Empowering Learning

Graphite established Empowering Learning Group in 2017 by backing a proven education services CEO to build a differentiated platform addressing growing structural challenges in the classroom. UK schools were facing rising behavioural issues, teacher shortages and increasing numbers of SEND pupils — all of which made teaching more difficult and educational outcomes harder to deliver. The group’s services became increasingly critical for teacher retention, improving pupil welfare, and raising educational standards.

The business was formed through three acquisitions, including Team Teach — the UK’s leading provider of behavioural management training to schools. Graphite then transformed the group through a focused strategy of professionalising operations, expanding internationally, and investing heavily in digital capability.

During Graphite’s ownership, Team Teach nearly tripled its revenues, delivered training in over 30 countries, and became a globally recognised player in school behavioural support. A core part of this digital investment was the development of Team Teach Connect, a proprietary learning management and digital delivery platform launched in 2024. Connect transformed Team Teach’s business model, enabling virtual training, customer engagement, and on-demand access for teachers to behaviour management CPD content. Within 18 months, Connect had been adopted by almost all existing school customers and reached hundreds of thousands of users, rapidly increasing scalability and strengthening quality of earnings through recurring revenues.

Alongside training, the group’s recruitment division became a market leader in London and built nationwide coverage through a network of 11 offices that served over 3,000 schools. The division attracted top-performing consultants, invested in a proprietary CRM and developed a differentiated international sourcing programme, recruiting high-quality candidates from overseas, thereby alleviating the teacher shortage crisis.