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What is now>press>play?
now>press>play is an award-winning immersive audio resource that engages primary school children in the curriculum through sound, story and movement.
In a now>press>play Experience every child is given a pair of wireless headphones. Immersed in sound, they become the main character in a story, meeting people, discovering places and solving problems on an educational adventure they’ll never forget.
From climbing through layers of rainforest canopy in the Amazon, to fighting a woolly mammoth in the Stone Age, these audio-only adventures are uniquely designed to stimulate children’s imaginations.
now>press>play can be used as a whole class activity or with smaller groups for intervention work. It is a fun and inclusive way to engage children in the curriculum.
Video & Screenshots
Educational Impact
Case Studies
Very low-fi, they just need to turn the device on and hit play
45 minutes as part of a staff training (in person or remote)
1 hour staff training, set up guide pdf, support to map Experiences into your school's curriculum.
Each school has a dedicated account manager who will regularly check in to help with use and maintence of the resource.
School must create the account.
now>press>play Pricing
Free TrialPaid Subscription
Annual pricing - based on school size. An annual subscription is equivalent to £166/month (excluding VAT) for a 1 form entry primary school – that’s on average only £1.06 per pupil per audio adventure not including use of over 400 follow-on resources.
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now>press>play Reviews
from 22 Verified Reviews
User rating
Country
Jun 2022
Children love it, staff find it easy to set up and its a time saver.
Fran Collins found now>press>play:
- Moderately reduces teacher workload“Less lesson preparation and resouces are already made”
- Slightly improves school processes“already made lessons”
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“Children are engaged and enjoy it, so generally behave well when it is being used. Emphasis is made on listening and children listen well.”
- Moderately improves attainment“children are engaged so learn well”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“Impact of facts learnt in history, goegraphy, RE as its a different way of introducing the facts to the children.”
Mar 2022
I have already shared this with other schools.
Alexia Fox found now>press>play:
- Moderately reduces teacher workload“Some of the experiences take the place of events or trips that we would need to do to enrich our curriculum and are so easy to set up.”
- Moderately improves school processes“Our whole curriculum is based upon making real and memorable experiences and NPP is an integral approach for us to achieve this.”
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“NPP supports all our pupils to engage with the life at school. SEND pupils are able to take a full an active part, adjusting the volume and interacting on an individual basis as well as having discussion a key part of the experience. We use the equipment to allow pupils to engage with learning through listening to music whilst we write or to block out distractions.”
- Slightly improves attainment“This is difficult to measure but it does mean that there are experiences for our children that our children are able to use in other areas of their work and helps them enjoy their learning.”
- Moderately builds student knowledge“There are so many parts of the curriculum that are abstract to our pupils and NPP is the nearest thing to a time machine to help children 'visit' these places and times and make it real. This has a huge impact on their memory and, as memory is the basis for learning, therefore learning is positively impacted.”
Fleur
Class Teacher and Computing Lead
Harold Wood Primary School, England
Used now>press>play weekly for 3-4 years
Mar 2022
Children love this resources and it encourages great discussions
Fleur found now>press>play:
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“Lots of resources to use”
- Significantly improves school processes“A wide range of topics”
- Significantly improves behaviour or wellbeing“Mental health and PSHE experiences”
- Moderately improves attainment“engages all learners inc, SEND, EAL and PP”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“Lots of facts included in the experiences”
Jo Ingle
Class teacher
Leatherhead Trinity and Nursery, England
Used now>press>play monthly for 3-4 years
Nov 2021
The children enjoy the experiences and they link to our curriculum. The resources are easy to use and they are extremely durable.
Jo Ingle found now>press>play:
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“Resources available after the experience”
- Slightly improves school processes
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“Children are engaged in the learning and moving around.”
- Moderately improves attainment
- Moderately builds student knowledge“The experiences are memorable which they can draw from when writing about the topic.”
