As a start-up company we were incredibly pleased and grateful to be granted match funding from Innovate UK to build out our vision for the primary school focussed Life Ninja Engagement Platform. The project drew to a close at the end of May and we are delighted to have achieved our goal of completing our platform that fosters collaboration between student, teacher and parents around the life and learning of the student.

The platform can be described as a powerful dashboard that utilises the latest technologies to power the core Life Ninja Communication and Home Learning Apps as well as enabling third party applications and content creators to plugin to the engagement and gamification features the platform facilitates.

We have a mission to impact 1 Million students and their parents by 2025 as part of our vision to democratise access to the best quality edtech and learning resources. Our innovative financial model enables schools to benefit from our free feature rich communication and home learning hubs and even generates revenue to pay for their additional edtech and learning resources needs.

Now that the Innovate UK project is complete our eyes are on the next six months where we have a few key areas of focus:

1) We eagerly await the results of our bid to implement the platform including the gamified Maths and English apps from Zap Learning which are part of the Life Ninja Network across the entire Teeside Region. 1 out of 4 students in the region are achieving below expected results for key stages 1 and 2 which is translating into higher unemployment and underachievement among GSCE leavers. We aim to help change this.

2) With the support of UK  Department For International Trade in North East we are currently collaborating with a few stakeholders including The Unconnected.Org and The Wafaa Smart School in Lebanon to set up a pilot school in focussed on Syrian refugee children. The pilot is focussed on how the Syrian Curriculum can be delivered in a cost effective, measurable and engaging way using the Life Ninja Platform. The aim is to roll out a successful model across the region to meet the pressing needs of Syrian Refugees across Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, the Mena region and Europe.

3) In Q4 we will launch a crowd equity fund raising round to enable us to take the business to the next level, this will be our first funding raise and we anticipate our exciting business focus and model to capture the imagination and interest of the crowd equity community.

In conclusion we are looking forwards to the imminent Tees Business Awards where we are one of three finalists in the running for Small Business of the Year. We are truly appreciative of the support and recognition we have received from the Middlesbrough community and local government this past year and can’t wait to see our vision to impact young peoples lives gather momentum in the months to come.

As an English teacher, I am always promoting the importance of reading with my students.  Being an avid reader myself, I always have the next book waiting for me and have instilled that passion in my own children.

1 in 6 people in the UK have poor literacy skills, and in Middlesbrough 40% of adults have literacy skills below Level 1.  The national average is 11%.  Life Ninja are working with schools in the area to have a positive impact on pupils in local primary schools to tackle this problem.  One of the most beneficial ways to improve literacy skills is to become a competent reader.

Do you know the benefits of reading?

Reading improves your vocabulary and writing skills.  Even as adults we can always learn something new.  You may have come across new words or unusual phrases which can then be used in your own writing.

It also helps to build confidence and broaden your horizons.  Perhaps a meaty novel is not your thing, so why not try some travel writing instead and learn about a new country and culture?

Furthermore, reading helps to reduce stress, improves sleep, develops your creative side and best of all: it is fun!

How can you promote reading at home?

Many parents ask me how they can promote reading at home.  My top tip is to become a reader yourself.  Children learn from parents and if they see your interest, they will most likely copy your behaviour.  Always have books available for your child.  You don’t have to buy the latest best- seller, use your local library, in my experience they are always more than happy to order books in.

Also, show an interest in your child’s reading.  Discuss the books they are currently interested in, ask them questions about the characters and what they are enjoying most about the book.

Additionally, it really helps if children have a quiet time during the day or at bedtime which is dedicated to reading.

Some website which may help in choosing a great book for yourself or your child:

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/19095.Fantastic_Children_s_Books.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/the-new-york-times-bestsellers/_/N-1p3n

Follow our Medium blog page here.

The Middlesbrough Mega Maths competition came to an end on 28th May 2021.  We had hundreds of students joining from across the region which is absolutely amazing.  

