Independent Thinking Limited

What Independent Thinking Limited does

Independent Thinking Limited is a UK-based educational speaker bureau and training consultancy founded in 1994 by Ian Gilbert and headquartered in St Clears, Carmarthen, Wales. The company curates a network of more than 45 Associate practitioners — including former headteachers, ex-SAS leadership figures, paediatric neurologists, and published authors — who deliver conference keynotes, INSET training days, twilight sessions, live and prerecorded webinars, consultancy, and bespoke educational packages to schools, colleges, multi-academy trusts, faith-based institutions, and international schools. Pricing is predominantly quote-based with a stated satisfaction guarantee; in 2024–2025 the firm extended into subscription-priced online training via the 'Best Behaviour' programmes (Primary and Secondary) co-developed with Policy Hubs.

The company also operates Independent Thinking Press, an award-winning publishing imprint distributed by Crown House Publishing Ltd, producing titles such as 'The Working Class', 'Square Pegs', and 'When the Adults Change' that complement its training services. Go-to-market is direct sales-led via phone and email outreach to school leadership and CPD coordinators, supported by content marketing through the ITL blog, a YouTube channel (CPD Jukebox), email newsletter, and organic social on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Bluesky. The operating model rests on six direct employees coordinating a much larger Associate contractor network, with no external funding, no parent company, and no subsidiaries disclosed.

Name

Independent Thinking Limited

Legal name

Independent Thinking Ltd

Website

https://independentthinking.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Independent Thinking Limited is a UK educational speaker bureau and training consultancy, founded 1994, that connects schools and multi-academy trusts with a 45+ Associate network of expert practitioners for CPD, INSET, and conference delivery, supplemented by its own publishing imprint and online training programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Training and Speaker Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Development for Inclusive Practices (General Education Staff) (EDAKABAL), Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Educational speaker bureau
• Teacher training services
• School CPD training
• Education consultancy
• INSET training delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

St Clears, Carmarthen

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Speaking and Training Services: Revenue generated from providing educational speakers for conferences, workshops, INSET sessions, twilight sessions, and live webinars. Services are booked directly by schools, colleges, and educational organizations. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.
2. Book Publishing and Sales: Sale of books through Independent Thinking Press (published by Crown House Publishing Ltd), including titles such as 'The Working Class', 'Square Pegs', 'When the Adults Change', 'Messy Maths', 'The Kindness Principle', and the 'Independent thinking On...' series. Books are sold in bulk to educational institutions and individual buyers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Independent Thinking Limited operates as an educational speaker bureau and training organisation, providing keynote speakers, INSET training, workshops, webinars, and consultancy services to schools, colleges, multi-academy trusts and education bodies. The company draws on a network of 45+ practising UK educators and former school leaders to deliver continuing professional development (CPD), behaviour and leadership training, and bespoke educational packages. It also publishes education books through its Independent Thinking Press imprint, distributed via Crown House Publishing.

Product overview

Independent Thinking Limited is an educational speaker bureau and training organisation offering a diverse portfolio of services including conference keynotes, INSET training sessions, live webinars, prerecorded content, and consultancy. The company operates ITLOnline as its digital platform and delivers events such as Big Days Out, National Conferences and On Demand Conferences. Through Independent Thinking Press, the company publishes award-winning education books. Recent additions include the Best Behaviour video training programmes (Primary and Secondary) developed in partnership with Policy Hubs, focusing on relational practice for improving school behaviour. The CPD Jukebox provides quick-fire professional development videos. Services are delivered by a network of education practitioner Associates covering topics from leadership and behaviour to neuroscience and curriculum design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Independent Thinking Press: Award-winning publishing arm that changed the face of education publishing in the UK, publishing titles like The Working Class, Square Pegs, and When the Adults Change.

