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now>press>play

Ignite learning with new experiences

now>press>play is an award-winning immersive audio resource for primary schools that engages children in the curriculum through sound, story and movement. In our Experiences each 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 will never forget.

HundrED 2024
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Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

HundrED Global Collection 2024

Web presence

2012

Established

160K

Children

8

Countries
Target group
Students lower
Updated
June 2023
We want to inspire a lifelong love of learning in children, forged through higher engagement and better accessibility to the curriculum. For teachers, we want to make their lives easier and more enjoyable (by enabling them to deliver experiential learning).

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Now>press>play responds to several problems in primary school:

1. Disadvantaged children perform less well in school
2. Many children, particularly those with a special education need or behavioural need, struggle to access the curriculum
3. Disadvantaged children have limited life experiences
4. The National Curriculum, and the way in which it is taught, relies overly on read-write learning

What does your innovation look like in practice?

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 will never forget.

From climbing through a rainforest canopy to fighting a woolly mammoth in the Stone Age, our inclusive audio adventures are designed to stimulate children’s imaginations.

An external evaluation demonstrated that our experiential approach increases engagement, with 91% of teachers saying it improves students' enjoyment of a topic. Over 2/3 of teachers find that it extends life experiences; teachers link this experiential learning with improved retention: 'They retain the information better than if they'd learnt it in a classroom' (Teacher, Luton Primary). 70% say that the product particularly benefits lower-ability pupils. Finally, many teachers find it a 'game changer' (Newington Green Primary) to inspire quality writing.

How has it been spreading?

Now>press>play is used by 600 primary schools, predominantly in the UK, reaching over 160,000 children. We have won awards including the BETT awards, Education Resource Awards, and been featured in the EdTech 50 Yearbook. We have also been on the 'Escape 100' two years in a row (the best 100 companies to 'escape' to).

This year we have undertaken our first major partnership, working with the UK's National Grid to create an Experience about reducing our carbon footprint and inspiring students to consider a career in engineering. We are also a partner of Artsmark, the National Literacy Trust and Sky Arts.

The goals for the next 2 - 3 years are to grow into 10% of the UK primary school market, diversify our product sustainably and expand our partnership work.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

Get in touch with hello@nowpressplay.co.uk or call +44 203 727 5592

Impact & scalability

HundrED Academy Reviews

Through immersive sounds and dramatizations Now>press>play fills in a huge gap in primary education by creating opportunities for auditory learning for students that can boost creativity, understanding, and engagement with other learning material.

This innovation is highly scalable as it is easy to set up and train school staff on how to implement it. It also has potential to scale globally if it can develop content catering to curriculum across other countries.

- Academy member
Academy review results
High Impact
Low Scalability
High Impact
High Scalability
Low Impact
Low Scalability
Low Impact
High Scalability
Read more about our selection process

Implementation steps

Book a free trial
Get in touch with us to book a 2-week free trial. We send you the wireless headphones, and give you access to our app with all the immersive Experiences.
Take a training
A now>press>play School Engagement Manager trains you and your staff in how to use the product. This lasts about 45 minutes.
Map your curriculum
We will map our Experiences onto your curriculum, so that your teachers know exactly what to use when.
...and now>press>play
Then you're off! Enjoy bringing your curriculum to life through our Experiences, and do the follow-on resources back in the classroom after each Experience. You can join our community on social media to feed back, and share your children's work with us.

Spread of the innovation

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