The winning student, from Captain Cook primary school in Marton, achieved an astonishing 4,597 stars and played many, many hours of Zap Maths.  This student will be receiving their prize in the coming weeks so watch this space for some photos of the happy occasion.  The winning primary school had a total of 95 pupils involved in the competition, with a total of 18,042 stars being earned from 8th March to 28th May.  

Hundreds of pupils have been playing Zap in their own time, helping to ensure they make up for any lost learning as a result of the pandemic.  Not only does this show the value students place on their own learning, but also just how enjoyable playing Zap Maths was.  

Overall, we had 340 students sign up to the competition, 37,750 stars earned and 81 hours of maths games being played by children!  We are hoping to have made a positive impact on the education of hundreds of students in the area and work with schools to raise the attainment of students in the area from 25% not reaching the expected level of attainment to being more in line with national average.

Find more of our blogs on our medium page here

Life Ninja is a finalist in the Tees Tech Awards in the Small Business of the Year category.  We are absolutely thrilled by this and are really looking forward to the finals in July at Hardwick Hall.

Like so many businesses, it has been a tough year.  Working from home, schools closing for the vast majority of pupils, and adjusting to this new way of living has been a challenge.  We have managed to power through 2020, and so to become a finalist in this year’s awards is a real privilege.  We are up against two other really amazing businesses, Circle Cloud and Intasite, and we look forward to meeting them on the big night.

There are so many fantastic and credible businesses taking part, it means that we will be amongst Teesside’s finest on the big night.  It will be a great evening networking and meeting other businesses in a social setting.  We hope to connect with many like minded people and celebrate living and working together in the Tees Valley.

We are so proud of our achievements this year, from taking on two apprentices, success with the Innovate UK grant, Middlesbrough Mega Maths Competition for all Middlesbrough schools, through to working on a Smart School pilot for the delivery of an education for refugee children in Lebanon.  It has certainly been a busy year and we expect 2021 to be equally as exciting.

Check out the Life Ninja Medium page here

In March 2020 as most businesses were closing for a period of time due to restrictions, and concerns regarding unemployment in the area of 16-19 year olds claiming benefits at 5.6% which is higher than the national average, Life Ninja recruited our first apprentice.  Jack Hobson is working towards his level 4 Software Development having started with us in June 2020.

Jack has been working hard to complete his training, undertaking part of it at home under lockdown, but still under supervision from Tom Bailey, C.T.O.  His dedication to his work has helped the business with the development of its Life Ninja Network and the successful delivery of the Middlesbrough Mega Maths Competition.

With youth unemployment above the national average, it is hoped that by participating in apprenticeship schemes we can be part of the aim of the creation of 25,000 jobs in Tees Valley by 2026.

In April 2021 we recruited our second apprentice, Josh Hunt, who is working towards his Level 3 Digital Marketing.  Josh has made a great start to his apprenticeship, already completing his first module last week, and has been hard at work ensuring social media posts are posted daily, also creating and distributing our newsletter.

It is really important to Life Ninja that we support the local community in any way we can, providing training opportunities, employment, working with graduates from Teesside University, and we have also put ourselves forward to provide a work experience placement for a local secondary school in 2022.  We hope to inspire students currently at school to see the fantastic opportunities in the local area and encourage them to remain in the area in adulthood.

In the next six months, we hope to secure funding to employ a number of teachers to work in local primary schools, assisting them with the delivery and use of the Life Ninja Network and Zap range of educational software.  

Check out our Medium page for more blogs.

Life Ninja has been running the ‘Middlesbrough Mega Maths Competition’ since March 2021.  The competition is free to all Middlesbrough schools and finishes on 28th May 2021.  Our aim is to help close the attainment gap in the area and by releasing Zap Maths to all pupils.  We have been overwhelmed with the amount of maths games students have played!  One pupil played over 2,000 games, which is amazing.

