What Strictly Education does

Strictly Education Ltd (Companies House registration 05107810) was a UK-based, for-profit private limited company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Supporting Education Group (SEG), providing outsourced professional and managed back-office services exclusively to the UK education sector since 2004. Served customers included individual schools, academies, Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), and local authorities, with cited scale of 2,000+ schools, 150+ MATs, and 120 local authority partnerships. Services spanned HR, payroll (via the proprietary EduPeople platform), finance (academies and maintained schools), MIS support (SIMS, Bromcom, Arbor, Scholarpack), governance and clerking, estates and facilities management, internal scrutiny, and a Better Governor subscription product, supplemented by training programmes such as HLTA Status and Thrive Approach. The company held ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, Cyber Essentials, and BACS Approved Bureau certifications.

The business model was a sales-led, consultative motion targeting enterprise education buyers via direct account management, "Request a quote" website CTAs, and a mid-funnel content engine (Knowledge Hub, weekly blogs, eBooks, webinars, Strictly Speaking newsletter) built to generate inbound leads. Revenue was generated through professional services (advisory and project work) and managed services (ongoing payroll, HR administration, MIS support, governance clerking), sold on quote-based, undisclosed multi-year contracts. Customer-base dispersion across thousands of schools and hundreds of MATs implied modest per-client contract sizes but strong revenue predictability from renewal cycles.

On 1 April 2025, Strictly Education ceased independent service delivery: live operations, client relationships, and back-office responsibilities were migrated to Judicium Education (legal, HR advisory, safeguarding, clerking, H&S, DPO) and School Business Services / SBS (finance, accounts, MIS, statutory returns, data and technology). The company's physical offices were closed and written correspondence routes through SEG at 98 Theobalds Road, Holborn, London. The entity remains registered at Wallace House, 4 Falcon Way, Welwyn Garden City, but as a holding/legacy company rather than an active service delivery vehicle.

Name

Strictly Education

Legal name

Strictly Education Ltd

Website

https://strictlyeducation.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Strictly Education was a UK-based provider of HR, payroll, finance, MIS, governance, and facilities management services to schools, academies, and Multi-Academy Trusts. As of April 2025 its services were transferred to Judicium Education and School Business Services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Compliance, Risk & Audit Support Services (EHS, Title IX/Clery Support, Policy Admin) (EDAEALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Compliance, Regulatory & Audit Reporting (State/Federal/Ofsted-style) (EDADAIAF), Funding, Finance & Grants Reporting (Allocations, Claims, Reconciliation) (EDADAIAG)

Keywords

• Education support services
• School HR payroll
• Academy finance services
• School governance support
• MIS support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Loughton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services: Consulting and advisory services for HR, payroll, finance, governance, and premises management delivered to educational institutions
2. Managed Services: Ongoing managed services including payroll processing, HR administration, MIS support, and governance clerking

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Strictly Education provides professional support services to UK schools, academies, and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), covering HR and payroll, finance, MIS technical support, governance and clerking, estates and facilities management, and training programs. The company operates the EduPeople HR and payroll system and supports major school MIS platforms including SIMS, Bromcom, Arbor and Scholarpack. As of April 1, 2025, these services have been transitioned to Judicium Education and School Business Services (SBS).

Product overview

Strictly Education provides a comprehensive suite of professional support services for the UK education sector, functioning as a platform of interconnected service modules rather than a single software product. The core offerings include EduPeople (HR and payroll system), Finance Services (with variants for academies and maintained schools), MIS Support Services, Governance Services, and Estates & Facilities Management. These services are complemented by training programs, an Internal Scrutiny Service for academy trusts, and a Knowledge Hub containing educational resources. Services are delivered to schools, academies, multi-academy trusts (MATs), and colleges, with support provided by experienced education experts to improve operational efficiencies and ensure statutory compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EduPeople: HR and Payroll System brand providing EduPeople HR and Payroll Services

