Education Futures Trust

What Education Futures Trust does

Education Futures Trust (EFT) is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number 1146171, Company Number 7852922) founded in January 2012 and headquartered in Hastings, East Sussex. It delivers face-to-face education, wellbeing, and community support services for children, families, and vulnerable adults across Hastings and St Leonards on Sea, operating from two physical sites: The Firs Health & Wellbeing Hub in Hastings and the Community Learning Centre in St Leonards. The organization's core programs include Alternative Provision for KS2-KS4 pupils excluded from mainstream education, Forest School and outdoor learning, literacy and speech-and-language support, sports and fitness (Mum's Fit, Sports4U), mental health and wellbeing courses (Bushcraft, Without Walls), the Aspirations career-awareness project, a Dolly Parton's Imagination Library book-gifting partnership covering ages 0-5, HAF holiday clubs, and hire of MUGA, pitches and classrooms for external groups.

The underlying technology stack is non-proprietary and consumer-grade, comprising a Wix-hosted website, Microsoft 365, Play Sport UK for facility bookings, and the EEQU course-booking platform; there are no AI/ML systems, APIs, or proprietary software disclosed. Services are delivered in person by a 19-person staff plus 82 volunteers (2023) using site-based facilities including a Multi Use Games Area, sports pitches, classrooms, forest school areas, and a secret garden.

EFT's revenue model blends grant funding from public sector partners (East Sussex County Council's Supporting Families programme, NHS Surrey & Sussex), private charitable trust and foundation grants (Sussex Community Foundation, Provincial Grand Lodge of Sussex, Masonic Foundation), individual donations collected via the website, Give as You Live and phone, fee-for-service commissioned school services (alternative provision, literacy, outdoor learning, inset training), facility hire through Play Sport UK, and a small pay-as-you-go consumer layer (£20 per Summer Forest School session with a 10% sibling discount). The majority of services are free at the point of delivery to beneficiaries, with multi-year grant and commissioning contracts providing the financial base.

Name

Education Futures Trust

Legal name

Education Futures Trust

Website

https://educationfuturestrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Education Futures Trust is a Hastings-based UK charity delivering alternative education, literacy, mental health, and family support services across two sites in Hastings and St Leonards on Sea, serving children, families, and vulnerable adults via grant- and commissioned public-sector funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable community education and family support services

NAICS

Educational Services (61), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Special Education Staffing & Contracted Providers (Paras, Therapists, Specialists) (EDAJAKAL)

Keywords

• Alternative education provision
• Outdoor learning programs
• Literacy support services
• Community education charity
• Family learning support

Headquarters

HQ city

Hastings

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable Grants and Donations: EFT raises revenue through grant funding from organizations including East Sussex County Council's Supporting Families programme, charitable trusts, and donations from individuals and organizations. Additional revenue comes from fundraising activities which funds free services for member schools and local families.
2. Commissioned Services for Schools: EFT provides additional commissioned services for schools including alternative provision, literacy support, outdoor learning, and training days. These are fee-for-service arrangements with educational institutions.
3. Donations: The organization accepts donations from the public via online platforms (Give as You Live), in person, and over the phone to support their charitable activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Education Futures Trust is a Hastings-based registered charity that delivers alternative education provision, forest school and outdoor learning, literacy and speech/language support, sports and fitness sessions, mental health and wellbeing courses, and family learning activities to children, families and vulnerable adults in Hastings and the surrounding area. Services are mostly provided free of charge to beneficiaries and are funded by charitable grants (including East Sussex County Council's Supporting Families programme and NHS Sussex), donations, and commissioned fee-for-service contracts with local schools, with two operating sites (The Firs Health & Wellbeing Hub in Hastings and a Community Learning Centre in St Leonards on Sea).

