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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

Best tablet toys for children

Tablet toys
Every child we know loves playing with a tablet computer – and now connected toys take learning to a new level by combining hands-on play with digital animations to teach the basics of story-telling, maths, spelling, reading and physics. Tablet toys are definitely not just for kids!

Osmo

Osmo Genius Kit for iPad, £78

Turn your iPad into a teaching tool with an Osmo kit: letters, digits, dots and tangram pieces combine into a set that offers educational, hands-on play for pre-school to secondary school (and beyond). The simple set-up is a definite parent bonus: create an account for each child, so you (and they) can track their progress, then download the apps to play. Each activity uses your device and the Osmo stand and reflector "brain" to get your child to physically interact with what they see on the screen. Tangram offers over 500 puzzles to solve, using the wooden pieces and playing in front of your tablet. Words is a 21st-century letters and images vocabulary game (with a useful Junior setting for early readers), while Numbers encourages kids to problem-solve addition, subtraction and multiplication in lots of different ways (on their own or as a sibling-or-friends team). Newton is a real-world meets screen-world physics game which uses everyday objects as part of a virtual obstacle course. An original, beautifully-designed way to break down the wall between virtual and real-life learning.


Smart Numbers

Smart Numbers, £32.66

By combining apps and wooden toys, French company Marbotic uses Montessori principles to develop number sense and introduce digits up to 100 and addition and subtraction. Children can also use their fingers to count "on" the tablet, or make up different values with the wooden numbers. The three associated apps (10 fingers, Up to 100, More or Less) are available in eight languages (so you can add some language learning into the maths!) and are perfect for Reception-age children who are just beginning to understand our number system and how to navigate it.

Pebil

Pebli, £15.99

Pebli Town is a connected preschool toy which uses play pieces and a play board that interact with a tablet (Apple and Android) through hotspot technology to bring the toy to life. There are four game modes: Story Teller (different narratives, presented through an app, where children can choose the path of a character), Game Player (problem-solving and comprehension games), Story Creator (children can "direct" their own story and add their voice and special effects, then watch their film in the Pebil Cinema) and Video Room (200 pre-approved educational videos featuring the Pebil characters). A great introduction to creative story-telling play, and we love the fact that up to four children (or children and adults!) can play together. The high-tech version of the "shows" and performances every child loves to put on!

Chess board

chess tablet toy

Interactive chess board, £44.99

This classic learning game is for kid age 6 and up and has an 'extensive learn mode' that teaches everything from single moves to advanced strategies. The chess set has a 'move predictor mode', which helps you understand what your opponent’s next move could be. There are 4x4 mini-puzzles that help you practise strategies before advancing to a full chessboard. Play against family in 2-player-mode or play against AI in the single-player-mode. This is compatible with most popular tablet brands.