What Onwards and Upwards does

Onwards and Upwards (legal entity Escendency Limited, registered in England & Wales, company No. 05053362) is a UK-based SaaS provider of bespoke progress tracking software for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Founded in 2004 by Director Mark Robinson and headquartered in Lancaster, the company pivoted from an originally generic performance management system (the 'Escendency' system) into a vertically specialised SEND platform serving special schools, residential settings, specialist colleges, and mainstream SEND providers. The current installed base is approximately 55 clients, supported by a core team of six employees with outsourced associates.

The platform is a cloud-based, unified SEND system that combines a main progress tracking module, a Universal Forms Builder (for behaviour, safeguarding, and paper-form replacement), Lesson Planning functionality with real-time formative assessment that eliminates data-drops, role-based individualised dashboards (for senior management, teachers, teaching assistants, governors, parents, carers, and learners), flexible SMART target setting against EHCP targets, and cohort reporting for groups such as Looked After Children and Pupil Premium. The product integrates with the SIMS school administration system, supports linear, non-linear, and spiky progress profiles, and offers an 'I Can'/'Can Do' library of learning outcome checklists contributed by the user community. The system is positioned as Rochford Review compliant and is built with GDPR-aligned controls including two-factor authentication, with subscribers acting as Data Controllers and Escendency Limited acting as Data Processor.

The commercial model is annual subscription SaaS with unlimited user licences and a direct, demo-driven enterprise sales motion personally led by founder Mark Robinson. Implementation follows a documented ten-step process delivered in under 48 hours from initial subscription payment. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held, founder-led, bootstrapped (no external funding, no VC or PE backing), serves the UK market exclusively, and has no subsidiaries, no M&A history, and no disclosed expansion plans.

Name

Onwards and Upwards

Legal name

Escendency Limited

Website

https://onwardsandupwards.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Onwards and Upwards (Escendency Limited) is a UK-based SaaS provider of bespoke SEND progress tracking software for special schools, residential settings, specialist colleges, and mainstream SEND, offering an annual subscription platform with integrated lesson planning, forms building, and EHCP target monitoring.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Software

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Assessment, Testing & Analytics Platforms (Formative/Summative) (EDAJAMAC)

Keywords

• SEND progress tracking
• Special education software
• Learning outcome management
• EHCP target tracking
• Education SaaS platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Lancaster

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription: Cloud-based software-as-a-service subscription model for special schools, residential settings, specialist colleges, and mainstream SEND providers. Unlimited user licences included with access rights controlled by the subscriber.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Onwards and Upwards sells the OnwardsandUpwards cloud-based SaaS platform — a bespoke SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) progress tracking system tailored for special schools, residential settings, specialist colleges and mainstream SEND providers. The platform enables assessment, evidence and celebration of learner progress across engagement, individualised curricula, life skills, academic and non-subject specific learning, personalised learning plans, and EHCP targets, with unlimited user access under a subscription model.

Product overview

OnwardsandUpwards is a cloud-based unified SEND progress tracking platform. The core product encompasses multiple integrated modules: the main tracking platform itself, a Universal Forms Builder for behaviour and safeguarding records, Lesson Planning functionality for real-time formative assessment, and built-in Reporting functionality. The system also features role-based Individualised Dashboards and I Can/Can Do Learning Outcome Checklists. Schools can track engagement, individualised curricula, life skills, academic and non-subject specific learning, personalised learning plans, and EHCP targets with linear, non-linear or spiky progress options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OnwardsandUpwards SEND Progress Tracking Platform Holistic cloud-based SEND progress tracking platform tailored for learners in special schools, residential settings, specialist colleges and mainstream SEND. Enables assessment, evidence and celebration of all progress and achievements across engagement, individualised curricula, life skills, academic and non-subject specific learning, personalised learning plans and EHCP targets, with unlimited user licences under a subscription model.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eliminates need for data-drops and significantly reduces teacher workload

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Pendle Community High School & CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004Collaborated closely with Onwards and Upwards to tailor the model to their requirements. Assisted further developments to ensure the system effectively meets the needs of SEND pupils. Provided testimonial endorsement for the product.
• Onwards and Upwards Special Schools CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUser community where schools share learning checklists ('I Can' statements) that can be imported into other schools' systems. The community contributes to an ever-expanding library of learning resources that benefit all users.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bromcom: Bromcom is a UK cloud MIS used by schools and MATs, offering modules for assessment, attendance, and reporting. As a broader UK school MIS vendor, it competes for the same institutional budget and represents a potential platform-level competitor if it deepens SEND-specific features.
• Arbor Education: Arbor Education is a UK cloud-based MIS used by schools and MATs for administration, assessment, and reporting. As a broader incumbent in UK school software, it competes for the same budget pool and could expand its assessment and SEND modules to encroach on Onwards and Upwards' niche.
• Frog Education (FrogOS): Frog Education provides a UK learning platform and school intranet used for teaching, learning, and assessment in primary and secondary schools. As a broader UK learning platform, it represents an incumbent in the same school software category with potential overlap on lesson planning and assessment workflows.
• ScholarPack: ScholarPack is a UK cloud-based MIS for primary schools covering assessments, reporting, and SEND module support. Its breadth across primary assessment makes it an adjacent incumbent that competes on overlapping assessment features, though it is less SEND-specialised than Onwards and Upwards.
• Pupil Asset: Pupil Asset is a UK cloud-based MIS primarily serving primary schools with assessment, reporting, and SEND tracking capability. It is a comparable UK-based assessment/management vendor competing in adjacent segments of the same school software market.
• RM plc (SIMS): RM plc is the long-standing UK provider of SIMS, the dominant school management information system used across the English state sector. While SIMS is a general MIS rather than a SEND-first product, its ubiquity in UK schools makes it the primary incumbent that any SEND progress tracker must integrate with (as Onwards and Upwards already does via its SIMS integration).

Direct peers

• Provision Map: Provision Map is a UK SEND-specific tool for managing SEND provision, interventions, and progress within mainstream and special schools. It overlaps with Onwards and Upwards in tracking SEND outcomes and is a relevant comparison point for any SEND-targeted progress tracking offering.
• Earwig Academic: Earwig Academic is a UK SEND and alternative provision tracking platform used by special schools and PRUs to record milestones, evidence, and achievements. It competes head-to-head with Onwards and Upwards on individualised progress tracking and stakeholder reporting for SEND learners.
• Learning Ladders: Learning Ladders is a UK primary school assessment tracking platform that engages parents in seeing pupil progress. While its SEND focus is narrower than Onwards and Upwards', it competes for the same school budget line on formative/continuous assessment and parent-facing reporting.
• B Squared: B Squared is a UK-based SEND assessment and progression tracking platform serving special schools and mainstream SEND settings. It is the closest direct competitor to Onwards and Upwards, with overlapping use cases in EHCP-linked progress tracking, formative assessment, and reporting for Ofsted/SEND inspection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/onwardsandupwards

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Onwards and Upwards