An overview of the education technology (EdTech) market in England, commissioned by the Department for Education.
In early 2026, the UK Department of Education (DfE) commissioned PUBLIC to conduct new research into the EdTech market in England, acting as an extension of a previous market assessment the DfE published in 2022.
Following up on the wider policy shifts and technological advancements, this report provides an updated picture of the EdTech market, including:
- an overview of the current size, shape and direction of the EdTech market
- practical recommendations to support safe and effective technology adoption in schools
PUBLIC used a mixed-methods approach to conduct this research, including:
- Landscape review and gap analysis. A total of 72 articles were reviewed in full. This evidence base informed the analytical framework for the study and enabled baseline comparisons with the 2022 report.
- Expert engagement through a Lived Experience Board. Four experts from key areas of the sector, including EdTech procurement, local authority administration, EdTech consultancy and AI, provided ongoing input to test the research approach and validate emerging findings.
- Qualitative interviews with EdTech stakeholders. The study included interviews with 58 stakeholders, comprising 20 schools, 24 EdTech suppliers and 14 sector experts. These interviews explored how technologies are developed, procured and used in practice.
- Quantitative analysis of EdTech company and school usage data. Analysis of The Data City datasets enabled an up-to-date market assessment of more than 1000 companies. School usage data was also analysed to generate insights into patterns of EdTech adoption using EdTech Impact datasets.
If you'd like to learn about this research, please feel free to reach out to the PUBLIC team (eden.yitbarek@public.io or johnny@public.io).