One in five pupils in England has special educational needs. Mainstream EdTech wasn't built for them. Bloom is being designed for them — from the ground up, for how neurodivergent children actually think, feel, and learn.
Prepared for Paul Bishop · Confidential
Neurodivergent children are not failing — they are being failed by systems not designed with them in mind.
Families patch together tutors, assessments, OT and therapy. Families of children with complex needs spend an average of £8,500 a year of their own money, and 35% have left work. For families who cannot pay, there is almost nothing.
An AI learning service for neurodivergent children aged 6–16, with an Early Years companion for families of 0–6 year olds — built from the ground up, not retrofitted.
A five-point visual feelings scale. No words, no numbers.
Today's plan shown upfront — the child can change it.
5–8 minute chunks through what they love. Breaks built in.
Specific praise for effort. The Bloom creature grows.
Then the parent gets it in plain language: one celebration, one pattern, one conversation starter. Never "wrong". Never a streak. Never a timer.
Concept screen · illustrative
Still to do: Figma prototype, parent interviews, DSL appointment and technical co-founder.
Every figure is checked and linked in the Bloom Sources & Evidence Register, October 2026.
Built for dyslexia and literacy, with real evidence — but mainly one subject, one profile and no emotional layer.
Strong adaptive maths for the mainstream — but not designed around anxiety, regulation or ADHD profiles.
Khan Academy is free and enormous; its Khanmigo AI tutor costs parents $4 a month. Built for the mainstream, not for SEND, and US-aligned.
In Bloom's own capability matrix, no competitor scores more than 4 of 12. Bloom's design covers all 12.
Bloom Family — full access, parent hub, weekly digest. Plus tier at £29. Free tier for acquisition.
Educator dashboard, EHCP reporting, SENCO briefing. Funded from school budgets. Phase 2.
ICB commissioning once the clinical evidence base exists. Phase 3+.
Families of children with complex needs already spend £8,500 a year.
£14 a month is a bargain if it works.
Community and word of mouth
Family plan, 18-month average
Payback under 3 months
Target at scale
Targets from the Bloom business case — pre-launch assumptions, measured in Phase 1. Consumer revenue alone, before schools or NHS.
The parents we interview become the closed beta. Every family known by name, every session reviewed.
Facebook groups and parent communities, where families already recommend what works to each other.
IPSEA, PDA Society, Contact — and SENCO champions who recommend before schools buy.
A recommendation from another parent carries more weight than any marketing. One delighted family can bring five more.
The UK proves the model, builds the evidence base and earns the trust that opens every other market.
SEND Code of Practice, 718,000 EHC plans and active SEN parent communities — with the 2026 SEND reforms to design for.
IDEA serves 8.2m children and young people. District licensing, COPPA parental consent, state curriculum standards and IEP output.
AI architecture, pedagogy and experience design are planned to transfer. Expansion means localisation, not a rebuild.
Lee Hughes — Design Director-level expertise across product strategy, UX design and digital design. The ability to hold a complex product vision and turn it into precise, buildable specifications.
The vision, product flows, AI architecture and business case are mapped out. This round turns them into a working product: the first maths curriculum, a tested prototype, the build, and a safe closed beta with 20 families.
Equity alongside the cash: technical co-founder 30–40% (4-year vest, 1-year cliff) · EMI option pool of about 10% for hires · 0.1–0.25% each for 5–7 advisers · the investors’ share is set by the round’s valuation.
Proposed 18-month budget at the £500k base of the round, taking Bloom to the 200-family Phase 2 gate. A larger round brings the Phase 2 hires forward. Equity figures are proposals, as a share of the company before the round.
Working web app, child UI, parent hub, tutor AI and safeguarding live. Maths only. Gate: NPS above 70, week-4 retention above 80%.
Educator dashboard, Early Years companion, Literacy and EHCP reports. First ML hire.
Full curriculum, Bloom's own fine-tuned model, first five school partnerships — and the evidence for a Series A of £3–5m.
State-standards alignment, IEP reporting, COPPA, district licensing. Series B.
Lee Hughes · Founder
The full Bloom document suite sits behind this deck.