Extend Learning Academies Network

What Extend Learning Academies Network does

Extend Learning Academies Network (ELAN) is a UK multi-academy trust founded in 2017 and registered as a charitable company limited by guarantee (company number 10896504). It operates nine primary schools, four preschools, three nurseries, and six specialist SEND resource bases across North Somerset, serving approximately 2,938 children aged 2–11 with 574 staff. The trust is governed by a Master Funding Agreement with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), making government per-pupil grants and North Somerset Council SEND top-ups the primary revenue streams.

ELAN's core product is the delivery of free state primary education with a particular focus on inclusion and SEND provision — including dedicated resource bases for autism spectrum disorder (The Cove, The Den), hearing and language impairment, moderate learning difficulties (Treetops), and nurture-based provision for social and emotional needs (The Nest, The Cottage). The trust has developed two proprietary curriculum programmes that are deployed across its own schools and licensed commercially to other schools: Extend Letters and Sounds (a systematic synthetic phonics programme priced at £3,150 per school for year one) and Extend Handwriting (a £50 perpetual licence for Year R to Year 6 instruction). It also implements the Opening Worlds Curriculum for geography, history and religion, developed in partnership with Christine Counsell and Steve Mastin.

The business model is hybrid: state-funded recurring revenue per pupil covers core educational operations (subscription-like), while a small commercial licensing arm monetises the trust's curriculum IP to external schools. Go-to-market for pupils is community-led via North Somerset Council's centralised admissions process, supported by open days, community events, and an active regional sector presence including the South West Primary School Improvement Network. Leadership is in transition, with James Oakley announced as incoming CEO succeeding founder Adam Matthews effective February 2026, supported by a board chaired by Rosemary Carr (former Clarks Brand Director) and trustees with DfE, Civil Service, and finance backgrounds.

Name

Extend Learning Academies Network

Legal name

Extend Learning Academies Network

Website

https://extendlearning.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Extend Learning Academies Network (ELAN) is a UK multi-academy trust operating nine primary schools, nurseries, preschools and six specialist SEND resource bases across North Somerset, educating ~2,938 pupils with 574 staff and licensing proprietary curriculum products to external schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Literacy & ELA Instruction (School-Delivered) (EDAJAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

English Language Arts (ELA) Enrichment (Integrated Reading/Writing) (EDAMAJAF)

Keywords

• Primary education services
• Multi-academy trust
• Phonics curriculum programs
• SEND specialist provision
• Early years education

Headquarters

HQ city

Clevedon

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Education Funding: ELAN receives government funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for each academy in the trust. This is the primary revenue source covering educational operations, staffing, and facilities. Funding is based on pupil numbers and specific educational needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Extend Learning Academies Network (ELAN) is a multi-academy trust operating nine primary schools across North Somerset, UK, delivering primary education to approximately 2,938 children. The trust also provides specialist SEND provision through dedicated resource bases, nurseries, and preschools. Beyond operating its own schools, ELAN sells proprietary validated curriculum programs (Extend Letters and Sounds phonics programme and Extend Handwriting programme) to other schools nationally and internationally.

Product overview

Extend Learning Academies Network (ELAN) is a multi-academy trust operating nine primary schools across North Somerset with nurseries and preschools. The trust's educational offering centers on two proprietary curriculum programmes: Extend Letters and Sounds (a systematic synthetic phonics programme for early reading and writing) and Extend Handwriting (a handwriting guidance programme from Year R to Year 6). ELAN also provides specialist SEND provision through six resource bases: The Cove (ASD hub), Hearing and Language Resource Base, Treetops (MLD resource base), The Nest Nurture Hub, The Den (autism resource base), and The Cottage Nurture Hub. Additional offerings include the Opening Worlds Curriculum for geography, history and religion, and the Resilience Reps Training Programme. ELAN also facilitates the ELAN SEND Council for pupil voice and engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Extend Letters and Sounds: A complete programme for the teaching of early reading and writing combining systematic, synthetic phonics with strategies to support reading comprehension, handwriting and compositional skills.
• Extend Handwriting
• Opening Worlds Curriculum

