Review rating:

Average rating across all Busy Things reviews: 4.3/5

How well does it match the curriculum?

Reasonably: It’s good enough for the money, but needs some additional resources

English activities can be a little basic with not many extension tasks. Phonics activities can be used to support LA to further develop their phonics knowledge

How well does it support adaptation for different groups of pupils?

Badly: There isn’t enough range or some the age-related expectations are misaligned

Needs more activities with extension activities to further develop writing. Also more opportunities to type responses rather than just 'drag and drop' type activities

How well does it engage and motivate pupils?

Brilliantly: Pupils love using and are excited when they know they are going to do so

Interactive activities, some with sounds help to engage children and ensure, even if they are not able to fully read the task they can access the activity

How well supported is it by any included formative assessments?

Badly: There isn’t any / enough formative assessment or what there is, isn’t very useful

To be honest, formative assessment isn't something which I use Busy Things for. This currently isn't a priority for us

How well does it support planning?

Reasonably: Mostly we can use it without an unreasonable amount of effort or additional resource requirement

I can usually find activities which support some of the children in the task we are completing but not always.

How well does it support home use / independent learning?

Well: Pupils could be expected to use this at home or independently, with a minimum amount of support or additional resources

The options to set a piece of work for children can be useful - I used this quite a lot during lock down but not as much lately

How would you rate it for value for money compared to similar resources?

Well: It’s worth the money and effort to introduce – more so than many similar resources I’ve seen

Seems to be good value for money but I haven't recently checked the pricing to be honest

Would you recommend it to a colleague in a similar school to yours? 9/11

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