The Centre for Education and Youth

Name

The Centre for Education and Youth

Legal name

The Centre for Education and Youth CIC

Website

https://cfey.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research and Evaluation Contracts: CfEY is commissioned by government bodies, third-sector organisations, and education leaders to conduct research, evaluations, and provide expertise. Working as independent evaluation partners and research collaborators on specific projects.
2. Partnership and Programme Support: Providing strategic advice, workshops, and programme design support to educational institutions and charitable organisations to help them improve services and outcomes for young people.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY) is a think and action-tank that delivers commissioned research, impact and process evaluations, theory of change workshops, and policy advice to schools, charities, and government bodies across the UK education and youth sector. It also co-designs programmes and resources with partners and supports peer research training for groups of young people.

Product overview

The Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY) is a 'think and action-tank' organized as a Community Interest Company (CIC) that provides research, evaluation, and consultancy services focused on education and youth policy. The organization operates as a single integrated service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its core offerings include research and evaluation services (impact and process evaluations), the Young Collective youth participation program, the Youth and Education Podcast, peer research training packages, policy and communications support, and curriculum/resource development. CfEY works with partners across four engagement modes: learning partner, investigation partner, action partner, and communications partner. The organization closed operations on March 14, 2025 due to a challenging funding climate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research and Evaluation Services Commissioned research, impact evaluations, process evaluations, theory of change workshops, and bespoke evaluation support delivered to education and youth sector clients in the UK.
• Policy and Communications Support Strategic advice and communications support helping partners identify key issues, shape debate, design communications strategies, approach sector influencers, organise events, and write for national, local, and sector press.
• Peer Research Training Packages Training packages that equip groups of young people with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to collect, analyse, and understand their own data, covering research question design, tool co-design, safe research practices, and data analysis.
• Curriculum and Resource Development Design and delivery of IAG sessions and resources, training videos (including SEND training videos viewed over 20,000 times), and knowledge curriculum frameworks for educational institutions and sector partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• CfEY's evaluation helped inform refinements to Action Tutoring's model during scaling
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Mercers' CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022CfEY serves as the independent evaluation partner for the Mercers' Company Transitions Special Initiative, a six-year programme involving 16 grantee organisations focused on improving disadvantaged young people's post-secondary transitions.
• NestacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvaluated three of Nesta's edtech innovation and covid-recovery funds, providing theory of change workshops with the team and grantees, and delivering mixed-methods evaluation highlighting programme impact.
• Aspire to HE (Uniconnect)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership designing evaluation framework, carrying out impact and process evaluation, developing IAG sessions and resources, and designing programme delivery for widening participation in higher education.
• Action TutoringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year evaluation of Action Tutoring's impact influenced refinements to their model. Joint investigation with Third Space Learning and Trinity MAT on the future of tutoring to influence the National Tutoring Programme.
• Third Space LearningcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CfEY to explore how the National Tutoring Programme can achieve its potential, building on research into maths learning loss and tutoring impact.
• PearsoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing research partnership exploring how assessment and teacher recruitment can be improved, producing reports including 'Making Waves' and 'Why Teach?'.
• National Citizen Service (NCS) TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorked with NCS ahead of the 2021 Comprehensive Spending Review to highlight ways non-formal learning could support young people's recovery from the pandemic.
• Careers and Enterprise CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned CfEY to design and curate Primary Careers Resources and Youth Social Action Toolkit for the Careers and Enterprise Company.
• Department for EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned CfEY to work with nasen producing a suite of 12 films exploring different types of special educational needs and disabilities.
• All-Party Parliamentary Group for OracyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSynthesised findings from the Speak for Change Inquiry and identified suitable policy solutions for the Oracy APPG.
• nasen (National Association for Special Educational Needs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with CfEY to produce a suite of 12 films commissioned by the Department for Education exploring different types of special educational needs and disabilities.
• Trinity Multi Academy TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with CfEY, Action Tutoring and Third Space Learning to investigate the future of tutoring and its contribution to closing England's attainment gap.
• Safer LondonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned CfEY to conduct an evaluation on how Safer London cultivates trusted relationships and the impact on young Londoners affected by violence and exploitation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR): UK's leading progressive think tank producing cross-sector policy research including on education and young people. Overlaps with CfEY's policy-research and Select Committee engagement but at greater scale and breadth.
• Centre for Social Justice (CSJ): Independent UK think tank focused on poverty and social mobility, with substantive education and youth-work policy output. Comparable policy-influence ambitions and Select Committee footprint.
• Demos: Cross-disciplinary UK think tank with a history of education and youth-policy research. Overlaps with CfEY in blending primary research with policy recommendations and earned-media dissemination.
• Nesta: UK innovation foundation running edtech and education innovation funds that CfEY previously evaluated. Larger, broader innovation portfolio but overlapping education/youth evidence interests and funder counterparties.
• Social Market Foundation (SMF): Centrist UK think tank producing education, skills, and youth-policy research with strong government and media engagement. Comparable think-tank operating model and policy-adjacent client base.

Direct peers

• Education Policy Institute: Independent UK education-policy research organisation producing data-driven analysis on schools, post-16 education, and social mobility. Directly comparable to CfEY in mission, methodology, and UK government/funder client base.
• Impetus: UK charity that supports organisations working with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a strong evaluation and impact-measurement function. Comparable in target beneficiary and in evaluation partnership model.
• NFER (National Foundation for Educational Research): UK's largest independent education research charity, conducting evaluation, assessment, and policy research for government and foundations. Closest scale and mission comparable to CfEY's research and evaluation work.
• Sutton Trust: Foundation focused on social mobility through education research and evidence-based programmes targeting disadvantaged young people. Closely aligned with CfEY's focus on marginalised young people's transitions and post-secondary pathways.
• New Philanthropy Capital (NPC): UK charity consultancy that helps charities and funders measure impact, design strategy, and use evidence. Directly comparable to CfEY's research, evaluation, and theory-of-change services for the third sector.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheCfEY
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/TheCentreforEducationandYouth
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheCFEY.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-centre-for-education-and-youth
• Instagraminstagram.com/thecfey

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 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 The Centre for Education and Youth