Apps to help with early literacy

Apps for 2 to 5 year olds

Choosing an app for your child – the FEED test

There are lots of apps that say they are ‘educational’, but you’ll want to reassure yourself that’s the case and that they are right for your child. The FEED check may help.

Fun – Will your child enjoy the app? Will it keep their attention?

Educational – Is there a clear educational aim? Do you know what your child will learn? Will it keep them learning and allow them to progress?

Engaging – Will it help your child if they get stuck? Will it give them feedback and let them know when they’ve got challenges right?

Design – Is it attractive and easy to use? Is it inclusive and does it avoid gender and racial stereotypes? Can an adult change the settings? Is it safe, with links to the internet and adverts protected behind a parental gate?

Find more information on how to support your child’s learning through apps and get advice on screen time:

• early years apps parent guidance
• guidance from the UK Chief Medical Officer on screen time based activities

The following apps have been chosen by an independent educational panel and are believed to have good educational value.

	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 Platform: Apple, Android
	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 Platform: Apple, Android
	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 Platform: Apple, Android