David Harber
Salisbury mum-of-two Kirstin Coughtrie set-up Gaia Learning, an online educational platform for neurodivergent children, five years ago.
In the past three months Gaia Learning have secured £100,000 in investments, with the number of learners tripling since the start of this academic school year.
The educational business was set up in 2019 and delivers live, online learning for children aged 8-16 with ADHD and Autism, mostly used as a supplement to existing school provision.
Founder Kirstin said, “We’re going from strength to strength and are ending this financial year on a high – totalling our investment to £100K, growing our team to 13 staff members and seeing interest coming in from schools across the UK.
“Now, more than ever, schools need flexible, digital solutions that can scale within budget supporting each neurodivergent child’s needs”.
Kirstin, a tech-obsessed Geography teacher founded the online learning platform in 2019, due to the inadequacies she faced in mainstream school for her neurodivergent son who, like herself, has ADHD.
Three years ago she teamed up with experienced tech entrepreneur Kate Longworth and together they’ve taken Gaia Learning from a small, specialist tuition business to an award-winning Cambridge Registered International School Online.
As a national ‘alternative education provider’, Gaia Learning partners with schools, local authorities and families across the UK and beyond.
Investor Susanna Lawson, co-founder of Circle of Trust said, “Gaia Learning is a fantastic solution to support all stakeholders with an increasing market need. And so I’m thrilled to be able to invest in two amazing female entrepreneurs, who have demonstrated strong traction, a recognised brand in the ‘EdTech’ space and impressive entrepreneurial spirit. I’m excited to be part of their journey”.
Last year, Gaia Learning was the first online learning provider to be awarded the ADHD Friendly School award from the ADHD Foundation.
To find out more about Gaia Learning, visit www.gaialearning.co.uk
Andy Munns