Luke
Teacher
The Saint Hugh's Catholic Primary Voluntary Academy, Lincoln
Used now>press>play for 4-6 months
May 2021
An excellent all around resource, the only reason for a 9 rather than a 10 would be that the cost is slightly high.
Luke found now>press>play:
- Moderately improves attainment“Children are able to recall information given within the experience looked at and will often be able to demonstrate understanding of the knowledge gained.”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“Children are able to answer quiz questions relating to the experiences with a good accuracy.”
- Slightly improves behaviour or wellbeing“Children get enjoyment from each unique experience and behaviour is never an issue do to the immersiveness of the experiences.”
- Moderately reduces teacher workload“A range of resources are readily available for each experience.”
- Slightly improves school processes
Mar 2021
Our pupils have very limited life experiences outside of school so this is the perfect way to broaden their horizons. It is inclusive and engages children of all abilities and backgrounds, whilst increasing subject knowledge at the same time. In addition, it supports one of our whole school priorities which is language development and vocabulary. Finally, it ensures memorable experiences that allow children to know and remember more!
Natasha found now>press>play:
- Significantly improves attainment“Vocabulary development especially for EAL children”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“Children can transfer ideas from the Now Press Play experiences into the classroom. It helps them to make links to prior learning and knowledge too.”
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“Experiences such as Mental Health, Bullying and Transition have a significant impact on pupil well-being. It’s such a fun way of learning that it engages reluctant learners, thus reducing behaviour issues.”
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“The follow up activities are cross-curricular and can reduce the need to find additional resources to support the learning. The equipment is so quick and easy to set up that this minimises teacher preparation time.”
- Moderately improves school processes
Lorraine
Assistant Headteacher
Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and Marlborough Centre
Used now>press>play for 4-6 months
Mar 2021
In a time where the children can't experience school trips or have visitors into school, NPP gives us an added advantage to expanded the children's knowledge in a fun and engaging way.
Lorraine found now>press>play:
- Slightly improves attainment“Children have had the chance to produce written work, based on what they have listened to.”
- Moderately builds student knowledge“Help to retain facts and ideas from topics, also using the knowledge to inspire further tasks in class.”
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“Children being focussed on what they are listening to without the distraction of other noises around them. Behaviour is always good when using it.”
- Slightly reduces teacher workload“It helps with knowledge building - teachers use NPP rather than creating a worksheet based on what they are learning about.”
- Moderately improves school processes“It is being integrated well into our current learning journeys.”
Mar 2021
Now Press Play is a fantastic learning experience for the children which totally engages them in a topic. It is adapatable around the school and also means that all children have access to this experience.
Natalie Burley found now>press>play:
- Moderately improves attainment“Pupils are more engaged with their learning due to NPP which has had an impact on the quality of their writing.”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“NPP gives the children the opportunity to find out lots of key facts in an exciting environment. As the children are engaged, they are retaining more of this information.”
- Significantly improves behaviour or wellbeing“The children are really excited to do a NPP experience and this helps in terms of engagement. The more children are engaged in their learning, the better behaviour is. We are using NPP to plan an exciting term back for the children which will help with reintegration back to school and their well-being.”
- Slightly reduces teacher workload“We are using NPP as a great way to introduce topics and also as a review at the end of the topics. This allows teachers the chance to see how the pupils are engaging in specific subjects.”
- Slightly improves school processes
Mar 2021
Easy to access resources that cover a range of topics and year groups.
Nicola Simao found now>press>play:
- Moderately improves attainment“The children were able to write in detail about Florence Nightingale.”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“They gained further knowledge on Florence Nightingale and maps.”
- Significantly improves behaviour or wellbeing“All children engaged with the activity.”
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“All of the resources are ready to use.”
- Slightly improves school processes“Supports immersion.”
Ben Kennor
Assistant Head TEacher
St Fidelis Catholic Primary School
Used now>press>play for 7–12 months
Mar 2021
Kids and staff love it. Has been a God send during lockdown where we cannot take children on trips they can still have incredible experiences.
