What Firefly Learning does

Firefly Learning is a UK-headquartered education technology company that develops and sells a SaaS learning management system (LMS) and virtual learning environment (VLE) for K-12 schools. Founded in 2005 and based in London, the company serves independent, state, and international schools across more than 40 countries, with a regional office in Sydney, Australia. The platform is designed specifically around teaching and learning rather than as a generic content management system, and integrates natively with 15+ school management information systems (MIS/SIS), including Veracross, iSAMS, Bromcom, Synergetic, TASS, and SIMS, enabling automatic synchronisation of user accounts, groups, timetables, attendance, and academic reports. The product portfolio comprises five modules: Firefly LMS (core teaching and learning), Parent Portal, ePraise (student rewards and behaviour management), MIS by Veracross, and SchoolPost (school-wide communication).

The company operates a quote-based annual subscription model tailored to each school's size and module selection, with no public pricing disclosed. Its go-to-market is a consultative enterprise field-sales motion targeting senior school leadership teams, supported by a content-led marketing strategy of ebooks, webinars, case studies, and SEO. Named customers span UK independent schools (St Paul's School for Girls Birmingham, Fettes College, Castle Phoenix Trust, Matthew Arnold School, Cathedral School Llandaff, Orwell Park School, Rokeby School), international schools (Nord Anglia International School Dubai, Amity International School Amsterdam, Star International School Mirdif), and Australian schools (St Ursula's College Australia). The company holds GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA, and EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certifications.

Firefly Learning is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Veracross LLC, a US-based education software company headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, with sibling entities including Magnus Health and Digistorm. Disclosed equity funding totals approximately $12.2M across rounds led by Business Growth Fund (2016, ~$5.6M) and Downing Ventures (2019, ~$6.56M), with additional non-dilutive participation from Microsoft Accelerator London (2017), Future Fifty (2018), and Google for Startups (2021). Leadership includes co-founders Simon Hay (CEO) and Joe Mathewson (COO), with Adam Portlock as CRO, Suzanne Ditchburn as Head of People, Matthew Free as Head of Client Experience, and Rob Eastment as Head of Marketing, EMEA.

Name

Firefly Learning

Legal name

Firefly Learning Ltd.

Website

https://fireflylearning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Firefly Learning is a UK-based edtech SaaS company providing an integrated learning management system and school platform (LMS, parent engagement, behaviour management, and communications) to independent, state, and international schools across 40+ countries, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Veracross LLC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Technology / Learning Management Systems

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Open-Source & Self-Hosted LMS (EDAFAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interactive Learning Games & Gamified Courseware (EDAGALAL), Family Engagement & Take-Home Learning Materials (Home Packs, Parent Guides) (EDACAJAL), Parent-Facing Home Learning & Family Engagement Apps (EDACANAK)

Keywords

• Learning management system
• School communication platform
• Parent engagement software
• Student rewards system
• School information system

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. School Subscription: Firefly Learning operates on a subscription basis, providing schools with access to its integrated platform of teaching and learning tools. Schools subscribe to the platform to access Firefly LMS, Parent Portal, ePraise, and SchoolPost. Pricing is quote-based and tailored to each school's specific requirements and size.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Firefly Learning sells a subscription-based, integrated SaaS platform for schools built around the Firefly LMS for lesson planning, homework, feedback, and resource sharing. The platform is extended by four modular add-ons (Parent Portal, ePraise, MIS by Veracross, and SchoolPost) that together cover parent engagement, student motivation, MIS data integration, and school-wide communication.

Product overview

Firefly Learning offers a modular education technology platform centered around the Firefly LMS, a learning management system designed specifically for schools. The platform comprises five core products: Firefly LMS (the core teaching and learning platform), Parent Portal (for parent engagement), ePraise (for student rewards and behavior management), MIS by Veracross (for management information system integration), and SchoolPost (for school-wide communication). These modules are designed to work together as an integrated ecosystem, enabling schools to manage teaching, learning, parent communication, student motivation, and administrative data from a single platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Firefly LMS: Learning Management System for teaching and learning
• ePraise
• Parent Portal
• SchoolPost
• MIS by Veracross

Products and services

• Firefly LMS A learning management system designed specifically for teaching and learning, allowing teachers to plan lessons online, annotate student work, share resources, set and manage homework, track progress, and facilitate communication among the school community. Used by independent, state, and international schools.
• Parent Portal A dedicated parent engagement portal giving parents visibility into their child's learning progress, academic reports, attendance, homework assignments, and direct communication channels with teachers.
• ePraise A student motivation and rewards system that enables schools to track positive behaviour, award house points, manage reward shops, and engage students through gamification.
• MIS by Veracross A Management Information System integration that synchronises student data, staff accounts, timetables, attendance, and academic reports between Veracross and Firefly.
• SchoolPost A school communication tool that enables schools to send targeted announcements, newsletters, and notifications to parents and students through a centralised platform, reducing email volume.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of students said they would recommend Firefly; 95% said it was easy to use (St Paul's School for Girls)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• VeracrosscoreTechnology or IntegrationVeracross provides the MIS by Veracross product integrated with Firefly. Veracross is also the parent company of Firefly Learning, with Firefly being part of the Veracross Group. The integration allows automatic synchronisation of student data, attendance, and academic records.
• iSAMScoreTechnology or IntegrationiSAMS is a Management Information System integrated with Firefly, enabling automatic data synchronisation including user accounts, groups, and academic reports.
• BromcomcoreTechnology or IntegrationBromcom is an MIS partner integrated with Firefly for seamless data synchronisation in schools using Bromcom's management information system.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Twig Education: EdTech provider selling curriculum content and tools to schools internationally. Partial overlap with Firefly's lesson planning and resource sharing capabilities, particularly in international schools.

Broad incumbents

• Google Classroom: Google's free LMS tightly integrated with Workspace for Education, used by millions of schools globally. Directly competes with Firefly in the K-12 LMS layer but competes on price (free) and ecosystem lock-in rather than pedagogy depth.
• Microsoft Teams for Education: Microsoft's free education offering bundling assignments, meetings, and collaboration into the Office 365 ecosystem. Competes with Firefly LMS and SchoolPost modules and is increasingly selected by state schools for cost reasons.
• Canvas by Instructure: Established LMS serving K-12 and higher education with deep SIS integrations. Competes directly with Firefly LMS in international schools and serves a similar consultative enterprise sales motion.
• PowerSchool Schoology: PowerSchool's LMS for K-12 with deep SIS integration across the PowerSchool ecosystem. Competes with Firefly in international schools where PowerSchool's MIS penetration is high.

Direct peers

• Satchel One (formerly Show My Homework): UK-headquartered learning platform for schools covering homework, behaviour, and parent communication. Closest direct competitor to Firefly in the UK state and independent school segments, with overlapping product modules.
• ClassDojo: School communication and classroom management platform with strong parent engagement and behaviour/rewards functionality. Directly competes with Firefly's Parent Portal, SchoolPost, and ePraise modules, particularly in primary schools.
• Seesaw: Student portfolio and parent communication platform widely adopted in primary schools. Overlaps with Firefly's Parent Portal, lesson annotation, and homework submission features, with strong global traction.
• ParentPay: UK school payments and parent engagement platform that has expanded into communication and behaviour management. Adjacent competitor to Firefly's SchoolPost and parent engagement modules in UK schools.
• ManageBac: International schools-focused curriculum, assessment, and learning platform. Direct competitor to Firefly in the international school segment, particularly for IB curriculum delivery and reporting.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fireflyteam
• Facebookfacebook.com/fireflyteam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1642375

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Firefly Learning