Oslo-headquartered Poio (www.poio.com), the app providing a compelling, gamified alternative to traditional learning methods, has today announced the UK launch of its English language platform, empowering millions of British children to learn to read through play.

Poio, launched in 2017 and acquired by Norwegian game-based learning platform Kahoot! in May 2019, has to date helped over 100,000 Scandinavian children obtain the fundamental skills necessary to achieve reading proficiency. The Poio app (and accompanying physical storybook) provides an immersive learning experience for children, typically aged between 3 and 8. Through playing in the app they explore a magical universe inhabited by the eponymous troll and discover reading through linking the sounds of letters to actual words.

The app-based world of Poio, available for £19 in App Store and Google Play, differs from other digital learning tools through its overall focus on play and encouragement, in a safe and secure environment, enabling children to ‘crack the reading code’ and enjoy the reading process. Poio’s goal is to raise literacy proficiency through the utilisation of phonics – the repetitive practice of letter sounds, which can then be blended together to form complete words – introducing children to the fundamental principles of reading.
Poio’s unique learning solution was devised by CEO, educator and Founder, Daniel Senn, out of necessity. Daniel’s son, Leon, had been born with a hearing impairment which meant that traditional learning methods were inadequate. With school curriculums designed for the majority, Daniel felt that children who struggle to learn to read ran the risk of becoming demotivated as they watched their friends and classmates progress. As such, Daniel set out to find a solution, working in close collaboration with fellow educators to devise a tool that encourages self-motivated learning and makes the process of learning to read easier and more enriching for children, irrespective of their circumstances or ability. Consequently, Poio has fast-become a much-loved game for many children, from curious, eager learners, to those that require a different way of thinking in order to achieve their goals.

In launching an English-language version of the app, Poio aims to help address alarming statistics from the Department for Education, which revealed that in 2018, 1 in 5 children left primary school unable to read or write properly, as well as the fact that currently, the UK ranks 17th for literacy among 34 OECD countries.

Daniel Senn, CEO and Founder comments: “At Poio, we know firsthand that school systems around the world are designed for the majority of students that develop at the same pace and do not facilitate for those who might take longer to grasp the principles of reading, or those who learn in different ways. We have seen the efficacy of a gamified learning solution with our son Leon, as well as with hundreds of thousands of students across Scandinavia, and are excited to bring the method to the UK and the wider English-speaking world. Reading is one of life’s most fundamental and essential skills, and we want to make sure that children everywhere have access to a solution that works for them, while also raising literacy levels and increasing children’s enjoyment of the school curriculum and reading list”.

The knock-on effect of poor literacy is clear; further research by the OECD, conducted in 2015, found that a concerning number of 15-year-olds across the UK lacked a minimum level of literacy proficiency (18% in England and Scotland, 15% in Northern Ireland, and 21% in Wales), and the World Literacy Foundation estimates that the yearly cost of functional illiteracy to the UK economy is £37bn.

Poio – The Game and Learning Method
Poio facilitates learning to read within a safe gaming environment that children want to explore. The goal of the game is to help a troll, named Poio, learn to read the storybook he has stolen from letter bugs (characters known as ‘readlings’) in a magical location called Straw Island. In a troll-like fit of pique, Poio has imprisoned these letter bugs due to his frustration at being unable to read. To help the troll learn to read, children must free the readlings and collect words. These words are broken down into individual phonetic letter sounds voiced by the readlings, helping the child familiarise themselves with the letter and its corresponding sound and the particularly challenging vowel sounds.

The child is then encouraged to spell out the word and then drag it into a virtual book in order to advance the story, with the difficulty of the game adapting to each individual child. As the child proceeds, they can earn coins for completing in-game challenges, with this currency enabling them to decorate houses unlocked by finishing tasks.

Poio focusses on encouragement – rather than lingering on mistakes – to ensure that a point of failure is never reached whereby the player cannot proceed within the game. Constant encouraging feedback helps boost the learner’s self-esteem and ensures that they are motivated to continue, a factor especially important for low ability readers.

