Comparison

The Priory Learning Trust vs Phonics Play & Learn to Read

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

The Priory Learning Trust

This app facilitates communication between schools and parents/carers. It provides a centralized platform for important academy information, messages, and updates, reducing reliance on email and paper notices. Parents can stay informed about school events and their child's activities.

Highlights
  • Push notifications and in-app messages
  • Centralized academy information
  • School calendar and noticeboard access
  • Newsfeed for children's activities
  • Paperless communication
  • Access to 'The Hub' for important info
Features
Read full description

This app is The Priory Learning Trust own parent engagement and communication app and it is designed to enhance communication between the individual academy and parents/carers of our students. Benefits of this app for parents/carers of students at The Priory Learning Trust include: - Receive push notifications and in-app messages from the academy. - Keep important academy information available and away from the clutter of email. - View the school calendar and noticeboard, with information relevant to you and your child. - Access important academy information via The Hub. - Keep up to date with your children's activities via the Newsfeed. - Clear and visible Notice updates for important academy events. - Paperless communication. Registration: To use the The Priory Learning Trust App, you will need an academy account which will be provided by your child's academy. Contact: For any further information please email The Priory Learning Trust at info@theplt.org.uk

About

Phonics Play & Learn to Read

This app teaches young children phonics and reading skills through interactive games, lessons, and stories. It offers a guided learning path with progress tracking for parents in a safe, ad-free environment.

Highlights
  • Interactive phonics lessons
  • Reading and spelling games
  • Delightful storybooks
  • Guided learning path
  • Parent progress tracking
  • Ad-free environment
Features
Read full description

Phonics Play & Read makes learning to read fun and easy for young children. Designed for ages 3-8, the app teaches phonics through interactive lessons, hands-on games, and delightful stories, all in a safe, ad-free environment. PRIVACY No adverts. No analytics. No accounts, no sign-up, no data collection of any kind. Nothing your child does leaves the iPad. There is no third-party software in this app at all. It starts with the sound each letter makes and helps your child read get on the path to whole stories on their own. In between there is a path: one clear next thing to do, every time they open the app, so nobody has to decide what to practise. A GUIDED PATH 16 stages, from the alphabet to the first 100 words. Each stage mixes lessons, games and a story, and finishes with a short checkpoint so you can see the learning has stuck. Nothing is timed and nothing is ever lost a checkpoint that does not go well can be tried again straight away. WHAT IS INSIDE - 173 lessons: every letter sound, short vowel words, digraphs, blends, long vowels, and the 100 words that make up half of everything your child will read - 60 stories in six levels, every one read aloud in a warm human voice - 12 games, including tracing letters in the night sky, catching falling sounds in a bucket, and building words from bubbles - Comprehension questions after every story, because reading the words is only half of reading BUILT FOR SMALL CHILDREN FOR THE GROWN-UPS A parent area behind a simple gate shows which sounds your child is finding tricky, not just how many stars they have. You can open the whole path if your child already knows their letters, set the difficulty, switch on a dyslexia-friendly typeface, and save a copy of everything they have earned so a new iPad never loses it. WHAT IS FREE The whole first stage all 26 letters and their sounds is free, along with the first three stories and every game. A subscription opens the rest of the path, all 60 stories and unlimited play. Monthly and annual subscriptions are available. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period; manage or cancel in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms: https://phillipmakusha-ops.github.io/phonicsplay-legal/terms.html Privacy: https://phillipmakusha-ops.github.io/phonicsplay-legal/privacy.html

Screenshots

The Priory Learning Trust4 screens
Phonics Play & Learn to Read4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Priory Learning Trust at none against Phonics Play & Learn to Read's 2. Phonics Play & Learn to Read's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Phonics Play & Learn to Read sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. The Priory Learning Trust asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Priory Learning Trust ships an update every 2 months, Phonics Play & Learn to Read every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
The Priory Learning Trust versus Phonics Play & Learn to Read: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Priory Learning TrustPhonics Play & Learn to Read
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size139 MB116 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWeduc UK LtdPhillip Makusha

Customer experience

The Priory Learning Trust

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Phonics Play & Learn to Read

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

The Priory Learning Trust

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Phonics Play & Learn to Read

Subscriptions2
  • Phonics Play Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Phonics Play Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is The Priory Learning Trust free?
The Priory Learning Trust is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Phonics Play & Learn to Read free?
Phonics Play & Learn to Read is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do The Priory Learning Trust or Phonics Play & Learn to Read have ads?
Neither The Priory Learning Trust nor Phonics Play & Learn to Read shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Priory Learning Trust or Phonics Play & Learn to Read?
The Priory Learning Trust ships an update every 2 months, and Phonics Play & Learn to Read every 11 days. Most recently, The Priory Learning Trust was updated on November 3, 2026 and Phonics Play & Learn to Read on November 5, 2026.

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