Company of the Year (more than £3m)
AdEPT Technology Group
There has never been a year that better demonstrates the depth and breadth of our expertise in helping schools and education organisations, along with our people-first culture.
For example, through our partnership with LGfL, we upgraded thousands of schools to faster networks to enable remote teaching and learning – and developed a platform to allow families to apply for school places online.
Furthermore, we have helped more than 500 schools adopt remote teaching platforms, including Soho Parish and Sunnyfields primary schools. This work was supported by informative communications – for example, this blog – to help demystify the overwhelming volume of information schools were facing.
To support our staff during this exceptional period, our CEO launched a regular newsletter, encouraging staff to approach him directly with any concerns. And we set up an employee assistance programme, with
24/7/365 support to staff and their families who may be facing mental health or other concerns.
Finally, we have a major programme of work concerning equality, the environment, and social issues. This includes investing in systems to improve gender equality and switching to green suppliers when we next renew our energy contracts.
Best Practice Network
Best Practice Network is one of the UK’s leading providers of accredited training, professional development and support for education professionals. It is the home of Outstanding Leaders Partnership, a collaborative partnership of schools, teaching school hubs and multi-academy trusts, licensed by the Department for Education (DfE) to deliver a range of CPD programmes and qualifications.
Our vision is that every child, regardless of their background, should benefit from an excellent education.
Over the last year we have continued to develop our business with strategic wins across various programme areas. Whilst this growth has delivered increased revenue, it’s the diversity of growth that will provide increased security and sustainability for our team, our partners and our candidates.”
Clevertouch Technologies a Boxlight Brand
A NASDAQ listed company, Boxlight’s Clevertouch Technologies, rebranded in March 2021 from Clevertouch to combine all of our manufacturing solutions under one umbrella. Clevertouch Technologies makes world-class, market-leading and award-winning innovative technologies for classrooms and software solutions that embrace today’s educators’ communication and collaborative needs. We do this with the end customer in mind, and every solution is created to make life easier for the teachers and students.
Clevertouch Technologies supplies leading technical products and intuitive software solutions that support both administration teams and teachers alike.
Many of our staff are ex-teachers. Their wealth of understanding and knowledge ensures we offer customers best of breed solutions and training while also ensuring our product development is kept in line with the developing requirements of schools.
GCSEPod
GCSEPod is a digital publisher of exam board-mapped content for 28 GCSE/IGCSE subjects and Functional Skills. The team behind GCSEPod continues to invest and evolve in their award-winning platform – which is dedicated to improving the working lives of teachers and making learning stick. GCSEPod takes an evidence-based, cognitive learning approach, providing assessment and data alongside audio-visual ‘Pods’ that are differentiated by exam board and written by subject specialists.
Proud to partner with industry bodies ASCL, CST and PiXL, GCSEPod was established in 2010 and is now trusted by over 1,700 schools in 40 countries. We can evidence a clear correlation between GCSEPod usage and impact. Pod users attain on average 1 grade higher than non-Pod users. We achieve this using cognitive science with exceptional content, that focuses the learner’s attention on the ‘to be learnt’ objectives. Reporting, intervention, and evidencing progress is made simple by the platform and is used from Y7-Y11 and beyond.
The award-winning Check & Challenge assessment tool has been heralded a ‘game-changer’ in low stakes assessment and is loved by students.
With over 10 years in the sector, GCSEPod has been leading the way in EdTech since the beginning of the sector’s development.
GL Education
GL Education provides high-quality assessments that measure children’s ability and attainment and identify any barriers to learning Our mission is to help every child achieve their full potential Over the last year, we have supported schools through the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and school closures across the globe Not least, over 9,600 teachers and school leaders attended the online workshops we organised during lockdown; we updated our wellbeing assessment, PASS, to include intervention strategies specifically designed to support students’ wellbeing after a prolonged absence from school; and we developed new online courses to show customers how they could use our products effectively As part of our CSR programme, we are proud to support the Royal College of Emergency Medicine by granting a free licence for our General Health Questionnaire for a study designed to understand the impact of distress and trauma among doctors working in hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic We have also further developed our customer service arm, which is focused on helping schools use their data most effectively Former teachers with a range of different teaching backgrounds have formed our Assessment Insights team – data specialists who offer customers free one-to-one consultations designed to help them maximise
InVentry
The InVentry sign in and visitor management system is trusted by more than 8,000 schools and colleges across the UK. The fully integrated system allows schools to accurately monitor who is on-site at any one time as well as simplifying the regulatory burden placed on schools from OFSTED, GDPR and various health and safety bodies. The system also speeds up the signing in process, keeps identity information secure, and leaves schools feeling confident that their students are safe.
LGfl – The National Grid for Learning
LGfL is one of the fastest growing EdTech companies in the UK whose mission is the advancement of education. A core passion of LGfL is tackling inequality, promoting diversity and ensuring no one gets left behind. Initiatives like BridgeTheDivide have secured devices for communities that would otherwise not have had them. By making our free schools meals eligibility checker free to every school we hope to have identified over £100M of funding by the end of this calendar year bringing support and funds to communities facing huge challenges.
Our standards of customer care are exceptional, with a retention rate of over 90%, sometimes involving incredible risk on behalf of our customers.
Our empathy and understanding of schools’ needs has enabled us to design, build and provide solutions that they have consumed at an unprecedented scale. This has catapulted our growth to nearly £50m in 2020/21 compared to just over £30m the year before.
As Phil Hedger, CEO at the LEO Academy Trust in Sutton, says, “LGfL saves us money and helps us cut teacher workload.”
Renaissance
For over 35 years, Renaissance has sought to develop practice and assessment solutions that aren’t just innovative and forward-looking, but also capable of supporting their mission to accelerate learning for all. Using the unrivalled analytics offered by Star Assessments, Renaissance are working on research with the Education Policy Institute and the Department for Education, providing data on assessments of pupils’ actual performance before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings are beginning to illustrate exactly where learning loss has occurred and will help to identify where any catch-up is needed.
Renaissance’s commitment to research globally has helped to develop and introduce new concepts to educators in the UK and beyond, and their partnerships with organisations such as PiXL and the Confederation of School Trusts help keep them in tune with the needs of schools and MATs.
Renaissance’s suite of teaching and learning solutions includes Accelerated Reader, myON, Star Assessments, Freckle, Schoolzilla and Nearpod.
The Skills Network
Formed in Yorkshire in 2009, The Skills Network is one of the most successful providers of online learning in the UK and has grown into the UK’s largest provider of technology-based learning solutions.
Servicing the corporate, public and educational sectors, they create high quality learning experiences across a wide range of subject areas, offering 150 courses in 30 countries around the world. They upskill 35,000 learners in the UK each year, and work with over 5,000 organisations and 500 colleges and independent training provides to deliver training to individuals and employees across the country.
Its online distance learning courses, staff training programmes and apprenticeship programmes have helped businesses, such as G4S, Thomson Reuters and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and more, to reach their training and development goals.
