Lightly
Made by EBSA parents, for EBSA children
School got too much. Learning doesn’t have to stop.
Lightly is a gentle AI teacher for children who can’t be in school right now. Short, visual lessons follow the national curriculum, just as they would in class, but with none of the pressure of a classroom. Your child feels safe, and you know they’re learning what they would be at school. We’re starting with Key Stage 3 (Years 7 to 9), with Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) and Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11) to follow.
Free to join. Two minutes. We’re testing whether this is worth building for more families.
Meet your AI teacher. You and your child choose who they’d like to learn from and how they’d like to be taught.
This is Leanne, from the first lesson we built. She’s an AI, she never runs out of patience, and she’s always kind. Children can choose a male or female teacher, younger or older, with the voice and pace that suit them.
Why we’re building this
We’ve lived it
Our son has emotionally based school avoidance. Like you, we watched the gap grow between where he was and where school wanted him to be, and every option seemed to assume he could already cope with the thing that was making him unwell. We also learned how closely EBSA and special educational needs are tied together, and how hard it is to get a child’s needs recognised when they hold it together at school and it all comes out at home. Joss spent 12 years in education recruitment, working closely with schools, so we understand how they work and where children like ours slip through the gaps.
Online schools moved the classroom onto a screen. Tutors were expensive and still meant a stranger and a set time. Worksheets became a wall of text. So we started building something with him: lessons that feel like a calm conversation, that he can start and stop, and that never make him feel behind.
He’s helping design every part of it, because he knows better than anyone what feels safe. And we’ll be building it with teachers, SENCos and educational psychologists, so it’s grounded in how children really learn. Now we want to know if it could help your child too.
A family in Cornwall
Does this sound familiar?
If you’ve nodded at any of these, you’re who we’re building for
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Your child wants to learn, but anything that looks like school sets off the anxiety.
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They’re on a reduced timetable, or not attending at all, and falling further behind.
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School or the local authority keep asking what they’re doing at home, and you’ve nothing to show.
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Private tutoring costs more than you can keep paying, week after week.
How it works
Proper lessons, without feeling like school
Their pace, their place
Lessons on their own laptop, whenever they feel able. Each one shortens or lengthens to fit how they’re doing that day. No timetable, no camera, no class watching.
Visual, not wordy
Diagrams, short questions and small wins instead of pages of reading. Built for children who switch off at a wall of text.
Real KS3 learning
Each session quietly follows a full lesson shape, from a clear goal to a short recap, and every topic is completed in full in their own time, so the learning is real even when it feels light.
Evidence you control
A private progress summary for you, which you can choose to share with school, so the work at home counts.
Why an AI teacher
For the days you feel most helpless
When school becomes impossible, it’s easy to feel there’s nothing you can do. Lightly gives you something real you can do today, and a teacher who’s there whenever your child is ready.
There when they’re ready
Good moments with EBSA are hard to predict. If 2pm on a Tuesday is when they feel able, a lesson is ready, with no booking and no waiting for a tutor’s slot.
No one to face
For many anxious children, a person watching is the hard part. With an AI there’s no one to disappoint and no awkward start.
Endless patience
They can ask the same question ten times, and the tenth answer is as kind as the first.
Shaped around your child, every day
It adjusts to how they’re feeling, what they’re into and what they found hard last time, in a way a weekly tutor can’t.
It doesn’t replace people. It’s a gentle way to keep learning while you find your way back, together.
For children with SEND
Built around how your child learns
As EBSA parents, we’ve learned that school avoidance rarely comes on its own. Many children who can’t face school are also autistic, have ADHD or dyslexia, or have needs that haven’t been recognised yet, and often it’s those unmet needs that made school feel impossible in the first place. So we’re building Lightly for both: lessons shaped around how your child learns, and support for you as you work out what they need.
A predictable shape
Every lesson follows the same calm structure, with a visual plan at the start, so there are no surprises.
Short chunks, real breaks
Lessons can be paused, shortened or split, with a break whenever it’s needed and no penalty for stopping.
Easy to read, or not read at all
Dyslexia-friendly text, everything read aloud, and diagrams rather than paragraphs.
Answer their way
Children can tap, type or say their answer. There are no timed questions and no red crosses.
Remembers what works
The teacher adjusts to what your child found hard, what calms them and what they’re into.
Sensory-calm
Soft colours, no flashing or sudden sounds, and nothing competing for their attention.
Share your child’s EHCP or SEN support plan and Lightly can shape lessons around their targets, with progress summaries you can bring to reviews.
Inside a real lesson
Twenty minutes with Leanne
Everything below comes from the Year 7 science lesson we built with our son. Each lesson knows your child’s name, starts from how they’re feeling, and never moves on until they’re ready.
Step 1 of 6
It starts with how they feel
Before any learning, Leanne asks how today is going. On a tough day the lesson shrinks to a short version, and that still counts.
Step 1 · Check in
How are you feeling right now?
Ready to go
A bit wobbly
Tough day
That’s okay. Today’s a short version: just the film and the quick questions. That still counts.
A plant cell has the same parts, plus three extras: a tough cell wall, a big vacuole and green chloroplasts.
◀
❚❚ Pause
▶▶
Scene 4 of 5
Step 2 of 6
A two-minute film, told calmly
Short animated scenes that Leanne narrates. Your child can pause, rewind or watch again. No wall of text, and no rush.
Step 3 of 6
They find things out for themselves
Tap any part of a cell to see what it does. Exploring at their own pace builds confidence instead of pressure.
Tap a part to see what it does.
Nucleus
Cell wall
Chloroplasts
Vacuole
Mitochondria
Chloroplasts
Plant cells only. They contain green chlorophyll, which absorbs light for photosynthesis.
Step 4 · Quick check
Which of these is found in plant cells but not animal cells?
Nucleus
Cell membrane
Chloroplast
Cytoplasm
Not quite. Both kinds of cell have a nucleus. Think about what makes plants green.
Step 4 of 6
Wrong answers get a kind nudge
Questions are a chance to learn, not a test. A wrong answer gets a hint and another go. Never a red cross.
Step 5 of 6
A break is always one tap away
Every lesson has a one-minute breathing break at the top. Leanne waits, then picks up exactly where they left off.
Breathing break
Breathe in…
0:52
I’m ready to carry on
For grown-ups
Today’s summary
Topic
Plant and animal cells (KS3 Biology)
Feeling
A bit wobbly
Steps done
5 of 6
Watched
Yes, the full explainer
Quick check
4 of 4 answered, 3 first time
Explained
Yes, with tutor feedback
Copy summary for school
Step 6 of 6
You see the progress. You decide who else does.
Each lesson ends with a short summary for you, ready to send to school if and when you choose, so learning at home counts.
Founding families try new lessons first.
What it isn’t
Clear about the limits
It isn’t a replacement for school, an EHCP or specialist SEND support.
It isn’t an open chatbot. The tutor sticks to lessons and is built with safeguarding first.
It isn’t finished. That’s why we want parents shaping it now.
Founding families
Help us decide if this should exist
We’re a small Cornwall family project. If enough parents tell us this would help, we’ll open it to more children. Founding families will:
try early versions before anyone else
tell us honestly what works and what doesn’t
help set a price that’s fair for families
Questions
Questions parents ask
What age is it for?
How much will it cost?
Is it a real teacher?
What if English isn’t our first language?
My child has autism, ADHD or dyslexia. Will it work for them?
Is it safe for my child?
What happens to my details?
Will school accept it?
Lightly is an early-stage project by a family in Cornwall. Signing up doesn’t commit you to anything.
© 2026 Lightly