WISE OWL TRUST

What WISE OWL TRUST does

Wise Owl Trust is a charitable Multi Academy Trust (MAT) headquartered in Clayton, East Manchester, operating five state-funded primary academies: Briscoe Lane Academy (founding school, 2012), Seymour Road Academy (2013), Old Hall Drive Academy (2016), Peel Hall Primary Academy (2024) and Park View Community Academy (2024). The trust delivers primary education from Reception through Year 6 to pupils across East Manchester and provides central school-improvement services — including Teaching and Learning, HR, IT, Estates, Health and Safety, GDPR, and Communications — to its member schools.

The trust has built a portfolio of proprietary educational programmes that now constitute its primary external assets. The flagship R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Character Curriculum, launched in 2017, has been adopted by more than 1,000 schools worldwide and impacts tens of thousands of children. The WOW (Wise Owl Wellbeing) strategy, introduced in 2020, addresses mental health across the trust community, while the Cyber Character programme, launched in 2021 in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, covers online safety and mis/disinformation. Underpinning these is the Teaching Pillars framework covering curriculum, leadership, talent, professional development and professional services.

Wise Owl Trust is a not-for-profit entity funded primarily through UK Department for Education per-pupil grants routed to its academies. Its go-to-market is twofold: operating schools directly for local pupils in East Manchester, and distributing its curriculum and programme content to schools nationally and internationally via downloads, partnerships and word-of-mouth referrals. The trust is led by CEO Sophie Murfin and governed by a Board of Trustees; it has no external shareholders or parent company, and any surplus is reinvested into its educational mission.

Name

WISE OWL TRUST

Legal name

Wise Owl Trust

Website

https://wiseowltrust.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wise Owl Trust is a charitable Multi Academy Trust operating five state-funded primary academies in East Manchester, delivering the proprietary R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Character Curriculum (used in 1,000+ schools globally), WOW wellbeing and Cyber Character programmes to pupils, families and the wider education sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Academy Funding: Government funding for schools through the UK education system. The trust receives per-pupil funding from the Department for Education for each academy within the trust.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Wise Owl Trust is a charitable Multi Academy Trust operating five primary academies in East Manchester, providing full primary education (Reception through Year 6) to local pupils. The trust develops and delivers proprietary educational programmes — including the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Character Curriculum, WOW (Wise Owl Wellbeing) strategy, and Cyber Character programme — and also distributes these curricula to schools beyond its own network.

Product overview

Wise Owl Trust operates as a Multi Academy Trust offering educational programmes across its family of five academies in Manchester. The core portfolio includes the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Curriculum (Character Education programme adopted by 1000+ schools globally), Wise Owl Wellbeing (WOW) programme for holistic mental health, Cyber Character for online safety education, and Building Forward Together for family support. These programmes work together as an integrated educational approach: the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. curriculum provides character foundations while WOW addresses wellbeing, Cyber Character extends this to digital citizenship, and Building Forward Together extends support to families. The Teaching Pillars Framework underpins these offerings with professional development for staff.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Character Education curriculum programme focusing on teaching pupils character virtues and how to conduct themselves and make the right choices.
• WOW (Wise Owl Wellbeing)
• Cyber Character
• Building Forward Together

Products and services

• R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Character Curriculum A bespoke Character Education programme developed by Wise Owl Trust that teaches pupils character virtues (Respect, Excellence, Spirit, Pride, Enthusiasm, Courtesy and Teamwork). Delivered across all trust schools and adopted by over 1,000 schools worldwide, impacting tens of thousands of children.
• Wise Owl Wellbeing (WOW) A holistic wellbeing programme designed to promote positive mental health across the whole Trust community, focusing on mind, body, and soul of pupils, staff, and wider community members.
• Cyber Character Programme A unit of work comprising six workshops that explore character traits children need to stay safe online (honesty, self-control, compassion, willpower, resilience), aligned with RSE statutory guidance.
• Building Forward Together An initiative providing parenting support resources and guidance to Wise Owl families, helping parents understand and support their children's education and wellbeing at home.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top 3% nationally for pupil outcomes
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Wise Owl Trust has partnered with Manchester Metropolitan University to develop a programme of study to educate children about mis and dis-information. The academies worked with Professor Farida Vis, Director of the Visual Social Media Lab at MMU to develop this curriculum for Primary children from Reception to Year 6.
• Professor Farida Vis, Visual Social Media LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Professor Farida Vis, Director of the Visual Social Media Lab at Manchester Metropolitan University, to develop the Cyber Character programme and Stop. Think. Share? initiative addressing mis/disinformation in primary education.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wise-owl-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries5 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 WISE OWL TRUST