Esset

What Esset does

Esset (Essex Special School Education Trust) is a private company limited by guarantee comprising all 19 Essex Special Schools in England. It is governed by the headteachers of those member schools and operates from a registered address at Market Field School in Elmstead Market, Essex, with primary training delivery at Lexden Springs Residential Special School in Colchester. The organisation exists to lead SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) innovation across Essex by pooling the expertise of its member schools and extending that expertise to mainstream schools through training and outreach.

The core product is the Therapeutic Thinking Essex framework, a psychologically informed, evidence-based approach to behaviour grounded in attachment, trauma, ACEs, and SEND research. This is delivered through a tiered training portfolio: a three-day Therapeutic Thinking Relational Practices tutor training (£480 per delegate, £400 for subscribed schools), a two-day Principles of Restraint Reduction tutor training (£330 per delegate), one-day refresher courses, free one-hour virtual tutor updates, and newer one-day virtual courses in Behaviour Curriculum and Sensory Processing. The second core offering is the Outreach Program, a joint initiative with Essex County Council that places seconded special school staff into mainstream schools to support SEND provision across four regional quadrants.

Revenue is generated through per-delegate training course fees, with discounted rates for ESSET-subscribed member schools, and through outreach service arrangements with Essex County Council. Courses are delivered in person at Essex venues, on-site at schools with sufficient participant numbers, and virtually via Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The company employs between 11 and 50 staff, has no external investors or funding rounds, and operates exclusively within Essex despite the Therapeutic Thinking framework's stated adoption across multiple authorities in southern England.

Name

Esset

Legal name

Esset (Essex Special School Education Trust)

Website

https://esset.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Training and Consultancy

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Inclusion, Special Needs & Early Intervention Training (IEPs/IFSPs, Neurodiversity) (EDACAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remedial & Academic Intervention Programs (Reading/Math Recovery) (EDAJAGAC), Psychoeducational & Educational Assessments (IEE Support) (EDAKACAD)

Keywords

• SEND training programs
• Special education services
• Teacher training courses
• Behaviour management training
• Restraint reduction training

Headquarters

HQ city

Causeway Bay

HQ country

Hong Kong SAR China

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Training Course Fees: ESSET generates revenue through paid training courses delivered to schools. Course fees vary by programme, with discounted rates for ESSET-subscribed schools. Programs include Therapeutic Thinking Relational Practices (£480), Restraint Reduction Tutor Training (£330), and one-day courses (£135-£170).
2. Outreach Services: Joint initiative with Essex County Council providing outreach support to mainstream schools teaching children with SEND needs. Services include direct consultancy and support from seconded special school staff.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Esset delivers paid professional training courses, accredited tutor programmes, and outreach consultancy focused on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) for schools in Essex. Its portfolio centres on the Therapeutic Thinking Essex approach and includes restraint reduction training, behaviour curriculum training, sensory processing training, and an Outreach Programme delivered jointly with Essex County Council to support mainstream schools.

Product overview

ESSET is an education trust comprising 19 Essex Special Schools offering a unified training and consultancy portfolio focused on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The core offerings consist of the Outreach Program—a joint initiative with Essex County Council supporting mainstream school professionals—and the Therapeutic Thinking Essex programme, which includes multiple training tiers: Therapeutic Thinking Relational Practices (3-day tutor training), Principles of Restraint Reduction (2-day tutor training), refresher courses, and free virtual tutor updates. New additions include Principles of a Behaviour Curriculum and Principles of Sensory Processing courses. All offerings are delivered through ESSET's network of special schools, with in-person training held at venues such as Lexden Springs Residential Special School.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Outreach Program: Joint initiative between ESSET and Essex County Council supporting professionals and schools teaching children with SEND needs.
• Therapeutic Thinking Essex

Products and services

• Therapeutic Thinking Essex A psychologically informed, evidence-based approach to behaviour prioritising emotional wellbeing within learning environments, for schools adopting relational and trauma-informed practice.
• Therapeutic Thinking Relational Practices Tutor Training Three-day accredited tutor training programme covering mental health, attachment, ACEs, trauma-informed practice and therapeutic policy development, enabling schools to embed the Therapeutic Thinking approach internally.
• Principles of Restraint Reduction Tutor Training Two-day accredited tutor training enabling participants to deliver restraint reduction training in their own settings, focused on safe, therapeutic, and effective implementation of restraint reduction practices.
• Outreach Program Joint initiative with Essex County Council providing direct consultancy and SEND support from seconded special school staff to mainstream schools across Essex.
• Principles of a Behaviour Curriculum One-day virtual professional development exploring how schools can move from reactive approaches to detrimental behaviour toward a methodology rooted in teaching, learning and relationships, aligned with DfE behaviour guidance.
• Principles of Sensory Processing One-day virtual course exploring how sensory processing influences behaviour, emotional regulation and participation in school, including practical frameworks such as the PEO model and inclusion circles.
• Therapeutic Thinking Tutor Updates Free one-hour online update sessions providing accredited tutors with the latest developments from the Director of Therapeutic Thinking and ESSET Quality of Life Leads.
• Therapeutic Thinking Relational Practices Refresher Annual one-day refresher course for accredited Therapeutic Thinking tutors to maintain certification, available in-person and virtually.
• Principles of Restraint Reduction Refresher One-day face-to-face refresher at Lexden Springs required for accredited restraint reduction tutors to maintain their accreditation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Staff confidence, competence and safety improved through Therapeutic Thinking training
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Essex County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint initiative between ESSET and Essex County Council (ECC) to deliver the Outreach Program supporting professionals in mainstream schools who are teaching and developing children and young people with SEND needs. The partnership enables ESSET to extend its reach beyond member schools to support mainstream education across Essex.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• nasen (National Association for Special Educational Needs): UK membership and training organisation for SEND practitioners, offering CPD, consultancy, and policy support to schools. Directly comparable as a SEND-focused training and membership body serving similar educator customers.
• Restraint Reduction Network: UK charity that sets standards and accredits training in restraint reduction for education, health and social care settings. Closely comparable to ESSET's Principles of Restraint Reduction tutor training programme.
• British Dyslexia Association: UK charity providing training, accreditation and resources for schools supporting learners with SpLD. Comparable specialist SEND training and accreditation model to ESSET's Therapeutic Thinking portfolio.
• Whole School SEND: DfE-backed consortium delivering SEND training and resources to schools across England. Comparable to ESSET in mission and customer base (mainstream schools seeking SEND capability).
• Council for Disabled Children: National body supporting policy, training and practice for disabled children including those with SEND. Comparable in mission and in delivering SEND training/policy support to schools and local authorities.
• British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD): UK charity providing training, accreditation, and consultancy on learning disabilities and positive behaviour support. Comparable as a specialist SEND training and accreditation provider.

Emerging players

• Ambitious about Autism: UK charity running specialist education provision and CPD/training for educators working with autistic pupils. Comparable in delivering SEND-specific training to schools and in practitioner-led expertise.
• ICAN (children's communication charity): UK charity delivering training and resources to schools on children's speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). Comparable in offering SEND-adjacent CPD courses to school staff.

Broad incumbents

• National Autistic Society: Large UK charity providing training, accreditation and resources on autism for education professionals. Overlaps with ESSET's SEND training catalogue but operates at national scale across multiple SEND areas.
• Pearson UK (Education division): Large global education company with SEND-related qualifications, CPD and assessment products. Comparable in selling SEND training and qualifications to UK schools, though at much broader scale and across many subjects.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/essex-special-schools-education-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Esset