Twinkl

Twinkl
Company typePrivate company
IndustryEducation, Technology
FoundedFebruary 2010; 14 years ago (February 2010)
FoundersJonathan Seaton, Susie Seaton and Andrew Seaton
Headquarters
Sheffield
,
England
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jonathan Seaton
(CEO)
ProductsEducational resources, teacher planning materials, teacher assessment content, teacher training material, AI educational tools, AI teacher assistant, phonics teaching materials, children's fiction books, resources for learners with SEND
Websitehttps://www.twinkl.com/

Twinkl is a global educational publisher and solution provider, used extensively by educators and parents across the UK and America, as well as in over 190 countries and territories around the world.

The company was founded in Sheffield, UK, in 2010, with the mission of ‘helping those who teach’. Today, Twinkl offers over one and a half million teacher-created and checked learning resources and tools, covering most major subjects and educational needs across all pre-school, school and college age groups.[1]

History

Twinkl was founded by husband and wife Jonathan and Susie Seaton.[2][3]

Susie, a primary school teacher, had noticed there was a lack of ready-made, high-quality educational materials and classroom content available to teachers. To help save educators time, Jon and Susie began making resources in 2010 from a spare bedroom in their Sheffield home, steadily growing the business to meet more educator needs.

The company moved to its current headquarters in Sheffield, UK, in 2014.

Products and solutions

Twinkl offers an ecosystem of resources, tools and solutions to teachers, education leaders, schools and multi-academy trusts to help solve challenges across resource, assessment, professional development, staffing and compliance - as well as giving parents and home educators ways to build skills outside of the classroom.

Twinkl is best known for its online library of digital, curriculum-linked educational materials, accessed by teachers and schools around the world via its website.[4] Resources include content for primary and secondary education, Kindergarten through 12th grade, parents and home educators, English as a second language, and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).[5][6][7][8]

Twinkl AI: The company also provides educators with a suite of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, allowing teachers to generate lesson plans, write reports and quickly create other forms of classroom content such as tests, quizzes and word searches.[9]

Twinkl Phonics: In 2018, Twinkl launched Twinkl Phonics - a UK Department for Education (DfE)-approved phonics scheme that helps children learn to read and write. The scheme has since been rolled out to the US and Australia.[10]

Twinkl Symbols: a Nasen-assured platform and app designed to give learners with special educational needs and disabilities an alternative way to communicate through visuals, in everyday situations.

Twinkl Originals: Going beyond digital resources, Twinkl Originals is a library of physical books, created by Twinkl writers and illustrators, to help children develop their vocabulary, language comprehension, and empathy.

Partnerships and collaborations

Twinkl partners with many of the world’s leading companies and brands to develop even more engaging educational content - including Ferrari F1, Santander, Paramount (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Sony Pictures Entertainment (Garfield, Spider-Man, Ghostbusters)

Twinkl runs a start-up accelerator programme called Twinkl Hive - providing space, investment, mentoring and support to innovative education companies.

Recognition and achievements

In April 2018, Twinkl received The Queen's Award for Enterprise[11] for the company's work in international trade. Twinkl was awarded a second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2020, for innovation.[12][13]

Jonathan Seaton, co-founder and CEO of Twinkl was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for Twinkl’s services to Technology and Education during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020.[14]

With Covid-19 forcing the closure of schools around the world, Twinkl made all of its resources freely available to help support educators, as well as partnering with BBC Bitesize to supply educational materials to boost home learning.

References

  1. ^ Stubbs, Rachel (2 January 2019). "Top four teaching resources for supply teachers and teaching assistants". FE News. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  2. ^ "LDC". www.ldc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  3. ^ "EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 North finalists announced". The Big UK Newsroom. 20 April 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Digital publisher Twinkl is rising star across the globe". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  5. ^ "How to teach ... 3D shapes". The Guardian. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Online Guide". www.qaeducation.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Sheffield publisher expands into new market with product for parents – unLTD Business". 8 August 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  8. ^ Drabble, Emily (24 September 2013). "How to teach... ancient Greece". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  9. ^ "Can AI Help Parents Manage The Domestic Load?". Grazia. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  10. ^ Ellis, Jamie (10 February 2022). "Twinkl's DfE approved Phonics scheme: a very cost-effective training programme". FE News. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Queen's Award like rocket fuel for Twinkl - The Queen's Awards for Enterprise". queensawards.blog.gov.uk. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Twinkl Has Won a Second Queen's Award for Enterprise and We Want to Thank YOU!". Twinkl. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Queen's Awards for nine elite South Yorkshire firms". www-thestar-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  14. ^ "The Queen's birthday honours list 2020 in full". inews.co.uk. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2021.