Heads Up Therapy
Heads Up Ltd is a UK-based education consultancy founded in 2011 that provides leadership training, workshops, conferences, and resources to primary school headteachers and senior leadership teams seeking to improve from 'Good' to 'Outstanding' Ofsted ratings.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Heads Up Therapy does
Heads Up Ltd is a UK-based education consultancy founded in 2011 by Sonia Gill, headquartered in London (registered office 124 City Road, EC1V 2NX; company number 08541858). The company provides coaching, training and resources to school leaders — primarily headteachers and senior leadership teams in primary schools — to help them move from 'Good' to 'Outstanding' Ofsted ratings and to develop team culture, vision and leadership capability. Its product portfolio comprises paid flagship training (Journey to Outstanding programme, Educational Excellence Mastermind group), fee-based events (annual Outstanding Against the Odds and Moving to Outstanding conferences, Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Good workshop), direct speaking engagements (Book Sonia to Speak), published books, and freemium top-of-funnel assets including a weekly Friday newsletter, a free 5-part e-course on vision creation, and ScoreApp-powered diagnostic assessments. Pricing is publicly disclosed for events and workshops (£275-£360+VAT per conference ticket, £350+VAT for workshops covering up to 6 SLT members) while flagship training pricing is quote-based.
The business model is a founder-led services-plus-content hybrid. Distribution runs through the website for direct bookings, in-person workshops, and mastermind cohorts, supplemented by online delivery of conferences to a national UK audience. Marketing relies on Sonia Gill's personal brand, an extensive blog archive, a YouTube channel, social channels, free ScoreApp assessments, and a published book — all positioned as lead generation into paid programmes. The operating footprint is UK-domestic only; books and Kindle editions are the sole globally distributed product.
Heads Up reports 1,116 schools supported and 3,657 school leaders supported cumulatively, with 9+/10 feedback ratings and a self-reported claim that supported schools are '300% more likely to be judged Outstanding' (based on company data, not Ofsted statistics). The team is described as small (1-10 employees), there are no funding rounds, no institutional investors, no acquisitions, and no subsidiary structure disclosed. Proprietary research on 100 Outstanding primary schools (AY 2022-2023) and a 1,174-headteacher survey are used to position the offer against the Good-to-Great gap in UK education.
Heads Up Therapy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Heads Up Therapy
- Legal name
- Heads Up Ltd
- Website
- https://ukheadsup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Heads Up Ltd is a UK-based education consultancy founded in 2011 that provides leadership training, workshops, conferences, and resources to primary school headteachers and senior leadership teams seeking to improve from 'Good' to 'Outstanding' Ofsted ratings.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Heads Up Therapy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Leadership Training & Consulting
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sales Leadership & Revenue Executive Coaching (EDABANAL)
Keywords
Where Heads Up Therapy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Heads Up Therapy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Training Programs: Paid training programs including Journey to Outstanding (J2O) programme and Educational Excellence Mastermind group membership for ongoing support and development.
- Conference Tickets: Annual Outstanding Against the Odds conference tickets sold at £360+VAT per ticket (early bird £275+VAT), providing access for entire leadership teams.
- Workshop Tickets: Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Good one-day workshop at £350+VAT for up to 6 SLT members, additional people £50pp.
- Speaking Engagements: Direct booking of Sonia Gill for speaking engagements at schools and educational events.
- Book Sales: Published books including 'Journey to Outstanding' and 'Outstanding Against the Odds: How Seven Schools Achieve Excellence' (£16 paperback, 99p Kindle launch offer).
- Free Resources: Free e-course for vision creation and free blog content used as top-of-funnel lead generation to drive customers to paid services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Outstanding Against the Odds Annual Conference |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Good Workshop |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Outstanding Against the Odds Book |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Weekly School Leadership Tips Newsletter |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Create a Great Vision E-course |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Heads Up Therapy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Heads Up provides paid coaching, training programmes, workshops and conferences for UK school leadership teams (headteachers, executive heads, MAT CEOs) focused on moving schools from "Good" to "Outstanding" Ofsted ratings. Core paid offerings include the Journey to Outstanding (J2O) programme, Educational Excellence Mastermind group, Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Good one-day workshop, Successful Difficult Conversations training, Look Outstanding Become Outstanding service, and the annual Outstanding Against the Odds and Moving to Outstanding conferences, complemented by published books and freemium digital resources.
Product overview
Heads Up Ltd operates as an education consultancy offering a portfolio of training programmes, workshops, conferences, and digital resources for school leaders. Core offerings include the Journey to Outstanding (J2O) Programme, Educational Excellence Mastermind, and Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Good workshop. The company hosts two major annual conferences: Outstanding Against the Odds and Moving to Outstanding (M2O), featuring recently outstanding headteachers sharing best practice. Supporting resources include the Weekly School Leadership Tips newsletter, free Create a Great School Vision e-course, and the published book 'Outstanding Against the Odds'. The product suite is delivered through both in-person workshops and online platforms, with one ticket typically providing access for entire senior leadership teams.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Journey to Outstanding (J2O) Programme A flagship training programme helping UK school senior leadership teams move their school from a 'Good' to an 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating, focusing on cultural alignment, vision development and team performance. Targeted at headteachers, executive heads and their senior leadership teams in primary, secondary and special schools.
