In the early 1990s it was recognised that, while all livery companies were concerned with education and training within their trades or professions, none was concerned with the profession of education and training itself. An initiative, to set up such a Livery Company was supported by the College of Preceptors (as it then was), and pursued by Keith Lawrey as Honorary Clerk and registration was sought from the Corporation of London in 1997 , with the support of Professor R. Franklin CBE (then Vice Chancellor of the City University) as the Foundation Master-Designate, and Mrs Judith G Osborne as Upper Warden. That registration was granted in 2000 and the Guild of Educators was founded on 24 May 2001 with a Court of Assistants comprising a number of leaders in the various sectors of the education profession. The Guild was kindly accommodated by London Guildhall University and its first Sponsoring Alderman was the late Alderman G E Bull who was then succeeded by Sir Christopher Walford, a former Lord Mayor of the City of London and then by Mr Alderman John Stuttard.

Becoming a Guild is the first of a three-stage process that can lead to becoming a full Livery Company. The time scale depends on the growth of the Guild and its charitable fund. The second stage is to become a Company without Livery and the final stage is full Livery Company status with both Freemen and Liverymen.