EdShed: Educate. Engage. Empower.

I joined EdShed in 2021 in the Content department as a part-time Maths Curriculum Specialist, reporting directly to Alex - our Curriculum Director. My work was fully remote, which allowed me to juggle being a mum to two young children and begin a new career with EdShed. I loved the variety that working for EdShed brought and I quickly began to collaborate on projects for MathShed, Phonics Shed and Spelling Shed, working on content for the UK, US and ZA. I soon requested to increase my working hours to full-time as my youngest began nursery full-time, which EdShed were happy to let me do.

I requested to move to the Marketing department at the end of 2023 to develop my passion for writing in the Edtech community and began my role as Marketing Copywriter, reporting to Jasmine, our Marketing Executive. I have found EdShed to be such a friendly place to work. Working remotely, I was unsure that I would feel the same sense of camaraderie that being in an office environment naturally brings; however, I can happily say my doubts were unfounded. Everyone who works at EdShed is friendly and eager to help. We maintain regular communication via Slack but are also trusted to complete projects independently. When we do get the whole team together at events such as the Christmas party, you would never guess we live hundreds, or even thousands, of miles apart!

I started at EdShed in 2021 as a full-stack software developer within the tech team. Being full-stack means I get to work on the entire system, from server maintenance and writing performant backend code to developing user interfaces and adding new features to our educational games. As a very tight-knit team, we've all contributed to every EdShed product, which enhances our ability to support and cover for each other seamlessly.

We get the best of both worlds by being a hybrid team. We spend two days per week working from our office in Bewdley, meaning we have the benefits of regularly collaborating in person while still having the flexibility of remote working for the rest of the week. I find this approach ensures we maintain a positive team atmosphere, blending the best of face-to-face interaction with the autonomy of remote work.

Across the whole company, EdShed fosters an environment of transparency and teamwork. Everyone is extremely friendly and genuine, with a huge amount of respect for each other, making this an incredibly fulfilling place to work.

I joined EdShed in 2020 in the Content department as a part-time, freelance USA consultant, reporting to Martin - our CEO. My work was fully remote, which allowed me to continue my teaching role as a 2nd grade teacher and reading intervention specialist. As the school year came to an end, I desired to work full-time for EdShed. EdShed appreciated the quality and consistency of my work, and by March 2021, they decided to hire me full-time as their US Curriculum Specialist. I became the leader of the US development team that edited and created content for the various platforms that span across multiple subjects. I also created training materials to help with new user onboarding. We worked with US teachers to build partnerships, gather feedback and insights, and help grow the platform to be an even more effective and engaging educational tool. I appreciate that the team consists of all former educators and that EdShed values the feedback from our community to improve our products and platform.

In February 2022, I was promoted to US Curriculum Director and oversaw all US content creation. I created the US version of Phonics Shed, working closely alongside Clare, the creator of UK Phonics Shed. We worked together to create resources for lessons and authored children's books together for Phonics Shed. My next focus became creating the US version of Spelling Shed. I worked closely alongside Liz, the creator of UK Spelling Shed. We worked together to create lessons and support each other in research on the morphology and etymology of words. Although my colleagues and I are thousands of miles apart (I am based in the US), we are able to communicate and collaborate easily and effectively through our Slack messaging app and Zoom calls. I enjoy the collaborative environment in my workplace. Working with talented and supportive colleagues not only boosts productivity but also makes each day enjoyable.

The best part of my job is the opportunity to constantly learn and grow. I'm exposed to new challenges regularly, which helps me develop both professionally and personally. The autonomy and trust I receive from my superiors are remarkable. It allows me to take ownership of my projects and find innovative solutions to problems. Working for EdShed has been a great experience. They are very flexible, caring, and understanding. I appreciate the work-life balance that my job offers. It allows me to pursue my passions outside of work and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

My EdShed journey began in 2021, when, as a relative newbie in the world of freelance designing, a friend put me in touch with EdShed, who were looking for some help with content production. Eager to get stuck in and impress, I immersed myself in the work, gradually getting to know new faces. After a few months, I was offered a full time position.

In a post-covid world, I was still getting used to remote working, but regular online meetings gave me an opportunity to put faces to names, and I started to go into the office once a week. I got to know more people, and after some time, I really felt like I was part of a bigger team.

Like many teams within EdShed, my team has grown and what was one is now a flourishing three! We all attend the office more regularly to meet face-to-face and have regular catch ups over work. I very much enjoy the balance of office and home work, and this, combined with the lovely, wider team, makes EdShed a great place to work.