Products and services

• EduPeople HR and Payroll System HR and payroll system providing payroll processing, HR administration, and employee management for schools and academies.
• Payroll Services Ensuring accurate and timely staff payment processing, including payroll and pension management for schools and academies.
• HR Services Strategic HR advice, guidance and operational support to help schools deliver and implement effective HR strategies.
• Finance Services Financial planning, management of accounts, and financial consultancy for MATs, academies, and maintained schools.
• Finance Services for Academies Specialized finance support tailored for academy trusts including financial planning and compliance management.
• Finance Services for Maintained Schools Financial services specifically designed for local authority maintained schools.
• MIS Support Services Technical support for Management Information Systems enabling effective use of SIMS, Bromcom, Arbor, and Scholarpack platforms.
• Governance Services Supporting school boards with governance and compliance, including clerking services for effective board operations.
• Better Governor Subscription Governance support subscription providing resources, training, and tools for school governors.
• Estates and Facilities Management Premises, staffing and estate management support ensuring schools and MATs remain safe, compliant, and well-maintained.
• Internal Scrutiny Service External audit and internal scrutiny services for academy trusts to ensure robust risk management and internal controls.
• Training Services Professional development and training courses for education staff including HLTA status programs and pupil wellbeing support.
• HLTA Status Program Higher Level Teaching Assistant qualification program for education support staff.
• Thrive Approach Training Training to support pupils' emotional and social wellbeing in schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 70% of MIS support calls resolved same day
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Judicium EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025From 1st April 2025, Strictly Education services are provided by Judicium Education and School Business Services (SBS). Judicium Education supports schools for over 20 years with robust legal and compliance advice including Employment Law & HR Advisory, Safeguarding, Governance & Clerking, Health & Safety, and Data Protection Officer Services. Judicium also serves as the Data Protection Officer for Strictly Education.
• School Business Services (SBS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Trusted by over 400 MATs and 4,000 schools, SBS provides financial planning, management of accounts, MIS, statutory returns, data and technology support. From 1st April 2025, SBS provides Strictly Education services including finance and accounting.
• Supporting Education GroupcoreOthersParent company of Strictly Education and its subsidiaries (Strictly Education, Strictly Education 4S and Strictly Education 3BM). Provides group-level data protection oversight and cross-marketing services across the group.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Schools Advisory Service (SAS): UK not-for-profit HR and employment-advice provider for schools. Comparable as a domain-specialist peer operating in the same school HR advisory and managed-services niche.
• Athena Education: UK education-sector services firm offering HR, finance, payroll, and business management support to schools and MATs. Closely comparable specialist mid-market peer targeting the same school back-office buyer.
• Optimus Education: UK provider of CPD, business management, and consultancy services for schools and academy trusts. Comparable as a mid-sized specialist that bundles advisory and operational support into the same school-business-manager buyer.
• Judicium Education: UK education-sector advisory firm providing Employment Law & HR, Safeguarding, Governance & Clerking, Health & Safety, and Data Protection Officer services to schools. Direct functional peer to Strictly Education and its named successor for HR/governance/compliance services.
• School Business Services (SBS): UK specialist BPO for schools and MATs covering financial planning, accounts management, MIS, statutory returns, and data/tech support. Named successor to Strictly Education services and serves 400+ MATs and 4,000+ schools - a direct functional match.
• Cintra HR & Payroll Services: UK HR and payroll services provider with a dedicated education-sector vertical. Comparable as a managed-services peer delivering outsourced payroll and HR processes to schools and trusts.

Broad incumbents

• RM plc (RM Education): UK education technology and services company providing IT, MIS, and support to schools. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping managed services and MIS support capabilities in UK K-12.
• Tribal Group: UK-listed education management software and services provider (e.g., Tribal Edge) serving schools, colleges, and MATs. Comparable broad incumbent offering management information and operational support overlapping with Strictly's MIS and finance services.
• Capita: Large UK outsourcing group with an education services division, including ownership of the SIMS MIS product. Comparable as a much larger broad incumbent that overlaps with Strictly's managed services and MIS support offerings.
• Civica: Large UK public-sector software and services vendor with an Education division serving schools, MATs, and local authorities. Comparable broad incumbent with overlapping HR/payroll and back-office managed-services capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/strictlyed

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Strictly Education