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Full article from the DfE: – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/early-years-apps-approved-to-help-families-kick-start-learning-at-home
Actual website referred to by the DfE: – https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/
Parents are set to benefit from new technology to support their children learning at home, with 6 new apps available to improve reading, writing and speaking.
Following a competition to find the best educational apps for parents to engage young children in learning at home, a panel of experts has approved 6 with a focus on early literacy, language and communication.
These apps cover activities ranging from interactive story books, handwriting exercises using Artificial Intelligence, and educational video games.
The technology announcement comes as new data reveals three quarters of children aged five and under have used smartphone or tablet apps at least once in the last six months to learn.
CBeebies Storytime
CBeebies Storytime is filled with free interactive story books and bedtime stories for young children and is a great way to enjoy reading with your little one. The library is always growing, with amazing stories featuring all the CBeebies’ favourites.
Age: 0-5
Platform: Apple, Android, Amazon
CBeebies Playtime Island
CBeebies Playtime Island contains a wide range of fun and educational games to help children understand the world around them and support the development of core skills. Children can play along with all of CBeebies’ most popular characters.
Age: 0-5
Platform: Apple, Android, Amazon
Lingumi – Kids’ English
Lingumi provides a course focused on spoken and communicative English. The app provides sets of learning games, speech recognition games and video-based games to help the child grow their grammar and get them speaking their first words.
Age: 2-5
Kaligo
Kaligo is a digital handwriting exercise book designed to teach children how to write using a stylus and tablet, built on an AI machine learning platform. A self-paced approach enables children to progress at their own speed according to their own ability, whilst AI Machine learning provides real-time corrective feedback.
Age: 3-5
The following apps contain phonics content and therefore are only intended for use with school-aged children. Used with your child, they may be a way to support the phonics they are already learning at school, however, you should check with your child’s class teacher that the approaches used in the apps align with your school’s teaching methods before using at home.
Teach Your Monster to Read
Teach Your Monster to Read is a phonics and reading game that’s helped children learn to read. The app covers the first two years of learning to read, from matching letters and sounds to enjoying small books.
Age: school-aged children
Platform: Apple, Android, Amazon
Navigo
The Navigo app aims to support beginner readers to develop reading skills (accuracy, fluency and comprehension) through engaging with the personalised content and activities.
Age: school-aged children
Platform: Android
Phonics Hero
Phonics Hero teaches children to read and spell with systematic synthetic phonics. The app includes over 850 fun and varied games. Using a step-by-step approach, children learn the 44 sounds, the reading and spelling of words, and how to conquer sentences.
Age: school-aged children
The following app is intended for use with school-aged children. A child could use this app for further independent reading once they have successfully completed their school’s phonics programme. If you are unsure when this is, we recommend that you discuss the matter with your child’s class teacher before using the app with your child.
Fonetti
Fonetti is a Listening Bookshop™ that provides young children with a patient, comforting listening ear to help in the learning-to-read journey, but also with the added benefit of tracking progress, identifying reading challenges, and highlighting to their adult carers where the most support is needed.
Age: school-aged children
Platform: Apple