Ben Kennor found now>press>play:
- Significantly improves attainment
- Significantly builds student knowledge
- Significantly improves behaviour or wellbeing
- Significantly reduces teacher workload
- Slightly improves school processes
Mar 2021
Fantastic resource that both pupils and staff love to use. They have a wide range of themes covering the curriculum from Early Years to Y6. Pupils really enjoy using this in school. NPP at home has also been useful during school closures and families have enjoyed taking part in the sessions.
Al found now>press>play:
- Slightly improves attainment
- Significantly builds student knowledge“Good range of themes and tasks to go alongside. The sessions are informative and fun for the pupils taking part.”
- Slightly improves behaviour or wellbeing
- Not significantly reduces teacher workload“Often used as part of a 'hook' for a new topic to engage and motivate pupils. This is planned in as part of the planning cycle as a series of lessons.”
- Slightly improves school processes
David Mordue
Deputy Headteacher
Bishop Ian Ramsey CofE Primary School
Used now>press>play for 1-2 years
Mar 2021
Now Press Play is an immersive, engaging resource which can help to transport the children to the past and to different places. We have found it to be highly engaging for all children and has led to some excellent discussions and also writing opportunities.
David Mordue found now>press>play:
- Moderately improves attainment“Using Now Press Play as a stimulus for writing has led to some excellent outcomes.”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“We use Now Press Play to deepen the children's knowledge and understanding of a range of topics, particularly in History and Science.”
- Significantly improves behaviour or wellbeing“We have used the Online Safety and Mental Health experiences. These have then led to meaningful discussions with the children around behaviour and wellbeing issues.”
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“Now Press Play is often used by us as an engaging 'hook' to start a new topic. Use photographic evidence to then put in books requires no marking.”
- Not significantly improves school processes
Mar 2021
So much of our foundation curriculum is on building knowledge and many children unfortunately aren’t in a position to even experience a trip to the beach let alone a museum or touch artefacts etc so now press play, allows every child to have that experience of ‘being there’ in the moment. Every child is included. I’ve even had severely autistic children, who hate loud sounds and busy classrooms love it as they are in their own safe space and can control the volume. Some children, who don’t like acting it out, sit own their own with their eyes closed and just listen. Each child has control over how they respond. I love this. The experiences are also very well researched and really explains the topics linked to our national curriculum. Honestly, I couldn’t recommend it enough!
Kirsty regan found now>press>play:
- Moderately improves attainment“Children are immersed in the stories so can apply their experiences to writing which is often better quality. We also use it for a reading lesson- although they aren’t reading, they are using their experiences to infer and predict ideas, feelings and opinions of the characters in the story. As it’s cross curricular, the children acting out the rock cycle, WW2 experience, solving problems in the Titanic, and so on, the children retain the information and then apply to their later understanding of foundation subjects.”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“We often use now press play as an ‘experience day’ to get the children excited about a topic. Because the children are immersed and acting out, they remember much more detail and sometimes being out extra little detail. They have many more questions which then help us as teachers lead the rest of the curriculum to cater for their interests and questions. These facts and knowledge seems to retain in their long term memory better because they have personally ‘been there’”
- Significantly improves behaviour or wellbeing“Initially, I thought there could be less engagement especially with the older children- they would feel self- conscious about acting out. I believe, because of the head phones, they feel like no one is watching and the room is quiet for that 20/30 minutes they are involved in the experience. Children also are able to express themselves without feeling self conscious. Some children who perhaps struggle with writing, can thrive and build confidence in these experiences because it’s not about what they write, but what they understand, what they question and what they remember.”
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“I wish there were many more of these scripts! They kids love it and we, as teachers, have nothing to resource. It’ll all about the children and very child-led. We often sit in a circle and just discuss, research and question afterwards. It’s a safe space for children and teachers to research together to find answers that we, as teachers, wouldn’t be able to come up with had the children not had that experience. It’s a lovely session normallY! In our school, we try to use it as much as possible.”
- Slightly improves school processes“I think the main thing we use it for is to excite children about a subject. It will be an ‘experience day’ as we call it to introduce a new topic. The children then have some ideas or information to apply throughout the remainder of the lessons and sometimes go back and act it out again and pick on things we hadn’t heard or remembered before”
Mar 2021
A great resource! The experiences are very engaging and enjoyable, the children love them and they stimulate great discussion and writing.
Becky found now>press>play:
- Significantly improves attainment
- Significantly builds student knowledge“The experiences help children remember the key vocabulary of a topic.”
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“The experiences contribute to a varied and engaging curriculum, which in turn supports pupil well-being.”
- Moderately reduces teacher workload
- Moderately improves school processes
Mar 2021
Have been really impressed so far with the experiences and the way all children have bought into it and thoroughly enjoy the experiences. Having used AR & VR previously I prefer the audio method of Now Press PLay and the back up materials are also excellent.
Scott Noble found now>press>play:
- Moderately improves attainment“SEN children love it and all learners have engaged really well”
- Moderately builds student knowledge“Being immersed in the experience helps the knowledge to stick”
- Slightly improves behaviour or wellbeing“Not yet”
- Not significantly reduces teacher workload“Not yet”
- Not improves school processes
Dec 2020
The look on the children's faces when they see the headphones coming out. Priceless.
Hannah found now-press-play:
- Moderately improves attainment“High quality writing”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“Too many to name”
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“engagement of tricky pupils”
- Slightly reduces teacher workload“the audios are a good length of time”
- Moderately improves school processes
Sep 2020
Its perfect for our school - children really engage with it and the equipment is very versitile.
Abigail Richardson found now-press-play:
- Moderately improves attainment“Children were able to engage in home learning in a different way and it inspired writing in a way we couldn't when they were at home. When in school, it has helped children to focus on the writing features as NPP has helped with the knowledge. It has also helped us with building our knowledge rich curriculum”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“When writing children are confident. It has supported our curriculum lessons and helped children to embed knowledge”
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“We use the headphones for mediation and mindfulness which can help with calming the classroom. We also used it for writing to help children focus. It engages children and they look forward to it so helps to reduce behaviour issues.”
- Moderately reduces teacher workload“WHole lessons are planned with resources. Saves time thinking of follow up tasks and can often lead to further lesson ideas.”
- Slightly improves school processes“Easy to share with staff and implement.”
Sep 2020
The children love it as much as the teachers! I haven't seen a time when they have been used that the children have not been entirely engaged with the experience. They don't even realise they're learning!
Emma White found now-press-play:
- Significantly improves attainment“It helps children to deepen their understanding of a subject, which means they can meaningfully engage in discussions in class and apply their learning in different context.”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“Children retain and understanding new learning effectively when they have a physical experience to link it to. Through the now>press>play Audio Adventures at Home, children are given the opportunity to have these experiences by immersing themselves in a story.”
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“I have seen children with a short attention span develop the ability to remain focused for longer periods. I have also seen children develop in confidence; they are so entirely engrossed in the story, acting and engaging with the story-teller, their lose their inhibitions and the fear of making a mistake.”
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“As the experiences are linked to topics and concepts covered by the National Curriculum, teachers can use the stories as a springboard to new learning, or a tool for deepening understanding. The accompanying resources, e.g. scripts, mean that teachers are not having to generate their own content.”
- Moderately improves school processes“The experiences can be used to assess levels of understanding, e.g. maths 'stories'.”
Martin Bailey
Digital Enrichment Leader
Lanchester Endowed Parochial Primary School
Used now-press-play for 3 years
Aug 2020
In my 20 years in education never has a product had such an impact as now>press>play. 3 years after introducing is still constantly used and loved by pupils and staff alike. Has a huge impact on our curriculum for pupils of all ages.
