The DfE have approved six ‘Early years apps’ to help parents and carers kick start learning at home.  

The launch follows a competition to find the best quality educational apps for young children, where a panel of experts has approved six expert-approved smartphone and tablet apps to help parents support their children with reading, writing and speaking.

The six successful apps have received a quality mark from a panel of educational experts appointed by the Department for Education. The approved apps all meet agreed criteria, including elements of play, interaction and ranging levels of difficulty. The list of accredited apps builds on the Hungry Little Minds campaign, by helping parents across England choose from among the hundreds of apps already available on the market.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said,

“The first few years of a child’s life are crucial in equipping them with the skills needed for the classroom, and we are working with families to make it easier to weave early learning into daily activities. 

“We know that the majority of families are using technology in fun and visual ways to support their child’s early education, but it can be difficult for busy parents to work out what content is best. 

“This list of expert-approved apps helps them make confident decisions that benefit their child’s language and literacy skills.”

The 6 apps published on the Hungry Little Minds website include:

• Kaligo (For children aged 3 -5): The first digital handwriting exercise book using a stylus and tablet, built using AI and co-created with teachers, occupational therapists and neuroscientists.
• Lingumi (For children aged 2 -5): Sets of learning games, speech recognition games and video-based games to help with a child’s grammar and getting them speaking their first words early on. 
• Phonics Hero (For school-aged children): Over 900 fun, varied and motivating games to take a child step by step through the critical 44 phonetic sounds of the English language.
• Teach Your Monster to Read (For school-aged children): Covers the first two years of learning to read, from matching letters and sounds to enjoying little books, designed in collaboration with leading academics.
• Navigo Game (For school – aged children): Focuses on developing skills that underpin reading, including phonics, letters and sounds, designed by UCL Institute of Education. 
• Fonetti (For school-aged children): The world’s first ‘Listening Bookshop’ interacting with children by giving visual cues in real-time as they read aloud and highlighting where the most support is needed.

Find out more at hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk