MORE THAN £3M)
Arduino Education
There is a significant gap between education and the job market, where technology, methodology and mindset for educating future talents are generally missing. Arduino Education strives to bring easy to use, affordable and skill-oriented solutions to bridge this gap. We want to continuously redefine the horizons of STEAM education and push for innovation in the classroom.
Always looking forward, we pioneer educational tools that reflect real-world applications, like our collaboration on machine learning content with Harvard, and our Explore IoT Kit which ties to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We champion diversity, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. Efforts such as supporting ‘Jenga Labs’ in Ghana and local manufacturing demonstrate our broader vision.
Arduino Education’s focus on customer service and a thriving teacher community are testaments to our commitment to the education sector.
Dan Hubacz, a US High School teacher, sums up Arduino Education’s approach perfectly “I want my students to be working on things that are real and matter to them, and that also potentially have an impact on the community.”
Best Practice Network
Best Practice Network (BPN) has come a long way since receiving the BETT Award in 2020. We’ve experienced significant growth and are proud to share our story. Our partnership programs have empowered countless teachers and transformed Early Years education. We’ve expanded apprenticeships and introduced the Early Years Initial Teacher Training, providing training to hundreds of teachers. Additionally, we’ve been entrusted with delivering the DfE-funded Early Years SENCo program, making a difference in thousands of children’s lives.
Our Golden Thread of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) offers a structured path for educators, spanning Early Career Framework (ECF), National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), and Initial Teacher Training (ITT). We’ve received an Ofsted Outstanding rating for our Early Career Framework programme and are the first to offer the DfE’s Golden Thread of teacher development. Our commitment to inclusivity and quality is evident through our diverse participant base.
At BPN, we believe in the transformative power of education. Our journey from a previous BETT Award to where we stand today reflects our dedication to innovation and empowering education professionals. Thank you for considering our entry.
Bromcom Computers PLC
Bromcom’s belief in the importance of education is not merely an aspiration, or a cut-and-paste brand statement – it is a core part of our ethos. Bromcom is a family-owned company; we have never paid dividends to stakeholders.
Bromcom has always recognised that education thrives within a connected community—teachers, students, parents, local authorities, and governing bodies. Our Management Information System (MIS) and Finance solutions are therefore designed to empower everyone involved in the education journey, to deliver successful student outcomes.
This year, Bromcom broke new ground by introducing the world’s first MIS to incorporate AI technology. Launched in May, after being demonstrated at BETT 2023, Bromcom AI uses artificial intelligence to improve school operations, student outcomes, and data management.
Bromcom AI has the potential to revolutionise school management, and is already being used by customers to transform the way they use data to drive positive education outcomes.
CreativeHUT
Since 2017, CreativeHUT has been a leading provider of STEAM resources and services, encompassing training, workshops, and the development of innovative learning spaces.
Our core mission is to cultivate life-long learners who are fully equipped for the dynamic careers of the future. We place a strong emphasis on embracing diversity and inclusion, striving to offer opportunities for society’s most underrepresented groups.
In 2022-2023 alone, we’ve inspired over 40,000 students, steering them toward promising careers in STEAM. Our collaborations range from local authorities to premier league football clubs, tech industry leaders, and the motorsport industry, spearheading some of the most groundbreaking projects in education.
After winning the BETT Award for Company under £3m, we have seen a surge in our turnover, now surpassing £3.4 million. This growth is attributed to increased resource sales, high-profile service-led projects, the expansion of our trainer network known as “The STEAM Team,” and the launch of a tailored Learning Management System.
Joskos Solutions Ltd
Joskos Solutions, a prominent EdTech Solutions and Managed Services Provider for over two decades, has been dedicated to enhancing education through innovation. They collaborate with top technology providers, ensuring educators have state-of-the-art hardware. Their change leadership methodology aids schools and MATs in transformative journeys, including cloud migration and implementation.
With a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 75, Joskos values customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. Their marketing strategies, including a new website with an ‘Insights’ section, position them as a trusted resource. They offer webinars covering topics like AI and cybersecurity, forging long-term partnerships with large Trsuts such as Orchard Hill College and Academies Trust.