Product overview

Education Futures Trust (EFT) operates as a multi-service charitable organization offering a unified portfolio of educational, health, and community support services centered on improving life chances in Hastings. The core offering combines Alternative Provision for children struggling in mainstream education, outdoor learning through Forest School programs, literacy and speech/language support, sports and fitness programs, and mental health and wellbeing services. The organization runs two sites—The Firs (Health & Wellbeing Hub) and Community Learning Centre—that provide facilities for both service delivery and hire. Programs are delivered through structured courses, 1:1 interventions, and group sessions targeting children, families, and vulnerable adults across all age groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alternative Provision (AP)

Quantifiable outcome

• 130,000 meals delivered across Hastings
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NHS Surrey & SussexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS Sussex funds the Health and Wellbeing Hub at The Firs, which involves coordinating systems and services in North-East Hastings. This partnership enables delivery of health and social care coordination services.
• East Sussex County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs a designated partner-agency, EFT receives grant funding from East Sussex County Council's Supporting Families programme to support family work. East Sussex County Council processes personal information in accordance with their own statutory duties.
• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (Dollywood Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner4-year partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - a unique book gifting programme that mails free books monthly to children aged 0-5 enrolled in the programme.
• Hastings & Rother Business ExpominorGTM or Marketing PartnerEFT was selected as one of the chosen charities for the Hastings & Rother Business Expo, providing marketing exposure and networking opportunities.
• Fairlight Gardening ClubminorOthersLong-term supporter donating plants and vegetables for the Secret Garden at The Firs.
• Play Sport UKminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorManages facility hire bookings for The Firs, including MUGA, grass pitches, and classrooms.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: Barnardo's is one of the UK's largest children's charities, running services across education, mental health, family support, and disability inclusion. While much broader and nationally scaled, its children's services portfolio intersects significantly with EFT's combined education, mental health, and family support work.
• UK Youth: UK Youth is a national infrastructure charity supporting a network of youth organisations delivering outdoor learning, mental health, and life-skills programmes. It is a comparable mission-driven umbrella to EFT's youth-focused outdoor, mental health, and aspirational learning work.
• Family Action: Family Action is a long-established UK charity supporting families, children, and adults through education, mental health, and family learning services. Its portfolio of locally delivered family and education services mirrors EFT's integrated community education model, though at substantially greater national scale.
• Catch22: Catch22 is a UK social business delivering alternative education, social work, and youth employment programmes for vulnerable young people including those at risk of exclusion. It is a much larger national operator, but its Alternative Provision and education inclusion work directly overlaps with EFT's core AP service line.

Direct peers

• Nacro: Nacro is a UK charity providing education, housing, and justice services for disadvantaged young people, including Alternative Provision and prevention-of-exclusion programmes. Its AP offer overlaps directly with EFT's KS2-KS4 Alternative Provision for at-risk pupils.
• Place2Be: Place2Be provides school-based mental health counselling, training, and wellbeing support to children across the UK. It directly overlaps with EFT's mental health and wellbeing programmes for children and families, and competes for similar school-commissioned and charitable funding pools.
• Achievement for All: Achievement for All is a UK education charity improving outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged children through school partnerships, mentoring, and literacy/phonics intervention. It shares EFT's K-12 inclusion focus and school-commissioning model, though operates nationally rather than in a single locality.
• Ambitious about Autism (TreeHouse): Ambitious about Autism runs specialist education, early years, and community inclusion services for autistic children and young people across the UK. Its focus on SEND learners and commissioned education services makes it a directly comparable special education charity peer to EFT's AP and literacy work.
• The Children's Literacy Charity: This charity provides one-to-one literacy intervention for disadvantaged primary-aged children in London and other UK regions. It directly overlaps with EFT's literacy, phonics, and speech/language support programmes and competes for similar philanthropic and school funding.

Regional players

• Surrey Wildlife Trust / Sussex Wildlife Trust: Sussex Wildlife Trust delivers outdoor and forest-school style learning programmes for children and families across Sussex. It is the closest regional peer to EFT's Forest School and outdoor learning offer, with overlapping beneficiary geography and outdoor-education methodology.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EFTHastings
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/education-futures-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/eft_hastings

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Education Futures Trust