Find out about the company, the people and the ethos behind PlanBee...
PlanBee was born in 2009 and has since helped more than 200,000 teachers, tutors and home educators by providing enjoyable, flexible and creative schemes of work that are completely ready to teach and aligned meticulously to National Curriculum objectives.
What started as a one-woman mission to reduce teacher workload has grown and evolved over the years to become a leading curriculum provider. We now offer comprehensive curriculum solutions to schools, as well as a vast library of resources to support individual teachers.
Our vision:
Our principles:
Six core principles underpin our work. We believe the curricula and resources we offer should be: enjoyable, equitable, coherent, cohort-relevant, creative and flexible. This means we are already delivering resources that meet the aims of the ongoing Curriculum review, which is seeking to create a broader, richer curriculum that fosters creativity, digital skills, and oracy – skills employers particularly prize in today’s fast-changing world.
Enjoyable learning experiences are at the heart of what we do. Through enjoyment, we seek to motivate and engage children so they become confident and curious learners.
Every child has a right to an ambitious, inclusive education whatever their background or needs.
We support equitable provision which represents all learners and works to narrow the attainment gap.
A coherent curriculum, which builds on prior learning, is essential for children to acquire and retain increasingly complex knowledge and skills.
We explore relevant themes like social justice and climate change to prepare children for their future. Our resources also support children to secure social and emotional tools alongside subject specific skills.
We believe that creative and exploratory experiences, which encourage self-expression, creative thinking and innovation, are critical for unlocking children's full potential.
Becky Cranham | Director
I set up PlanBee in 2009 after five years in the classroom. Despite loving teaching, I found the workload unsustainable and began to look for other ways to make a living. That was when the idea for PlanBee was born: what if I could help ease the planning burden by creating ready-to-teach schemes of work that wouldn't require teachers to spend much of their own time lesson prepping? We were all teaching to the same National Curriculum objectives so it made no sense to me that we all had to spend so much of our evenings and weekends planning the same things. Why not create lessons that all teachers could use, saving them invaluable time? Maybe, just maybe, that would help good teachers stay in the profession.
So, I left the classroom and spent 9 months creating schemes of work whilst supply teaching to keep afloat. PlanBee finally launched in September 2009 and from then on has gone from strength to strength. I'm incredibly proud of the business our team of bees has created and can't wait to see what the future holds for us.
What's your favourite subject to plan for? I love History schemes of work, even though they usually take the longest to make. I really love helping bring the past to life for the children.
What's your favourite PlanBee scheme you've created? I'd say The Hero's Journey, which is a Year 6 English scheme of work. I'm a keen creative writer and this scheme teaches children how to create a really easy-to-follow structure for their own story writing.
What do you like doing when you're not PlanBee-ing? I'm a bit obsessed with musical theatre and go and see as many West End shows as I can. I also love writing and usually have a couple of novel projects on the go.
Abby Milnes | Senior Manager
I joined PlanBee back in 2017 after having used PlanBee's resources a lot in my own classroom. I love spending time researching lots of different topics and finding out about so many different things for the lessons I create. When you're teaching, you don't have the time to get stuck into the planning as much I can now, and I really enjoy that aspect of my job.
Now, as senior manager, the majority of my job is helping the business run smoothly, but I still get to create and plan lessons to be used by all of you!
What's your favourite subject to plan for? I'd say Maths and Science are my favourites.
What's your favourite PlanBee scheme you've created? What do Scientists do? for Year 3/4 was fascinating to put together and is perfect for a Science Day/Week at school. It has a different focus for each lesson and looks at the practical aspects that scientific learning can have and how people choose different areas of science to study in their career. It's lovely to hear feedback that this scheme has inspired children to aspire to be scientists when they grow up.
What do you like doing when you're not PlanBee-ing? I've recently taken up sewing and now love making clothes for myself, and my family and friends. I also have a Labrador and enjoy taking him out for long country walks.
Laura Steele | Senior Resource Creator
My teaching colleagues used to joke that a job at PlanBee would be perfect for me because I've always loved the planning side of teaching, and then in 2016 it became a reality! I taught in KS2 for 11 years before joining the bees and, although I loved teaching, I felt ready for a change of pace. I now really enjoy creating schemes of work from scratch and being able to take my time ensuring that the lessons are all of a really high quality. It's so rewarding when you receive feedback that the lessons are being appreciated by busy teachers.
What's your favourite subject to plan for? English is my favourite subject to plan for, particularly reading comprehension lessons.
What's your favourite PlanBee scheme you've created? Japanese Art for Year 5/6. I love all things Japanese (except maybe sushi!) so I really enjoyed every aspect of creating this scheme. As well as covering popular themes like Manga, I focussed on less well-known areas of Japanese art, too. I found the Daruma dolls in the Folk Art lesson particularly interesting - when bought or made, the doll's eyes are blank. The owner thinks of a goal they want to achieve and paints in one eye. When they have achieved that goal, they paint in the other eye as a symbol of their achievement. I thought these might be appealing to children and teachers alike!
What do you like doing when you're not PlanBee-ing? I love doing crafty stuff in my free time, such as knitting and crochet. I also love reading.
Marie Thornby | Curriculum Manager
I qualified as a primary school teacher and mathematics specialist back in 2015. Since then, I’ve taught all year groups in KS2 and gained experience redesigning curricula in schools as a Curriculum Lead. I feel passionately that children should enjoy a thoughtfully-planned diverse, inclusive and progressive curriculum which meets both their emotional and educational needs. So, when I saw that PlanBee were recruiting, I thought this would be the perfect way for me to make a positive impact beyond my own classroom and I’m so glad they thought so too!
What's your favourite subject to plan for? I love cross-curricular topics and embracing anything that can get a bit messy. As a neurodivergent educator, I’m keen to create accessible lessons which empower children to solve problems, exercise choice or express themselves creatively like Art, Science or DT.
What's your favourite PlanBee scheme you've created? One Thousand and One Arabian Nights holds a special place in my heart. It's just such a magical tale that inspires children.
What do you like doing when you're not PlanBee-ing? I love to read, paint and chill out with yoga.
Ben Dare | Accounts
My job within PlanBee is to help the team keep up to date with payments and invoices. If you have a problem with a payment, or you need to settle your account, it's me you'll speak to! I'm the only one of the team not to have a background in primary education.
