Public Funding for Ebox (realisations) 2021 Limited

Empiribox was originally formed to enable the effective teaching of science in primary schools by non-science qualified teachers. The strategic need for a workforce with science and STEM related qualifications is growing yet science is often an undervalued subject in primary schools. Schools are closed during the Covid-19 crisis and is not known when "normal" education can resume. The Empiribox @ Home project plans to enable the digital delivery of primary school science education using experiments to be conducted at home, supervised by parents or other adults. The experiments will be developed using easily available domestic materials and will be safe for use at home. The supporting resources will include online delivery of interactive demonstration videos with embedded questions, and assessment worksheets that meet the National Curriculum outcome objectives. In order to cover the National Curriculum approximately 180 experiments, lessons and supporting resources will need be developed. The supervising adults will not need any science knowledge to support the pupils. The project will enable teachers to assign specific lessons to their classes to complete after which they can assess pupil progress against the national curriculum objectives via individual worksheets. Pupil names and progress data will only be available to the school as this data will not be handled by Empiribox. The existing Empiribox @ School classroom based system is already innovative. Empiribox @ Home will be deliverable in a domestic environment. No equivalent system is known that allows digitally delivered remote and interactive teaching of science at an individual pupil level while being compliant with the National Curriculum, including pupil assessment. With the completion of the initial stage of the project, Empiribox @ Home has provided comprehensive coverage of the primary science curriculum to thousands of primary school children during the lockdown period and thereafter. To date we have seen over 2100 educators using the platform regularly which could be reaching as many as 350,000 pupils, both at school and within a domestic environment. What has become evident is the ability it has to transcend setting and it has become a useful and a potentially cost effective tool for schools whether teaching in-school or remotely. Furthermore, registrations from all home countries of the UK and a significant number from overseas, opens up hitherto undefined markets. The building of an e-commerce function has been launched as specified in the original project plan. Empiribox @ Home now moves into its next phase, that of expansion, market penetration and revenue generation. This next phase of product evolution involves the expansion of basic e-commerce functionality to a platform that facilitates easy purchase by schools through traditional invoicing methods and online card payments. Following significant interest it extends its transactional capacity to other countries and currencies. Empiribox @ home will also be integrated with another Empiribox product line (Empiribox Select) to allow schools a deep dive into specific topics through the purchase of additional boxed lessons. These optional tangible boxes will provide additional in-school investigations, lesson plans, whole class teaching files and all scientific equipment necessary to complete all related experiments. This integration will create the opportunity for schools to provide their pupils with a wholly blended science education provision to be delivered anywhere and at any time. It will provide the opportunity for Empiribox to cross and upsell across its range of primary science products. Empiribox will intensify its marketing presence on social platforms where it has generated significant interest to date. Through a comprehensive engagement strategy it will provide ongoing support for teachers in their provision of practical science lessons and grow a self-sustaining community of best practice. This will assist in growing product visibility, brand loyalty and ultimately market share. Marketing activity, whilst exploiting social media will not be limited to it and other forms of marketing such as print, digital, email and when feasible during the current pandemic, exhibitions and education conferences will also be attended. These in the interim may be held virtually. Hand in hand it will dedicate the time and efforts of experienced Business Development Managers to create opportunities for the portal, maximise opportunity and close sales. It will also explore opportunities for the sale of granular assets to potential partners and possibilities to OEM the product for different markets under partner branding.