Two Bristol-based entrepreneurs who met on the 90% Government-funded Help to Grow: Management Course have joined forces to launch FDC Digital – a new SaaS platform designed to help schools manage and maintain quality childcare provision with greater ease, compliance, and confidence.
Created by Mark West, founder of FUNdays Club, and James Wilkes, owner of Wilxite, FDC digital provides school leaders with a single online platform to manage quality out-of-school childcare. The platform supports busy school leaders to deliver great wraparound care experiences for children without the need for constant manual oversight.
With this technology, education leaders can be confident they are adhering to the latest regulatory guidance, managing multiple settings and maintaining consistent standards across a one or a number of schools with instant accountability checks, real-time data insights and built-in alerts.
Mark West, FDC Digital co-founder, said: “I’ve worked in the education and childcare sector for over 25 years. School leadership teams are under pressure, and I had this idea that if I could offer school leaders an easy way to access this tech support and scale it, it would save people hours of time every month, provide valuable data and peace of mind.”
The business has already proven its demand, moving from concept to paying customers in under a year. The founders are now targeting 250 schools live on the platform by the end of 2026.
The idea for FDC Digital grew out of Mark's work with FDC Consultancy and Training, an offshoot of FUNdays Clubs which empowers schools to provide quality wraparound childcare. Keen to digitise that expertise and make it accessible at scale, he pitched the concept to James in the hope that his software development background would help the duo bring the idea to life.
Mark and James met in 2022 on the Help to Grow: Management Course, a 90% Government-funded programme designed to help business owners boost leadership skills and business performance, at Bristol Business School, UWE Bristol. Alumni from the Bristol Business School cohort continued to meet up once a month after completing the course, allowing the business leaders to continue supporting each other.
Mark West said: "Help to Grow: Management delivered far more than either of us anticipated. The peer network we built afterwards – supported by Bristol Business School – gave us a level of trust and insight into each other's businesses that you simply can't manufacture. When the idea for FDC Digital came together, I already knew James well enough to know that we would work well together. Now we're focused on getting into 250 schools this year and showing what this platform can do for the sector."
James Wilkes added: "Mark's knowledge of the childcare sector is impressive and FDC Digital makes that expertise scalable. We've built something that can genuinely change the experience for education leaders, staff, families and children across the country. Initial feedback from the sector has been excellent and we’re incredibly excited and ambitious about the potential to grow."
Flora Hamilton, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter which delivers the Help to Grow: Management Course, said: "Mark and James’ story is a brilliant example of the lasting impact the Help to Grow: Management Course can have – not just in the weeks and months after completing it, but years down the line. The relationships formed between alumni of the course are genuinely powerful, seeing that connection lead to an entirely new business venture is really exciting.
"It's fantastic to see what Mark and James have achieved with the support of Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, one of our network of 60+ Small Business Charter accredited business schools delivering Help to Grow: Management. The course is designed to give business leaders the knowledge, frameworks and confidence to grow – and FDC Digital is a testament to just how far those benefits can reach.”
The Help to Grow: Management Course is a 90% government-funded leadership programme for SME businesses, delivered by a network of Small Business Charter accredited business schools. The course runs over 12 weeks and includes online and face-to-face sessions, 10 hours of 1-to-1 mentoring and peer networking. Its mission is to increase economic growth and productivity through improved management and leadership practice.
To learn more about the Help to Grow: Management Course, click here.
About Help to Grow: Management:
Help to Grow: Management is a 12-week course designed to support business leaders and their senior managers to increase resilience, innovation, and growth within their organisations.
Developed and delivered by the network of Small Business Charter accredited business schools, the course is available in more than 60 locations across the UK and is 90% government funded. It is designed to fit around existing work and personal commitments, providing business leaders with more than 50 hours of online and in person training including 10 hours of one-to-one mentoring. Individuals completing the course automatically join the Alumni Network, where they have access to exclusive events, content and partner offers, as well as the support of a UK-wide peer network.
The Small Business Charter (SBC) empowers small business success through its network of expert business schools. Developed 10 years ago by Lord Young, the previous Department for Business, and the Chartered Association of Business Schools, the SBC was established to signpost entrepreneurs, small businesses, and local economic stakeholders to business schools in their region with the expertise to help them thrive. There are 67 SBC accredited business school centres of excellence across the UK which are trusted partners of local stakeholders and the national government to deliver effective leadership and productivity programmes and small business support to drive economic growth.