Joskos prioritises empathy and purpose, introducing the 6-Step Change Leadership Process to deeply understand needs. They aim to transition all customers to the cloud, reduce waste, and promote sustainability.
Joskos pioneers cutting-edge technologies, including AI on their service desk and innovative products in Change Leadership, Cybersecurity, and Cloud as a Service. They focus on teacher well-being and celebrate excellence within their business.
National Education Group
Since 2017, National Education Group (NEG), has been transforming the online CPD market for schools. We’re now the market-leading provider of online professional development, helping educators worldwide ensure compliance and drive up standards.
Over the past year, we have enjoyed continued success, now providing CPD to over 1 million users in over 46,000 settings in over 190 countries.
Operating under the brands The National College and The School Bus, we’ve been transforming CPD design and delivery, developing an award-winning CPD programme comprising thousands of webinars, courses and other resources. Schools and settings can use this vast repository of educational expertise to develop bespoke training programmes that meet individual and collective needs.
We recently launched a new platform which brings together our award-winning brands The National College and National Online safety, creating the most comprehensive CPD programme on the market. Our platform incorporates powerful software, enabling leaders to automate and centralise CPD management and reporting across their setting.
We have also joined forces with The School Bus, helping leaders achieve compliance across their setting via one solution, with expert-led advice, time-saving templates and compliance software to help educators meet and evidence compliance with statutory requirements and manage change effectively.
NetSupport
NetSupport goes the extra mile to co-produce its solutions with educators across the globe, offering the relevance they need for their classrooms to deliver a genuine impact, whatever their curriculum or wherever they are. We are proud of our close relationships with schools and our networks within the education sector that we learn so much from every day.
But that’s not all. Part of NetSupport’s mission is to support educators with a multitude of value-added resources to facilitate connection and sharing, support others, boost CPD and help people grow their personal learning networks. For example, our free collaborative education magazine, R.I.S.E., reaches schools and educators across the globe, providing learning opportunities for every reader – and for us!
In addition, NetSupport is lucky to have an incredible leader and ambassador at the helm in Al Kingsley, our CEO. Well-known and respected in the sector, he has won three awards for his own outstanding achievements in edtech and education in 2023.
All of NetSupport’s activities reinforce our status as a go-to and, most importantly, a highly trusted vendor of proven edtech solutions that is truly engaged in the education space.
The Skills Network
The Skills Network are an education delivery company with award-winning tech, delivering market leading education at a national scale. We have a current turnover of around £20m a year.
Formed in Yorkshire in 2009, we are the UK’s largest provider of online learning and technology-based learning solutions. We serve the corporate, public, and educational sectors, and create high quality learning experiences across a wide range of subject areas.
Through our cloud-based learning platform EQUAL, we deliver state-of the art products and services to solve learning challenges faced by the sector. Our unique Learner Management System ensures that we (and our hundreds of customers) meet tough regulatory requirements set by Ofsted, Ofqual and ESFA and when designing our unregulated material, we apply the strictest quality standards which sets our organisation apart.
Over the last decade, we have helped over 1.7 million learners through our learning portal, EQUAL, offering educational content from CPD level through to professional qualifications at levels 2, 3, and 4. We offer over 150 courses direct to learners – upskilling more than 35,000 people each year – and support others in the FE sector to deliver to hundreds of thousands more courses through our tech and resource.
White Rose Education
White Rose Education (WRE) is a top performing education company, developing digital products that transform the teaching of maths and science in schools.
We are far from a traditional education publishing company, though. Three quarters of our staff – and all our leadership team – are qualified teachers. With so many education publishers based in Oxford and London, we are a proud northern company with offices in Halifax and now, due to our rapid expansion, in Leeds as well.
We’re passionate northerners, and passionate educators. Our core belief is to help every teacher be a world class teacher, and we achieve that thanks to a relentless focus on quality. As well as high quality online resources, we conduct continuing professional development (CPD) training to thousands of teachers every year. By doing so, we help teachers use our online platforms and downloadable content to the very best effect.
The proof is in the pudding. Our customers love our products and services and can’t wait to recommend them to others.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
