Tes invests in fast-growing tech to transform pupil wellbeing

November 2022

Aaron John and George Metcalfe, co-founders of Tranquiliti, met when studying social innovation. They saw first-hand the problems that young people face, and how difficult they can find it accessing appropriate wellbeing support. With lived experience of the issues and having both worked in schools, they saw the need to better support pupils, teachers, and schools around this challenging area.

After founding Tranquiliti in 2018, Aaron and George collaborated with schools, young people and the relevant experts to ensure that Tranquiliti is grounded in insight and that it gives both schools and pupils what they need to support wellbeing via the digital service and app.

Rod Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Tes, said: “This investment into the work that Aaron and George have been undertaking reflects the growing awareness and importance of supporting pupil wellbeing. For the first time, a service is bringing together measurement, support and action for both pupils and staff. They give every pupil a voice and empower both schools and students to understand and manage wellbeing through personalised signposting and guidance.”

“Tes strives to identify best-in-class software that supports schools to solve the very real challenges they face. Being able to support Aaron, George, and their team, as they continue to evolve and grow Tranquiliti fits that perfectly; the impact they could have across schools is huge. They really have exemplified the incredible innovation that we see today in EdTech across the UK.”

Aaron said: “Following Covid, student wellbeing became the top priority for so many school leaders, which is no surprise considering the impact that the pandemic had. However, student wellbeing is not just a challenge of the pandemic. Tranquiliti is designed for the long-term, engaging students in a way that is natural for them. The results provide a real-time understanding to schools of how their pupils are feeling and answers the question ‘what next?’ by providing high-quality resources to help them develop their pupils’ wellbeing. To have this work recognised, through investment, by a leading technology company in the sector is a real success. Gaining the support of Tes is a massive step and will help us support many more schools and pupils”. 

George added: “It has been shown that wellbeing is key to pupils’ learning and success at school. By engaging students through our pupil-friendly app, schools and teachers receive powerful insights, trusted resources, personalised tips, and even ready-made class discussions. Ultimately, this empowers schools to support wellbeing with confidence. At the same time, the app is not just gaining insights from pupils, but providing information and support back so they can better understand themselves, see where they may need support, and grow as learners and individuals”.

As an investor, Tes will be providing support and mentoring to the founding team to grow and develop Tranquiliti, as it supports more and more schools in solving this critical challenge.