Martin Bailey found now-press-play:
- Significantly improves attainment“Superb descriptions within writing.”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“Subject specific knowledge linked to various topics. Especially true during historical experiences.”
- Significantly improves behaviour or wellbeing“Pupils are in their own world and are not distracted by others. ALL pupils concentrating fully on the content.”
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“Amazing 'launch activities' for the start of topics.”
- Significantly improves school processes“Excellent CPD from the now>press>play team that helped to ensure that now>press>play was fully mapped to our own curriculum.”
Donna Shah
Assistant Digital Learning Adviser
Cognita Schools, England
Used now-press-play for 4 months (and around 4 years in school)
Jul 2020
I would give Now>Press>Play at Home a score of 11 if I could! All the content in the experiences has been created with the students in mind: their age, vocabulary, even the topics are linked to the curriculum. Added to this is the fact that an experience can be revisited as many times as you like, each time the focus may be tweaked such as linking to social and emotional elements.
Donna Shah found now-press-play:
- Significantly improves attainment“Due to the immersive nature of Now>Press>Play students are able to understand at a greater depth some complex situations. Role playing brings concepts 'to life' and embeds the learning. I have seen have 'revisiting' an activity using a single image stimulus has led to writing especially (including topic based content) being produced at a greater depth, with students more engaged in the process: including accurate descriptives; relevant topic language and forming emotional connections”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“I have found that students of all abilities retain significantly more facts and increase their knowledge base through accessing Now>Press>Play experiences. Using drama supports this retention and, when used with small groups of students with additional needs, is effective for introducing new vocabulary and themes.”
- Significantly improves behaviour or wellbeing“I have always found that students are focused and on task whilst participating in a Now>Press>Play experience. Their engagement continues back in the 'virtual classroom' with linked learning, stimulating memories and allowing key themes to be addressed. For all of the experiences I have shared with students, a feature of wellbeing can be pulled out and used as a talking point. As this stems from an inclusive activity, any points can be addressed quite literally or they can be tweaked to tie in with the class or even groups of students.”
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“As a tool for teachers, Now>Press>Play is almost a 'Pick up and go' package. Each experience is linked to lesson objectives, has differentiated worksheets (if applicable) and has linked content for use back in the classroom. The equipment itself is maintained by the Now>Press>Play team on a regular basis including replacing batteries (although we can all do that!). Not only is there content to support several lessons, the Now>Press>Play team will work with your school to develop a bespoke timetable linked to their many experiences.”
- Significantly improves school processes“Your Now>Press>Play contact will develop a relationship with the school from the outset, be this after a demo or a trial run for example. They work with your curriculum team to create a bespoke timetable of activities around your topic/themes. I found this most beneficial as I can then remind or prompt classes/year groups if necessary. Training requirements are also taken care of by the team as they will be as flexible as possible in fitting in with your accessibility: INSET, after school staff meeting are all a possibility. The team are regularly in communication and carry out an onsite check of equipment on a regular basis, replacing or upgrading as necessary.”
Jul 2020
It's brilliant! Children love lessons that include Now Press Play.
Miriyan Sikkens found now-press-play:
- Moderately improves attainment“vastly improved children's engagement in a topic”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“consolidates knowledge in an interesting way that children have (or will) encounter through reading”
- Slightly improves behaviour or wellbeing“difficult to tell for at home, however it improves behaviour significantly at school”
- Significantly reduces teacher workload“High-quality supporting resources help to put learning in context without having to create new things”
- Moderately improves school processes“Planning process can include Now Press Play as a springboard or an outcome”
Jul 2020
It is new technology that is fun and develops immersive learning
ChrisDysonHT found now-press-play:
- Significantly improves attainment“It develops a build up to creative writing.”
- Significantly builds student knowledge“It allows you to submerge yourself into eg Anglo Saxon life, smelling and feeling and being in a different world”
- Moderately improves behaviour or wellbeing“It is 'fun' interactive learning”
- Moderately reduces teacher workload
- Significantly improves school processes“Real life learning”
