What Education Support Partnership does

Education Support Partnership (legally Education Support) is a UK-registered charity (Charity No. 1161436) operating as a company limited by guarantee (CRN 9311354), headquartered at 40a Drayton Park, London. Founded in 1875 and rebranded in 2015 from the merged Teacher Support Network, Recourse, and Worklife Support entities, the organisation is the sole UK charity dedicated to the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff across early years, primary, secondary, further, higher, adult, and prison education. It runs a portfolio of complementary services rather than a modular software platform: a free 24/7 confidential telephone helpline (08000 562 561) delivered in partnership with Workplace Options, an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing telephone/online/face-to-face counselling and manager coaching, fully funded Professional Supervision for school leaders in England and Wales backed by the Department for Education and Welsh Government, a Financial Grants programme for educators in crisis, a Welsh-specific Staff Wellbeing Service, and a library of wellbeing resources, psychological safety audits, and retention toolkits.

The business model combines donated income (individual donations, corporate partnerships, trusts and foundations, lottery, legacy giving) with paid institutional subscriptions (EAP sold via regional account managers to schools, colleges, and universities on annual contracts priced per staff member) and direct government funding for Professional Supervision. Distribution is hybrid: free self-serve helpline and digital resources for individual educators, direct enterprise sales for organisational EAP buyers, and policy/influencing engagement with UK Parliament and devolved governments. The organisation is UK-only, with no disclosed international expansion and no disclosed revenue or funding rounds. Headcount is 11–50, and the most recent impact metrics report 7,163 helpline users, 737 grants awarded, 1,384 supervised leaders, and 118,704 staff covered by EAP contracts in the past year.

Name

Education Support Partnership

Legal name

Education Support

Website

https://educationsupport.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1875

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Education Support Partnership is a UK charity operating a free 24/7 mental health helpline, a paid Employee Assistance Programme, government-funded Professional Supervision, and financial grants for teachers and education staff across schools, colleges, and universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Mental Health Services

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Partnerships (EDADALAK)

Keywords

• Teacher mental health
• Education staff wellbeing
• Employee assistance programme
• Charity helpline services
• Financial crisis grants

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual and corporate donations to support the charity's free helpline and financial grants for educators in crisis. Includes regular giving, one-time donations, and legacy gifts.
2. Employee Assistance Programme: Paid service to schools and educational organizations providing emotional and practical support, counselling, and wellbeing resources for staff.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with corporate organizations who sponsor and support the charity's work.
4. Trusts and Foundations: Funding from charitable trusts and foundations to support specific programs and services.
5. Education Support Lottery: Lottery program as a fundraising mechanism.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Education Support Partnership delivers a free 24/7 confidential helpline, need-based financial grants, and wellbeing resources to UK teachers and education staff, and sells an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), Department for Education and Welsh Government-funded professional supervision, and organisational wellbeing toolkits (e.g., Psychological Safety Audit, Cultures that Care) to schools, colleges, multi-academy trusts, and universities.

Product overview

Education Support Partnership operates as a single unified service offering—rather than a modular software platform—providing a portfolio of complementary support services for UK education staff mental health and wellbeing. The core offerings include: a 24/7 Confidential Helpline (free, staffed by qualified BACP-accredited counsellors), an Employee Assistance Programme (paid service for schools with telephone/online/face-to-face counselling, manager coaching, and legal/financial support), Professional Supervision (fully funded for school leaders in England and Wales), Financial Grants (emergency awards for education staff in crisis), and a Staff Wellbeing Service in Wales. These are supplemented by Wellbeing Resources and Guides (digital content on anxiety, stress, burnout, etc.), Psychological Safety Audit tools, the Cultures that Care Retention Toolkit, and a free Love Teaching Wellbeing Pack. A translation service supporting 100+ languages extends helpline accessibility. All services connect to the central helpline as a hub, with EAP representing the primary paid/organisational tier and free resources serving as the entry-level engagement layer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Confidential Helpline
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Professional Supervision
• Financial Grants
• Staff Wellbeing Service in Wales
• Psychological Safety Audit
• Cultures that Care: A Retention Toolkit