In addition, as part of Poio’s offering, parents receive an email with progress report and advice. This helps foster a positive relationship within families, rather than the frustration and isolation often experienced with traditional homework. Once progress has been made and the virtual book has been completed, the physical storybook can be obtained by adults to give to their children as a reward.

Acquisition by Kahoot!
In May 2019, Poio was acquired by global learning platform Kahoot!, making it part of the Kahoot! learning experience, next to the DragonBox family of math apps and school curriculum. In addition to launching the UK version of Poio, the acquisition will enable Poio to launch in other languages and improve functionality, enabling millions of children around the world to crack the reading code.

About Poio
Poio is a game-based learning-to-read app, helping children crack the reading code through play. Founded in 2016, Poio has today helped more than 100,000 children to learn to read. Poio has so far been launched in Norway and Sweden, quickly becoming the #1 learn-to-read app in Scandinavia. In June 2019, Poio will be launched globally through a British English version. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

www.poio.com

A single voice calls out “Sabah-ul-khair” and an eager chorus returns the greeting.
At the beginning of each language class at Wilhelm Ferdinand Schussler Day School in Dusseldorf, Germany, teacher Nick Kyriakidis asks a different student to say “good morning” in his or her native language. On this morning, as is the case most often now, that language is Arabic.
The diversity of this classroom is a reflection of the changing face of Germany and Europe. Over the last five years, the region has seen the largest influx of immigrants and refugees since World War II. Many have fled violence and war in the Middle East, which presents a unique set of challenges to educators, who are not only contending with different languages, but entirely different alphabets. In some cases, new arrivals have never stepped foot in a classroom before.

For Kyriakidis, 47, and his colleague Sinaan El Haq Hadjeri, 31, who alternate teaching the class on different days, one of the most powerful tools they have to bridge that language divide is iPad.
“Kids withdraw when they’re afraid of [making] mistakes,” says Kyriakidis. “If we try to reduce this fear, it’s much easier for them to work with us because they don’t have anything to lose.”
“With iPad … it’s different than when they write something [on paper] and I come in with my red pen and say ‘that’s wrong,’” says Hadjeri. “[With iPad] they learn for themselves.”
Of the school’s approximately 325 students who come from 39 different countries, about 20 percent are “Deutsch als Zweitsprache” (DAZ), which translates to “German as a Second Language.” Of the seven students in class today, four are from Syria, and the other three are from Afghanistan, Iraq and Kenya.

Since the school began the 1:1 iPad program, where every student has access to their own iPad, 100 percent of participants have graduated, an increase of more than 20 percent. And nowhere is the difference more transformative than with the DAZ students.
That includes Medina Ibrahim, 13, and her brother Mohammed, 16, who came to Germany with their parents and two younger siblings. Their journey from Aleppo, Syria, took them through Turkey before the family settled in Dusseldorf.
Medina says that when they arrived they were very lonely because they couldn’t speak a word of German and had trouble making friends.

Over the course of the last year, Medina, her brother and the other students in this class have worked with their iPads daily, including using a number of lessons that Kyriakidis created with Keynote. Today, Medina assembles a sentence into the correct word order, and uses Voice Record to say it in German into her iPad. It gives her and the other students the opportunity to sound out foreign words by themselves, without fear of embarrassment, and to work at their own pace.
Schools all across Europe are finding new ways to use Apple technology to help teachers and students connect and communicate.

“I want to be someone who loved them, taught them and inspired them. Someone who helped them arrive.”

