When Kate told me about her daughter Poppy and why Gaia Learning exists, I knew immediately this wasn't another edtech pitch. This was a mother building the provision her child needed and the system couldn't provide. Kate's story is personal - Poppy is dyslexic ADHD, and watching her struggle in traditional settings while being utterly capable drove Kate to create something different. Not as a business opportunity, but as survival.
That conversation shifted something for me. I've joined Gaia Learning as a freelance advisor, and I need to tell you why.
Full Disclosure: My Position
I'm ADHD. I navigated mainstream education successfully - former successful teacher, Head of Sixth Form, now educational consultant, speaker, podcast host, governor at two schools. I didn't ‘need’ Gaia Learning as a kid. But that's precisely why I can see clearly who does.
I sit in EHCP meetings. I watch families fighting for scraps. I see the machinery of SEN provision grinding against itself - funding, compliance, box-ticking. I'm writing a book about personalised learning futures (Pick 'n' Mix Education), searching for who's actually building them, not just theorising about them. Gaia Learning found their way into the book as contributors - not as a case study to be examined, but as partners shaping the conversation. That signals something different.
The Problem: Done TO, Not WITH
What I see from my governor and consultant work is that support for neurodivergent learners is done TO families and children, not WITH them. Parents and children become cases to be managed. Decisions get made in rooms they're not fully part of, driven by "What can we afford?" and "What does the LA require?" rather than "What does this child actually need?"
Then there's the binary trap. You're either in mainstream (cope or mask) or in specialist provision (profound needs only). The kids who need 60-70% mainstream plus something flexible? They fall through. If a child can't manage five days or a full timetable, it's treated as failure. Online and hybrid learning remain anathema in mainstream education - even after COVID proved it can work when done well. "Not in a physical classroom" equals problem, not valid alternative.
The damage compounds: capable kids disengaging, parents exhausted, SENDCos despairing, schools overwhelmed. Everyone's doing their best within a system that won't flex. This is the flexi-need gap, and it's crushing children who don't fit the mould.
The Gaia Model: What "WITH" Looks Like
Gaia Learning is doing something radically different, and it starts with lived experience in the DNA. Kate's not guessing what neurodivergent families need - she lives it. Poppy isn't inspiration only; she's the design principle. The entire model is built WITH ND brains, not FOR them.
This shows up in the details. Their initial "Let's Explore" session is collaborative assessment - building learning plans WITH families, not prescribing TO them. They work alongside schools through commissioned support, not replacing them. The goal is re-integration when ready, not permanent separation. Classes are capped at 8 learners (because community matters without sacrificing visibility), sessions are 30 minutes with regular breaks (because they understand attention and energy), and they offer multiple communication options - video, speech, drawing, chat, emoji - because expression varies.
The educators are QTS and SEN-trained, not just "someone online." They include brain breaks and wellbeing sessions, not just academics. They're ADHD Foundation certified and ADHD Friendly School Award holders. Their Gaia Hive platform provides 24/7 access to materials because learning doesn't happen 9-3, and their Gaialytics reporting provides full attendance, safeguarding, and impact tracking for schools and LAs. They're not hiding from accountability; they're embracing it. The evidence is there: 98% attendance for learners like Poppy, increased confidence, National Tutoring Awards 2024 Finalist, working across the UK and overseas.
Why This Matters
This hits me on multiple levels. Personally, I didn't need this intervention, but I see exactly who does - the kids who can't mask enough for mainstream but aren't "broken" enough for specialist provision. As someone who made it through, I have a responsibility to advocate for those the system fails.
Professionally, this is what values-led edtech actually looks like - not "tech first, pedagogy later" but "need first, solution follows." This embodies our Edufuturists’ "agency with guardrails" framework: not restriction, not total freedom, but structured flexibility. As a governor, I see what schools need: partners who reduce burden while improving outcomes. This is several of my Seven I's of Innovation in practice - particularly inclusion, integration, and impact.
Systematically, Gaia shouldn't be niche or last resort. This should be part of mainstream provision planning. Early intervention that prevents crisis. Hybrid and online legitimised as valid choice, not shameful fallback. What if every MAT and LA had this as a commissioned option? What if "done WITH" became the standard rather than the exception?
The Pick 'n' Mix Connection
We’re writing about personalised learning futures where families build custom pathways for their children. Gaia aren't just a case study in that book - they're contributing to it. That signals partnership, not transaction. They're helping shape the conversation, not just participating in it.
Pick 'n' Mix is about moving from "one size fits all" to "build your own." Gaia is that vision operational, not theoretical. They're proving it can be done with quality, accountability, and heart - at scale.
What Comes Next
I'm joining as advisor because I believe in what they're building. My role involves helping articulate the model, connecting with schools, and shaping the vision for scale. The roadmap is clear and super exciting: more schools seeing this as legitimate provision rather than last resort; LAs building Gaia into early intervention strategies; reducing EHCP pressure by catching kids before crisis; normalising hybrid and online as valid pathways. Long-term, "done WITH not TO" becomes embedded in SEN culture, and we stop treating "not in classroom" as failure while treating "not learning" as the real problem.
The Call
If you're a school with kids disappearing or disengaging, look at this. If you're drowning in SEND provision complexity, you need partners. This isn't admitting defeat - it's smart commissioning.
If you're a family exhausted from fighting for scraps, there are alternatives. If your child is capable but can't manage the physical or social environment of mainstream, this could work. You're not alone, and your child isn't broken.
For the sector: we need to legitimise flexible provision. We need to embed "done WITH" thinking. Gaia Learning is showing us how.
I'm backing them. You should be paying attention.
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About the Author
Ben Whitaker is an education consultant, writer, and speaker who works with schools, colleges, and trusts on navigating educational change, particularly around AI integration and inclusive technologies. A former teacher and Head of Sixth Form, Ben now helps educational leaders develop practical strategies that align technological innovation with pedagogical purpose.
He is the co-founder of Edufuturists, a platform exploring the intersection of education, technology, and human flourishing, and writes the FRiDEAS newsletter - a weekly exploration of innovation, digital culture, education, authenticity, and strategy. His work focuses on asking better questions rather than providing easy answers, and on helping educators maintain what's distinctively human in an increasingly algorithmic age.
Ben co-hosts the Edufuturists podcast and speaks internationally on educational futures. You can find him at www.theideasguy.io, www.edufuturists.com or connect on LinkedIn.
