I am 15 minutes late for my interview with Laura Harrison at Manchester’s Campfield – but the busy founder waves away my apologies.
“Don’t worry about it. Grandma June is looking after Harvey,” she says in reference to her one-year-old son. (Indeed, I may well have passed grandmother and grandchild out for their walk on Deansgate.)
Laura is the founder of Education Lifeguards, which is currently part of the Exchange accelerator at the technology, media and creative campus. The startup seeks to counter a problem she’s seen first-hand throughout her two decades in education: teachers increasingly spending their time on everything surrounding teaching, rather than teaching itself.
Laura’s exposure to entrepreneurship began early. “My mum and dad inspired me in a lot of ways. They had me at 21 and my dad started his own painting and decorating business in Rochdale, Harrison’s ICS, which now does warehouses for the likes of ASOS, Next, Harrods,” she says. “I saw how hard he worked when I was a kid, although that has now given him a bit more freedom in life.
“My mum and dad have instilled a work ethic in both me and my brother. Ironically, my mum is now a doctor of psychology and supports people with their mental health – so we also understand that it’s important sometimes to take a step back and slow yourself down.”
Laura adds: “It’s difficult, when you’re a teacher, to do that – because you’re always dancing to the beat of someone else’s drum.”
Starting up
Laura taught English in the UK before working in expat schools in the Middle East and Indonesia as an English teacher, head of house and assistant head of faculty. After giving birth to her daughter Evie – now aged nine – she took the decision in 2019 to move back to the UK and start her own business.
Education Lifeguards started out as Laura offering private tuition to GCSE-stage children. Almost immediately the COVID pandemic led to a huge demand for online education services – and a bigger picture then emerged.
“I taught people all over the world – from Rochdale!” she laughs. “But parents began asking for group lessons, which would be at a different price point; whether I had maths or science teachers; if I could teach their younger children. I also came across issues with people not making payment; or not coming into lessons and not even telling me.
“So I learned how to do payroll, invoices and employ people – but I also wanted to release the admin that you get stuck with in the workplace. You do still have to tick certain boxes, but often you’re doing it for the sake of it – and I’ve unfortunately seen teachers who have not been treated very well.”
Laura built the first version of Education Lifeguards herself, using AI-assisted development tools to turn her experience in education into a working technology platform. She now works with a full-stack freelance developer to enhance its capabilities.
It features lesson notes, quizzes, homework and progress tracking; feedback on both the teacher and student; schedules; and best-practice tools for the teachers to access. Everything is embedded into the virtual learning classroom, including dyslexia-friendly overlays. Subjects include maths, science, English, French, Spanish, Latin, classics, history and geography.
USP
There are now 30 fully qualified teachers managing their own career on a freelance basis, with more than 170 going through the process of joining the platform.
“Our teachers are very experienced,” says Laura. “A lot of them are ex-heads of school, deputy heads, SENCOs (Special Educational Needs Coordinator), heads of department from primary all the way through to secondary.
“It’s pretty difficult to get in because they have to upload an awful lot of documents – ironically! – but that’s intentional because of the safeguarding. We check the certificate numbers and all their details for the Department for Education just to make sure that everything is 100% safe.”
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The business model differs from other tutoring platforms, Laura explains, because these don’t necessarily have fully qualified teachers. “It could be ‘Tom’, who’s studying at uni and teaching, which is fine if that’s what parents are looking for. But I want to offer parents a space that’s professional.
“My teachers might be a single mum, like me, or a single dad who can only work part-time; they might be retired with the freedom to just do a couple of days a week.
“So it’s again about that idea of being valued and respected for what you have been trained to do. Most teachers love getting kids to feel good about themselves and ultimately achieve their potential.”
Big plans
In terms of long-term goals, Laura is thinking big. “ I know you’re supposed to want to exit your business at some point, but because I care so deeply about it, I might find that quite difficult,” she admits. “But eventually there will come a time when I either exit or sit on the board and water the equity down, just to help it go further – for the business’s sake more than my own.
“I do think it could be a global brand, and lucrative for the teachers that join. And lucrative in a different way for parents because the kids are going to get wonderful teachers who give them feedback and they know where they’re at.
“I’ve had a lot of students come to us from other tutors who have said: ‘Well, what’s the feedback?’ And they simply don’t know.”
Mental health
Ahead of World Mental Health Day tomorrow Laura says joining Exchange at Campfield has helped her immensely.
“I’ve been able to mix with other people for my own mental health, because I was literally just not going out anywhere! I was just working or mumming – and that was it.
“So to come here and meet other people who are in similar situations, or different parts of their journey, has been really, really good for my sanity. And making new friends as well.”
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When daughter Evie wanted a sibling, Laura worked on supply for a year while running a full-time business and doing full-time hours to save up to have Harvey. “I wanted to do it by myself because I didn’t want to rush into anything from a personal perspective,” she explains.
A keen mountain biker, finding time to exercise has since proven difficult. “When I found out I was pregnant with Evie, I was at a mixed martial arts camp in Thailand, running up the hill with a professional boxer – not knowing I was pregnant!
“I used to do British military fitness, Total Warrior and Para 10. I did the Manchester to Blackpool [bike ride], which was great. But now it’s just time.
“I do like to keep fit. I try to walk to school, which is a five-mile round trip, also for my kids’ sake – because it gives them an hour with me where I’m just not overthinking everything and I’m just with them, in the moment.”
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