At College Daniel Argote in Pau, France, students are sent home with a video lesson recorded by their teacher on their iPad, and the next day work through their “homework” in class. This way, students whose parents aren’t fluent in French are able to extend their learning both inside and outside the classroom.
At Stenkulaskolan School in Malmo, Sweden, where 98 percent of students speak Swedish as a second language, teachers have seen an 80 percent jump in math grades since they started sending home similar instructional videos, recorded by a teacher in Swedish.
And at St. Cyres School in Penarth, Wales, the 2018 senior class of English as an Additional Language students working with iPad increased their grades by an average of 3.8 points during the year — outperforming their peers who speak English or Welsh as their native language for the third year in a row.
In May, Apple announced that Malala Fund was joining its partnership with vocational school Simplon to teach the coding language of Swift to underserved groups in France, with a new focus on refugee and displaced young women. Apple’s Everyone Can Code curriculum will help them gain the practical skills needed for a career in software development. Apple will provide funding for teacher recruitment and training, as well as devices including iPad.

Kyriakidis and Hadjeri say they wish they had access to today’s technology and support when they were young. As children, both men came to Germany unable to speak the language, and know what it’s like to feel isolated in a new place. It’s also one of the reasons why the students are fiercely connected to both teachers — a feeling that goes both ways.
“They’re like my children,” says Hadjeri, who on numerous occasions arrived at school to find a student absent, only to learn the family had been deported. “I want to be someone who loved them, taught them and inspired them. Someone who helped them arrive — that’s what I always wanted but never had. Someone who tells you … don’t be discouraged, you’ll get there.”

Over the course of the last year, Medina and Mohammed have progressed so much that this will be their last semester of DAZ classes with Kyriakidis and Hadjeri. Medina recently gave a presentation on Napoleon to her history class, created in Keynote and delivered completely in German. She hopes to one day be an engineer, and her brother, a pharmacist.
Through a translator, Medina says that she was happy back in Syria, but now here in Germany, she isn’t just happy, she is safe.

An exciting new partnership to inspire the next generation of scientists was launched at Rolls-Royce HQ in Derby on Friday.

Teachers from local primary schools visited the Rolls-Royce Learning and Development Centre to celebrate the start of the new initiative, which sees the company joining forces with Discovery Education to support STEM learning.

Developed to spark children’s interest in future STEM careers, the pioneering collaboration will provide classroom resources to 40 primary schools across the UK – including 25 in Derbyshire, supported by Rolls-Royce. These schools will be given access to Discovery Education STEM Connect, a new service blending dynamic, digital content with hands-on activities which will help teachers to bring science, maths and design & technology to life for young learners.

The Derbyshire teachers attending Friday’s launch event explored the new resources and activities which will boost STEM learning in their primary schools. With a focus on bringing real-world STEM challenges into the classroom, the STEM Connect resources will also encourage children to think about sustainable futures, inspired by The United Nations Sustainability Goals.

Friday’s event was the first in a series of STEM teacher professional learning celebrations also taking place in Birmingham, Sheffield and Bristol as part of this programme.

Paul Broadhead, Head of Community at Rolls-Royce said

“We are delighted to be collaborating with Discovery Education to provide pioneering STEM learning in primary schools across the UK, particularly in areas of disadvantage. Through this collaboration hundreds of children will experience the power of STEM and learn how engineering & technology can be used to better look after our planet.”

Christine Major, Director of Educational Partnerships said:

“Discovery Education is delighted to be partnering with Rolls-Royce to bring STEM learning to hundreds of school children across Derbyshire and beyond. Our future-focused classroom resources will bring real-world context to STEM learning, inspiring the next generation of innovators while educating children about sustainability and the challenges facing our planet.”

The schools that attended Friday’s event were: Beaufort Primary School, Wren Park Primary School, Shelton Junior School, Griffe Field Primary School and Bonsall CE VA Primary School. These schools are among the first in the UK to access the new Discovery Education STEM Connect platform, which will be launched to schools nationwide later this month.

To request more information about Discovery Education STEM Connect please visit www.discoveryeducation.co.uk/STEM.

