What Smart School Councils does

Smart School Councils is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number 1156110) that helps every young person lead change in their world through democracy. Founded by Asher and Greg — combining youth work and policy expertise respectively — the charity has built a pupil-voice programme designed to make school councils inclusive by running whole-class meetings rather than relying on small representative groups. The core offering, the Programme for Schools, is operational across 700+ schools and has reached 250,000 young people, supported by add-on modules covering teacher CPD, community events, a For Partners programme for corporate and charitable collaboration, and a For Families module extending voice-building activities into the home.

The underlying technology stack is not publicly disclosed; the product appears to be a content-and-framework-led offering rather than a software platform. Distribution is community-led, combining a self-serve trial portal ("Try it with your school") with direct membership sales via email and phone, alongside content marketing through a blog, the AllChalk podcast on Spotify, and a Wall of Love testimonials page. Notable supporters include Brian Eno, Alastair Campbell, and KKCF (Kingsfield Knowledge Community Foundation) as a core funding partner.

The business model is a recurring annual school membership, supplemented by partner contributions and charitable funding. Pricing is not publicly listed; prospective schools must contact [email protected] or call 020 3966 2058. The organization is headquartered in Warrington, UK (The Gateway, 85-101 Sankey Street), operates with a 1–10 employee team, and confines its operations to the United Kingdom.

Name

Smart School Councils

Legal name

Smart School Councils

Website

https://home.smartschoolcouncils.org.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Smart School Councils is a UK charity running an inclusive, whole-class-meeting pupil-voice programme across 700+ schools and reaching 250,000 young people, supplemented by CPD, events, partner, and family modules.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education / Pupil Voice Programmes

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Elected School Boards & Governance Councils (EDADABAE)

Keywords

• Pupil voice programmes
• School council training
• Democracy education
• Teacher CPD resources
• Student voice programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. School Membership: Annual membership fees from schools joining the program. Schools pay to access the programme, CPD resources, and support for running inclusive school councils.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Smart School Councils is a registered UK charity that operates an annual membership programme for schools, providing a structured framework for running inclusive whole-class school council meetings where every pupil can participate in democratic decision-making. The offering is supported by teacher CPD resources, an events programme, a partnerships track for organisations, and a family-facing extension for use at home.

Product overview

Smart School Councils is a charity operating a unified programme portfolio focused on empowering pupil voice and democratic participation in schools. The core offering is the Programme for Schools, which provides the framework for inclusive school councils across 700+ schools serving 250,000 young people. Supporting modules include CPD for educator training, Events for community building, a For Partners programme for thematic collaborations, and a For Families module extending voice-building activities to the home environment. Together, these components form an integrated approach to fostering everyday debate and democracy for all young people.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Programme for Schools Annual membership programme for schools providing a structured framework to run whole-class, inclusive school council meetings where every child can participate in democratic decision-making.
• CPD (Continuing Professional Development) Continuing Professional Development resources and training for educators to effectively implement inclusive school council practices within their schools.
• Events Events programme that connects schools and facilitates knowledge-sharing among educators and partners implementing pupil voice initiatives.
• For Partners Programme Partnership programme enabling corporate and charitable organisations to collaborate with Smart School Councils on building young people's voices around specific themes and local needs.
• For Families Family-facing resources and programme that extends the pupil voice model into the home, helping families build their child's voice and speak up on big issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• 250,000 young people empowered to speak up
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Brian EnominorOthers · 31 December 2026Renowned musician Brian Eno is backing Smart School Councils, providing high-profile endorsement and visibility for the charity's mission.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Premier League Primary Stars: A national school-engagement programme providing free teaching resources, CPD and competitions in primary schools across topics including PSHE and citizenship — adjacent because it sits in the same UK primary school content/CPD distribution channels as Smart School Councils.
• PSHE Association: The national body for PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) in UK schools, including citizenship strands — adjacent to Smart School Councils because its curriculum framework frequently embeds pupil voice and democratic participation modules.

Direct peers

• VotesforSchools: A subscription-based weekly voting and discussion platform that helps UK schools run pupil voice activities on current affairs and democratic topics — directly comparable to Smart School Councils' school-membership model and inclusive pupil voice mission.
• UK Parliament Education Service: Statutory UK service delivering democracy and parliament education to schools via programmes, CPD, and competitions; addresses the same civic-participation and pupil voice problem as Smart School Councils via a school-targeted delivery model.
• Young Citizens: UK charity delivering citizenship and financial literacy education programmes and resources to schools, including teacher CPD and student-facing content — directly comparable mission, target buyer (UK schools) and supplement-to-curriculum positioning.
• The Citizenship Foundation: Long-standing UK educational charity supporting citizenship and democracy education in schools, including programmes, CPD and resources for pupil participation — directly comparable in mission, audience and UK K-12 non-profit delivery model.
• British Youth Council: A UK youth voice charity focused on enabling young people to influence policy and have a say in decisions affecting them — directly comparable on the 'youth voice' mission though it skews older toward formal youth governance rather than in-school councils.

Broad incumbents

• National Citizen Service (NCS): Large UK government-backed youth civic engagement and social action programme for 16-17 year olds; addresses a related (civic/democratic) need at scale but operates as a broader national programme, not specifically in-school pupil voice like Smart School Councils.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SSCCTY
• Facebookfacebook.com/smartschoolcouncils
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smart-school-councils-community

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Smart School Councils