Life at MindSprout
MindSprout began at our kitchen table.
In September, our founder Dale — a psychologist by training, with a master's degree in the field — was diagnosed with advanced peritoneal cancer. Almost overnight, the most important question in our home became a quiet one: how is our six-year-old daughter, Cleo, really doing today?
Drawing on everything she knew, Dale created a simple rhythm of check-ins with Cleo: small, honest, age-appropriate moments that helped her name what she was feeling before it became too big to carry. By February, Dale was clear of disease. And Cleo came through one of the hardest experiences a child can face with less trauma than we had dared to hope, because the adults around her noticed her early, often and with care.
MindSprout exists to give every school that same quiet superpower.
We believe the school day is one of the most overlooked opportunities to change how a generation grows up. That is why we have brought together a small, deliberate team of pastoral specialists, psychologists, engineers and designers to build a calm, honest signal of how students are really doing — so the right conversation can happen at the right moment, for every Cleo in every classroom.
Team
The people behind MindSprout.
Mark Seddon
Co-Founder & Advisor
Dale Seddon MBPsS, PABP, BSc (Hons 1st)
Founder & CEO
Jamie Buckley
CFO
Health and wellbeing
The health and wellbeing of our team is our highest priority — it would be hard to claim otherwise given what we build. We run the same MindSprout check-in on ourselves every fortnight and read the results honestly, so nobody is quietly drifting into a difficult patch unnoticed.
Every team member has confidential access to an external counsellor at our cost, with no questions asked and no usage reported back to us.
Communication
We work in an open, collaborative and transparent way across every level of the team. We believe that's the only recipe for a product schools can trust. A few of the rituals that keep it real:
Come aboard
When someone new joins, our founder records a relaxed conversation with them that goes out to the whole team. The best parts become a short written introduction so everyone, including future joiners, gets to know the person — not just the role.
Getting to know one another
Every Monday a small prompt goes out in our team chat asking people to share a photo or two from their weekend. It's optional, low-stakes, and the easiest way we've found to stay connected to each other's lives as remote colleagues.
Weekly catch-ups
Each week three people are paired at random for a thirty-minute get-to-know-you call. We also keep a dedicated space in our team chat purely for mental-health support — used quietly and often.
Constant support from leadership
Our founder spends one-to-one time with every team member every month. The agenda is simple: are you happy, are you growing, and what would make the next month better.
Learn and progress
At MindSprout we hold to an "always be learning" philosophy. Schools change, safeguarding guidance changes, and the evidence base for student wellbeing changes — we have to change with them. Everyone is encouraged to ask for external courses, conferences or coaching whenever it's relevant to their work, and the answer is almost always yes.
Every new joiner is paired with a buddy on day one — someone outside their direct team they can message with any question, however small, about how we work, the product, or just settling in.
Life away from our machines
The ability to switch off is central to how we work. We will never expect you to send emails on weekends or late at night, and we actively flag it when someone is. Schools rest in the holidays — so do we, in long stretches around the academic calendar.
Wellbeing sits at the centre of our culture, so we put real budget behind it: a monthly wellbeing allowance you can spend on whatever genuinely helps you reset, and once a year the whole team gets together in person for a few days away from screens.
Volunteering
We thrive on people helping others — it's the entire reason this company exists. Every team member can take up to four half-days each month, fully paid, to volunteer with a school, charity or community project they care about.
Many of us spend that time back in classrooms, listening to readers or supporting pastoral teams, which keeps us honest about who we're really building for.
Diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are non-negotiable for any 21st-century company, and especially for one building a product used by children of every background. At MindSprout we respect and actively seek out perspectives different to our own — it's what stops us building something that only works for some students.
We hire blind on first review, write job descriptions that name what the role actually needs (not a wish-list), and publish our pay bands openly inside the team.
Want to work with us?
We're a small team and we hire slowly, but we always want to hear from people who care about young people, craft, and doing the quiet work well. Email hello@mindsprout.app with a few lines about you.