BrainBloom: Neuroinclusive Early Learning & Assessment Reform

About

BrainBloom is a collaborative project to modernise early years learning and assessment so children with different brain types, learning profiles and developmental needs can build confidence, self-awareness and academic foundations without being written off by a narrow system too early. ## Vision Every child should grow up understanding that their brain is not broken, lazy or incapable. Some children need movement, curiosity, emotional safety, practical tasks, visual thinking, repetition, deep focus, storytelling, creativity, technology or one-to-one encouragement before their abilities become visible. BrainBloom aims to create a new model of early learning and assessment that helps children discover how they learn, regulate, problem-solve, and demonstrate understanding in more than one way - influencing nurseries, reception classes, primary schools, SEND teams, parents, edtech, researchers and exam boards. ## Founder story This project is deeply personal. I had a terrible academic record and spent years believing the school system had measured me accurately. Through NLP, hypnotherapy and self-development I realised my brain was not incapable - it had simply not been understood, supported or assessed in the right way. BrainBloom exists so children do not have to relearn their own potential in adulthood. ## Why now - 1.8M+ pupils in England recorded with SEN (6.0% with EHCP, 14.8% on SEN support without one) - Government estimates ~1 in 7 children are neurodivergent - EYFS already recognises play-based, multi-modal learning - The Curriculum and Assessment Review is actively examining equity - Ofqual is consulting on on-screen / digital GCSE and A-level assessment - AI now makes personalised, low-workload classroom support viable ## What we will build 1. **The Brain Owner's Manual** - a child-friendly metacognition & self-regulation framework. 2. **Neuroinclusive learning profiles** - non-medical, support-needs profiles (movement, sensory, attention, regulation, working memory, etc.). 3. **Multimodal mastery tasks** - children show understanding via speaking, drawing, building, acting, movement, digital, observation, home evidence. 4. **Teacher & parent AI co-pilot** - safeguarded planning, adaptation and observation assistant. Never diagnoses; always human-in-the-loop. 5. **Assessment reform demonstrator** - digital, oral, practical, portfolio and project-based routes alongside traditional exams. ## First pilot - Greater Manchester **BrainBloom Early Years Neuroinclusive Learning Pilot** (10-12 weeks) across 2-3 nurseries / reception classes. Measures engagement, confidence, regulation, communication, participation, teacher workload, parent confidence, observed learning evidence, suitability for SEND and non-SEND children, and classroom practicality. Deliverables: activity pack, learning profile template, observation framework, parent feedback framework, AI co-pilot prototype, evidence report, public Snowball dashboard and recommendations for a larger funded trial. ## Long-term ambition An open toolkit for schools and nurseries, a teacher training programme, a parent support platform, an AI-powered planning and observation tool, a research-backed assessment reform demonstrator, a policy campaign, a national pilot, and a Snowball-backed social enterprise. ## Core belief No child should leave education believing they are stupid because the system failed to recognise how their brain works.

Project brief

Problem

Children are assessed too narrowly, too early, and through methods that reward compliance, sitting still, fast written recall and verbal confidence - rather than understanding, creativity, problem-solving, resilience and applied intelligence. This is especially damaging for children with ADHD traits, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, speech and language needs, anxiety, sensory sensitivities, trauma or different developmental rhythms. The result: children believing they are stupid before discovering their strengths, teachers under-resourced, parents excluded, schools measuring gaps not potential, and an exam system that reinforces the same narrow measures of ability.

Audience

Early years teachers, nursery leaders, SENCOs, SEND specialists, educational psychologists, child development researchers, neurodivergent adults, parents and carers, AI/edtech developers, universities, children's charities, local authorities, academy trusts, exam boards, Ofqual / DfE policy contacts, philanthropic funders, and organisations focused on ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, speech & language, mental health and school inclusion.

Progress so far

idea-launch-pad - Project brief written. Seeking founding partners (evidence review lead, EY settings, SEND specialists, research partner, AI/edtech build partner, funders, policy contacts) before launching the Greater Manchester pilot.

Goals & timeline

Design, test and evidence a neuroinclusive early learning and assessment model through a Greater Manchester pilot, then scale into a national open toolkit, teacher training programme, AI co-pilot and assessment reform demonstrator that influences EYFS practice, SEND support and eventually formal exam design.

Resources needed

- Evidence review partner (academic / EEF-aligned) - 2-3 nurseries or reception classes in Greater Manchester - SENCOs and SEND specialists - Educational psychologists - University research partner (Manchester, MMU, Salford or similar) - AI / edtech development partner with strong safeguarding - Parents and neurodivergent adults willing to share lived experience - Local authority early years / SEND contacts - Philanthropic or innovation funding for the pilot - Policy contacts at DfE / Ofqual interested in assessment reform

Existing stakeholders

Founder: Doug Tracey (Snowball Group). Open call for founding partners across education, SEND, research, AI/edtech, funding and policy.

Project owner

Doug Tracey

View LinkedIn profile

• Supplier

  Deliver paid services to the project - design, dev, branding, marketing, legal, finance or fractional execs. Get matched to briefs that fit your specialism.

  Sign in to join as Supplier

• Founder

  Join as a co-founder or founding team member. Take a craft-shaped role (product, engineering, growth, ops) with equity and help drive the project from idea to launch.

  Sign in to join as Founder

• Mentor

  Give a few hours a month of frank, sector-specific advice. Help the founder unblock decisions on fundraising, GTM, hiring or product.

  Sign in to join as Mentor

• Research Collaboration

  Bring R&D, technical testing, data analysis or applied research capability. Co-design experiments, validate assumptions and publish outcomes with the project.

  Sign in to join as Research Collaboration

• Stakeholder

  Plug in as an ecosystem partner - council, network, accelerator or charity. Signpost the project, open doors in your patch, or offer grants and workspace.

  Sign in to join as Stakeholder

• Funder

  Back the project with capital - angel cheque, syndicate, grant or institutional ticket. Get a momentum-scored view of progress and direct line to the founder.

  Sign in to join as Funder

Updates

• 6/30/2026
  BrainBloom is live - founding partners wanted

  BrainBloom has been published on Snowball as an open call for founding partners. We are looking for an evidence review lead, 2-3 Greater Manchester early years settings, SEND specialists, a university research partner, an AI/edtech build partner, lived-experience contributors, a pilot funder and policy contacts at DfE / Ofqual. If any of this is you - or someone in your network - please register interest via the project page.