- Educational Excellence Mastermind A recurring group coaching and peer-support programme for headteachers focused on sustained leadership development and school improvement strategies, delivered as an ongoing mastermind membership.
- Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Good Workshop A paid one-day in-person workshop rated 9.5/10 that provides four leadership tools to help school senior leadership teams move their school from a 'Good' to an 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating, with each ticket covering up to six SLT members.
- Successful Difficult Conversations Training A training day teaching school leaders how to structure and conduct difficult conversations effectively with staff and parents, addressing performance, behaviour and absence issues.
- Outstanding Against the Odds Conference An annual online conference featuring recently Outstanding headteachers sharing best practice from schools achieving Ofsted excellence in challenging contexts, with one ticket providing access for the entire senior leadership team and recordings included.
- Moving to Outstanding (M2O) Conference A flagship one-year conference programme bringing together recently Outstanding headteachers to share best practice and strategies for school improvement aimed at moving schools from 'Good' to 'Outstanding'.
- Look Outstanding, Become Outstanding A paid service helping schools ensure their physical environment, presentation and walkarounds reflect the quality of education they provide, supporting inspection readiness.
- Book Sonia to Speak A booking service allowing UK schools, multi-academy trusts and education events to directly hire founder Sonia Gill as a keynote speaker on school leadership and improvement.
- Outstanding Against the Odds: How Seven Schools Achieve Excellence (Book) A published book featuring seven headteachers sharing strategies for achieving Ofsted excellence in challenging school contexts, sold as a paperback (RRP £16) and Kindle edition (£0.99 Kindle launch offer) through Amazon and other retail channels.
Quantifiable outcome
- Schools supported are 300% more likely to be judged Outstanding (self-reported claim)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Heads Up Therapy
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Heads Up Therapy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Heads Up Therapy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Heads Up Therapy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Education Development Trust: Large international education consultancy and training provider with significant UK school leadership development offerings. Overlaps in school improvement advisory/training but operates at far greater scale across multiple countries and programmes.
- Teach First: UK education charity focused on teacher and leadership training, including leadership development pathways for school leaders. Shares target audience (UK schools) and adjacent leadership development offering, though broader in scope.
Direct peers
- SSAT (The Schools Network): UK membership organisation offering school improvement support, leadership programmes, and events to schools. Comparable customer base (UK schools) and parallel offering of conferences, training, and peer learning networks.
- Future Leaders: UK charity developing leaders for schools in challenging contexts through leadership development programmes. Comparable niche of leadership development for high-need UK schools and overlapping programme structure.
- Ambition Institute: UK charity providing training and development programmes for school leaders and teachers, including initial teacher training and leadership development. Directly comparable target customer (UK school leaders) and overlapping subject matter.
- Whole Education: UK network of schools focused on a broad, rich education and school improvement, offering conferences and CPD for school leaders. Comparable conference-driven GTM and audience of UK headteachers and SLT members.
- Best Practice Network: UK training provider delivering CPD, leadership programmes, and school improvement services to educators. Comparable audience and overlapping programme categories including leadership and school improvement training.
Emerging players
- National Governance Association (NGA): UK membership organisation for school governors and trustees offering training, resources, and events. Overlaps in school leadership audience and training services, though with governance rather than executive leadership focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Heads Up Therapy social profiles
Digital presenceHeads Up Therapy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Heads Up Therapy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Heads Up Therapy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Heads Up Therapy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Heads Up Therapy
What does Heads Up Therapy do?
Heads Up provides paid coaching, training programmes, workshops and conferences for UK school leadership teams (headteachers, executive heads, MAT CEOs) focused on moving schools from "Good" to "Outstanding" Ofsted ratings. Core paid offerings include the Journey to Outstanding (J2O) programme, Educational Excellence Mastermind group, Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Good one-day workshop, Successful Difficult Conversations training, Look Outstanding Become Outstanding service, and the annual Outstanding Against the Odds and Moving to Outstanding conferences, complemented by published books and freemium digital resources.
Is Heads Up Therapy a public or private company?
Heads Up Therapy is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Heads Up Therapy founded?
Heads Up Therapy was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Heads Up Therapy based?
Heads Up Therapy is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Heads Up Therapy make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Training Programs are the primary driver. The others are conference Tickets, workshop Tickets, speaking Engagements, book Sales and free Resources.
Who are Heads Up Therapy's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Education Development Trust and Teach First. Direct peers are SSAT (The Schools Network), Future Leaders, Ambition Institute, Whole Education and Best Practice Network. National Governance Association (NGA) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Heads Up Therapy have an API?
No public API is recorded for Heads Up Therapy.
What industry is Heads Up Therapy in?
Heads Up Therapy's product category is Education Leadership Training & Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDABANAL, Sales Leadership & Revenue Executive Coaching. Its NAICS code is 61171 and its SIC code is 8200.