According to the Tees Valley Economic Assessment, 25% of pupils in Key Stage 1 are not meeting the expected level in reading, writing, maths and science, this is compared to 15% nationally.  We have been working with schools in the area to improve the attainment of pupils.  Over twenty schools in the area have become involved in the competition, with hundreds of pupils playing maths games on a daily basis.  This is in addition to their learning within school and is going to have a huge impact on closing the gap in the area as a result of the pandemic.

The attainment of students in the area is so important to us at Life Ninja, we have decided to offer Zap Maths free to all pupils in Middlesbrough for an additional three months until the end of this academic year.

What is next for us?  Our aim is to have helped 1 million students by 2025, so with this in mind, we are hoping to receive some funding to enable us to make the Life Ninja Network available to all Tees Valley schools for free for two years! This will not only help us to achieve our goal, but also means we can do something positive for the area.  There are almost 67,000 students studying in primary schools in Tees Valley, using the Life Ninja Network which includes both Zap Maths and Zap English, will help children to accelerate their learning therefore closing the attainment gap.

Check out our Medium page for more blogs.

Zap Learning is a collaboration between Life Ninja Education Ltd and Multiply Music, a division of HW Trading Group Ltd. The two combine cutting edge technology and gamified learning expertise to meet the digital content and engagement needs of primary schools and students alike.   

Zap Learning is looking to bring all main subjects of the primary school National Curriculum to a gamified engaging format, using a proven scientific methodology,  spaced repetition. 

 Zap Maths  

Zap Maths brings the maths curriculum to life, encouraging student participation and empowering teachers with tools to heighten their students’ learning experience.  

Key features in Zap Maths being the fully customisable content creation  engine which enables teachers to create new content or tailor the existing  content to the needs of their particular curriculum. The UK curriculum is fully  covered for Key Stages 1 and 2 with a comprehensive library of quiz  questions and games. 

Zap Maths incorporates the scientific methodologies of retrieval, spaced  repetition, visual cues and rhythmic interaction. These proven methods are  shown to increase knowledge retention and much more. 

Teachers also have the ability to analyse class data through graphic presentations of results, progress and areas requiring further attention.

Zap English is due for release Summer 2021.

Check out our Medium page for more blogs.

Life Ninja are passionate about the Middlesbrough area and are currently running a ‘Middlesbrough Mega Maths Competition.’  The competition is open for schools, teachers and parents to join in the area with the ultimate goal of encouraging more students to engage in learning.  The student with the most stars earned at the end of the competition will not only be crowned ‘best Boro boy or girl’, but also win a pizza party for their class.

We currently have 18 schools participating, with hundreds of pupils already engaged in the competition.  Our aim is to spark a passion for learning in all children in the area and ensure that no child is left behind in education.You can join the competition by visiting https://subscribe.zaplearning.co.uk/middlesbrough.

Check out our Medium page for more blogs.

Life Ninja was founded by Tom, Trevor and Helen who recognised the need for technological solutions to the issues schools, parents, and students face on a daily basis.  The business is based in a quirky studio in central Middlesbrough, and has gone from a team of four to eight in only three years.  Two of the co-founders live locally and have children in local schools which has driven their desire to level up the area through the use of innovative educational apps.

Life Ninja has a vision of making education technology affordable to all, with a key feature being rewarded collaboration where teachers, parents and students all work together around the life and learning of the student. 

With the priority on collaboration, it aims to supercharge students’ learning, fully engage parents and free up teachers to focus on teaching their students, and greatly reduce the administration and time burden they currently face. 

The business has developed a new and exciting network, Learning Ninja and Message Ninja.  Message Ninja is used by schools as a communication hub between school and parents, and can also be used as a hub for internal school communications.  The app is original because it enables parents to book appointments with teachers, make payments, fundraise, and create events with digital consent from parents and carers.  Learning Ninja is a one-stop-shop home learning solution that enables communication between school and parents, including reading records, live quizzes, tournaments, and students can earn coins to use on building their own avatar.  The beauty of the system is that all the apps work alongside one another.

Check out our Medium page for more blogs.