Products and services

• Extend Letters and Sounds A systematic, synthetic phonics programme developed by ELAN for use in primary schools. The programme is validated by Suffolk and Norfolk SCITT and ESSA, and is sold to schools nationally and internationally as a licensed curriculum product.
• Extend Handwriting A whole-school handwriting programme developed by ELAN and sold to other schools as a low-cost licensed curriculum product.
• Opening Worlds Curriculum A humanities-based primary curriculum delivered across ELAN's nine primary schools.
• Resilience Reps Training Programme A mental health and wellbeing training programme delivered to pupils across ELAN's schools, training children to support peers' wellbeing.
• ELAN Primary Schools (Nine Schools) Primary education delivered across nine schools in North Somerset (Crockerne, Portishead, Trinity, St Anne's, St Joseph's, Castlebatch, Pawlett, Worle, and Woolavington) serving approximately 2,938 children. The schools are rated Ofsted "Good" and provide inclusive education from Early Years through Key Stage 2.
• ELAN Nurseries and Preschools Early years education and childcare provision attached to several of ELAN's primary schools, serving pre-school-aged children and their families.
• Specialist SEND Resource Bases Six specialist SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) resource bases operated across ELAN's schools, including The Cove, HLRB (Hearing Loss Resource Base), Treetops, The Nest, The Den, and The Cottage, providing specialist provision for children with additional needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Above national results in Year 1 phonics screening assessment for 3 consecutive years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• North Somerset CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerELAN works with North Somerset Council on admissions coordination, SEND provision planning, and the ELAN SEND Council which includes pupil representatives and council colleagues. Council provides funding and strategic oversight for education in the region.
• Christine Counsell and Steve Mastin (Opening Worlds Curriculum)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerELAN partnered with education experts Christine Counsell and Steve Mastin to implement the Opening Worlds Curriculum for geography, history and religion across its schools in 2023. James Page (Haringey Education Partnership) is also credited as an Opening Worlds pioneer.
• Haringey Education PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpening Worlds pioneer James Page serves as Chief Executive of Haringey Education Partnership and attended the ELAN Opening Worlds Symposium as a special guest.
• Maven (Dan Lawton)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDan Lawton from Maven collaborated with North Somerset Council and ELAN SEND Council to create a film about sleep awareness for young people.
• YouthShootsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerYouthShoots founder Paul Hanmore delivered a three-day Resilience Reps training programme across ELAN schools, focusing on mental wellbeing, resilience, online safety and personal development for Year 4 and 5 pupils.
• Nurture UKcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe Nest Nurture Hub at Bournville is part of a local authority pilot in partnership with Nurture UK, implementing evidence-based nurturing approaches.
• Anna Freud CentreminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe Den at Milton Park participates in the Anna Freud Centre's autism and wellbeing programme for staff training and best practice.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GLF Schools: A South-East England multi-academy trust operating dozens of primary and secondary schools. Comparable to ELAN as a regional MAT with a shared curriculum model, central team, and growth-via-conversion strategy.
• David Ross Education Trust: A multi-academy trust running a network of primary and secondary schools, with a stated mission around educational excellence and life chances for disadvantaged pupils. Comparable in trust scale and inclusion-led growth model.
• STEP Academy Trust: A regional multi-academy trust operating primary schools across the South of England with a focus on inclusive practice and shared curriculum. Directly comparable to ELAN in scale, geography mix, and school-led instructional design.
• Reach Academy Trust: A small, inclusion-focused primary MAT with a similar size and ethos to ELAN, operating a network of inclusive schools with strong SEND and disadvantage focus. Closely comparable in scale, mission, and operating model.
• Oasis Community Learning: One of the largest multi-academy trusts in the UK operating primary and secondary academies nationally. Directly comparable to ELAN as a charitable MAT running a network of schools with shared curriculum and inclusion-focused ethos.

Broad incumbents

• Harris Federation: A large multi-academy trust running primary and secondary schools across London and the South East, with a centralised curriculum and strong outcomes focus. Comparable to ELAN as a MAT with shared instructional frameworks, but operating at significantly greater scale.
• Outwood Grange Academies Trust: One of the largest UK MATs operating a network of primary and secondary academies nationally with shared curriculum and improvement frameworks. Comparable to ELAN as a trust operator centralising curriculum across multiple schools.
• United Learning: One of the largest UK MATs spanning primary through secondary with a strong teacher-training and curriculum-development footprint. Comparable to ELAN as a charitable school operator with shared curriculum and central infrastructure, but at significantly greater scale.
• Ark (Ark Schools): A large national MAT/network operating primary and secondary schools with a curriculum-and-pupil-outcomes focus. Comparable to ELAN in operating inclusive academies with proprietary teaching programmes, but at a much larger national scale.

Emerging players

• Twinkl: A digital educational-resources publisher that creates and sells curriculum-aligned content (including phonics programmes) to schools globally. Comparable to ELAN's Extend Letters and Sounds and Extend Handwriting as a school-paid curriculum provider in the primary segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/extendlan
• Facebookfacebook.com/ExtendLearning

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries19 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 Extend Learning Academies Network