New research from the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) reveals that 32 percent of primary and 70 percent of secondary school children reported sleeping less than 9 hours* on the previous night, despite emerging research linking poor sleep quality to less healthy food choices, and increased risk of obesity. On top of this, 44 percent of secondary school children report waking up at least once during the previous night.

The research, conducted as part of BNF Healthy Eating Week, taking place 10-14 June, surveyed 6,018 primary and secondary school students, aged 7 – 16 years, across the UK, and asked questions about their night time routines, sleep, and eating and drinking habits on the previous night. ‘Sleep Well’ is one of the focusses for this year’s BNF Healthy Eating Week, and aims to highlight why getting enough good quality sleep is a key element of a healthy lifestyle.

Dr Lucy Chambers, Senior Scientist at BNF says: “BNF Healthy Eating Week promotes and celebrates healthy living by focusing on five health challenges which schools and nurseries are encouraged to take on: Have Breakfast, Have 5 A DAY, Drink Plenty, Get Active, and, new for this year, Sleep Well. With more and more emerging research linking lack of sleep to poor dietary choices, and the burgeoning childhood obesity crisis in the UK, we are keen to place a new focus on sleep this year. Where there are so many significant messages about health which teachers must communicate to their pupils, the importance of good quality sleep can often be missed.

“Schools registered for BNF Healthy Eating Week receive a variety of free resources and activities to encourage pupils to embrace the five health challenges. This year, we have created a number of resources for teachers to educate students about sleep in relation to health, and these can be used throughout the year as well as part of BNF Healthy Eating Week activity.”

The survey also reveals what some of the barriers might be to a good night’s sleep, with 59 percent of secondary school students and 49 percent of primary school students stating that, on the night of the survey, they used screens (computers, tablets, phones, television) just before bed. On top of this, one in ten (9 percent) secondary school students reported drinking a caffeinated drink before bed.

Only about a third of secondary and primary school students stated that they felt well rested or wide awake when they woke up and 32 percent of secondary school students said it took them more than 10 minutes to get out of bed after their alarm went off.
Chambers comments: “The implications of a bad night’s sleep can go much further than feeling tired. Where lack of, and disturbed, sleep can lead to both adults and young people feeling grumpy and irritable, regular poor quality sleep can have a negative impact on dietary choices, including higher intakes of calories and more frequent snacking on less healthy foods.”

Amongst the other key elements of BNF Healthy Eating Week are the importance of starting the day with a healthy breakfast, and drinking plenty of fluids. The survey looked into how schoolchildren start their day, and reveals that a quarter of secondary school students reported not having anything to eat before school, with one in ten primary school students reporting that they did not eat breakfast that day. Of those who did have breakfast, only 17 percent of secondary school children reported including any fruit or vegetables. Additionally, a quarter of secondary school students do not drink anything before starting their school day that day.

Chambers comments: “Breakfast helps children to get the day off to a good start by providing the energy and nutrients their bodies need for good health and it’s also a great opportunity to make a start on your 5 A DAY. It is recommended that we should consume around 6-8 unsweetened drinks every day to keep hydrated. This is particularly important for children who should be reminded to drink fluids regularly, as they may not remember by themselves.

“We hope that BNF Healthy Eating Week will enthuse and educate students about these important health challenges. For the ‘Have Breakfast’ challenge, resources and activities for children include: a ‘Have Breakfast’ meal planner, ‘Guess the Fibre Content’ games, and a ‘My Breakfast Swapper’ chart, with tips for how to make a healthier breakfast. For Drink Plenty, resources provide handy tips on how to stay hydrated, such as keeping a reusable bottle of water with you throughout the day.

“Alongside the concerns about sleep and diet, the survey also found that 15 percent of children reported not brushing their teeth before bed the night before. This is a worrying finding as we know that good dental hygiene is vital for oral health.”

All of the BNF Healthy Eating Week materials have been designed so that the initiative can be continued all year round. Visit www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/hew/bnfhew19.html or www.foodafactoflife.org.uk for more information.