Products and services

• Conference Keynotes Inspirational keynote presentations delivered by leading UK education practitioners at conferences, offered to schools, MATs, and education unions booking CPD events.
• Conference Workshops Interactive workshop sessions delivered at conferences, focusing on specific educational topics such as teaching strategies, leadership and behaviour management for school staff.
• INSET (In-Service Training) Full-day, half-day and twilight in-service training sessions for school staff covering pedagogy, leadership, behaviour and wellbeing, booked by headteachers and CPD coordinators.
• Live Webinars Real-time online training sessions delivered by Independent Thinking Associates to remote school audiences for CPD purposes.
• ITLOnline Online learning platform giving schools digital access to Independent Thinking resources, on-demand video training and recorded associate content.
• Big Days Out Large-scale, multi-speaker educational events hosted by Independent Thinking for school staff and school leadership teams.
• National Conferences Independent Thinking's own national education conferences covering key topics for teachers, school leaders and education professionals.
• Student Events Events designed specifically for students and young people, including motivation and aspiration sessions booked by schools.
• Parents & Governors Events Training and events for parents and school governors covering education, parenting and governance topics.
• Unique Educational Packages Customised bundled educational packages that combine speakers, INSET, workshops and resources to address specific school or trust requirements.
• Consultancy Expert consultancy services for schools, MATs and educational organisations covering leadership development, behaviour improvement and school improvement strategy.
• Independent Thinking Press Books Education books and teaching resources authored by Independent Thinking Associates (including titles such as The Working Class, Square Pegs, When the Adults Change, Messy Maths and The Kindness Principle), published through Crown House Publishing.
• Best Behaviour Primary Programme Online video training programme for primary schools, developed with Policy Hubs, helping schools embed relational practice to improve behaviour, relationships and outcomes.
• Best Behaviour Secondary Programme Online video training programme for secondary schools, developed with Policy Hubs, embedding relational practice to improve behaviour, relationships and outcomes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Satisfaction guarantee ensures client happiness or no payment required

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Crown House Publishing LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCrown House Publishing is the publishing partner for Independent Thinking Press titles. They handle book distribution, order fulfillment for bulk book quotations, and maintain the Independent Thinking Press storefront at crownhouse.co.uk. Crown House Publishing Ltd receives customer information (name, organization, address, email, phone) for order fulfillment when customers place book orders through Independent Thinking.
• Policy HubscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership to develop and deliver 'Best Behaviour' online training programmes for primary and secondary schools. The programmes feature in-depth interviews with school leaders, teachers, and Independent Thinking Associates. Policy Hubs hosts the actual course content at policyhubs.co.uk while Independent Thinking provides associate expertise and content.

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Solution Tree: US-headquartered provider of professional development, conferences, and education books for teachers and school leaders. Highly comparable to Independent Thinking's combined speaker bureau + publishing + events model, even though it operates at a much larger scale.
• The Key: UK subscription-based support service providing school leaders with CPD, compliance, and leadership guidance. Comparable target customer (UK school leadership) and overlapping CPD product offering, although delivered digitally rather than through live speakers.
• Crown House Publishing: Wales-based education publisher that is also ITL's publishing partner. Publishes independent education titles and runs associated CPD events, competing for both the book revenue and the training bookings ITL depends on.
• Corwin (SAGE Publishing): Education-focused imprint of SAGE that publishes teacher and leadership titles and delivers accompanying CPD events and training. Closely mirrors the Independent Thinking Press + training combination under a global publisher.
• John Catt Educational: UK-based independent education publisher and events organiser covering schools, leadership, and teaching. Comparable book-plus-events business model serving a similar UK headteacher and school leader audience.
• SSAT (The Schools, Students and Teachers network): UK education membership and CPD organisation serving schools, academies, and MATs with training, events, and resources. Directly competes for the same school CPD budget and conference speaker bookings as Independent Thinking.
• Optimus Education: UK-based provider of CPD, conferences, and training resources for schools and academies. Direct competitor in the same UK school CPD market that ITL serves, with overlapping topics around leadership, behaviour, and teaching.

Broad incumbents

• Bloomsbury Education: Education publishing division of Bloomsbury, producing teaching and leadership titles and supporting resources. Larger and broader than Independent Thinking Press, but competes in the same UK education book market.
• Routledge Education (Taylor & Francis): Academic and professional education publisher within Taylor & Francis, producing teaching, leadership, and education research titles. Competes with Independent Thinking Press across the professional and academic education market.
• Oxford University Press Education: Major global publisher with a significant UK education list for teachers, school leaders, and education students. A broad incumbent whose teacher-PD titles compete for the same school bookshelf as Independent Thinking Press.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ITLWorldwide
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/independent-thinking-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/IndependentThinkingWorldwide

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Independent Thinking Limited