Quantifiable outcome

• 7,163 people supported by helpline in last year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Education MutualcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Education Mutual to develop guides for School Business Managers on mental health and wellbeing. Co-created resources including 'Supporting each other with mental health and wellbeing: A guide for School Business Managers', 'Ofsted inspections & wellbeing: A guide for School Business Managers', and 'Getting the right work-life balance and protecting yourself: A guide for School Business Managers'.
• Anna FreudcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Anna Freud to produce self-care summer guidance booklet and poster to help education staff maintain wellbeing during summer breaks.
• MindEdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with MindEd to create evidence-based tips for education setting leaders and managers on psychologically informed leadership and whole-school wellbeing. Created resources including 'Tips for team leaders and managers in education settings'. MindEd is funded by Health Education England, Department of Health and Social Care, and Department for Education.
• Workplace OptionscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThird-party provider delivering Professional Supervision as part of the School Leaders' Service. Also handles some support requests and runs the Education Support telephone helpline. Data processed only for specific support requests under contract.
• Department for Education (England)flagshipOthersGovernment funder of Professional Supervision for school leaders in England. Data controller for personal data processed as part of Professional Supervision programme. Consent-based data processing under GDPR.
• Welsh GovernmentflagshipOthersGovernment funder of Professional Supervision for school and FE college leaders in Wales.
• McLays (Printing Partner)minorOthersPrinting partner for Education Support's materials. ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 9001 (quality) certified, reporting to EcoVadis and Carbon Disclosure Project. Uses FSC or PEFC certified sustainable paper. 100% of waste paper and cardboard recycled.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Health Assured: UK-focused EAP provider offering counselling, helplines, and wellbeing tools to employers including education-sector clients; directly comparable paid service to Education Support EAP.
• Vivup UK (employee wellbeing platform): UK EAP, employee benefits, and wellbeing platform selling into schools, MATs, and universities; overlapping use cases for staff mental health support, counselling, and financial guidance.
• Workplace Options: Global EAP and wellbeing provider that already delivers Education Support's helpline and Professional Supervision. Also sells EAP services directly into employer clients and schools, creating a direct competitive overlap on the education vertical.

Broad incumbents

• YoungMinds: UK charity focused on children and young people's mental health. Overlaps with Education Support on educator resources and policy work, though typically serving pupils and parents rather than staff directly.
• Anna Freud Centre: Mental health research and training charity for children and education; explicit partner of Education Support, co-producing self-care and wellbeing resources for school staff. Closest research-aligned peer in the sector.
• Mind (UK mental health charity): Largest UK mental health charity. Broader than Education Support (general public), but overlapping on counselling, helplines, and policy influence — and the most likely source of overlap or referral partnership in education-sector mental health.
• Bupa UK (EAP and Mental Health): Major UK health insurer and EAP provider serving employers including schools through corporate wellbeing contracts. Competes with Education Support EAP for school and MAT procurement.

Others

• National Education Union (NEU): Largest UK education trade union representing teachers and education staff. While not a service provider per se, NEU offers member wellbeing and counselling services that overlap with Education Support's helpline and grant programmes.
• NASUWT (teachers' union): UK teachers' union providing advice, welfare, and wellbeing support to members. Adjacent to Education Support on mental health and financial hardship services, with an overlapping beneficiary base.
• Education Mutual: Mutual organisation serving School Business Managers in the UK education sector. Strategic co-development partner with Education Support, co-authoring guides — adjacent rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/edsupportuk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2bzlY1gHIcv_GIiheHtaFg
• Facebookfacebook.com/educationsupportpartnership
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/education-support
• Instagraminstagram.com/edsupportuk

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 Education Support Partnership