Phonics & Times Tables Checks

Calm, friendly practice at home for the two statutory checks in English primary schools: the Year 1 phonics screening check and the Year 4 multiplication tables check. Both happen in June. Zib, a friendly alien, guides your child, and you stay in charge.

PHONICS CHECK (YEAR 1, AND THE YEAR 2 RETAKE)
• Practice checks in the published structure: 40 words in two sections of 20, on pages of 4, made-up alien words first in each section with a creature beside each one, then real words.
• Words follow the published letter and sound list and word shapes for each section, including two-syllable words in Section 2. Every word is new to the app, never copied from past checks.
• Your child reads aloud and you mark each word with two big buttons. Marking help shows how each alien word can be read ("uses the 'tw' from 'twin' and rhymes with 'cool'") and which other readings to accept.
• Results by section and by real and alien words, the 2026 standard (31 out of 40) for context, and the sounds to practise, picked from the words that were missed.
• Sounds practice in four groups and word practice for any sounds you choose, with optional sound buttons under the letters.
• A literacy font with the single storey a and g that children learn, and an option for wider letter spacing.

TIMES TABLES CHECK (YEAR 4)
• Practice checks in the same format as the real one: 3 warm up questions, then 25 questions with 6 seconds for each and a 3 second pause. Built to the published rules, with a new set every time.
• A calm timer: a moon travels round a ring. No red, no flashing.
• The star map: every fact from 2 × 2 to 12 × 12 on a night sky. Each fact your child knows quickly becomes a star, so the gaps are easy to see.
• About 5 minutes of daily practice aimed at the gaps, with spaced reviews of known facts. Zib cheers right answers and helps with the rest.
• Options like the real check's arrangements: time alert, questions read aloud, a Next button instead of the pause, bigger numbers and five colour schemes.

FOR GROWN-UPS
• A separate grown-ups area behind a check: progress for each child, settings, purchases and printable sheets.
• Unlimited children, each with their own buddy, progress and history.
• A gentle plan for the weeks until June.
• Printable sheets: practice checks with answers, table practice, and phonics word cards with a marking sheet.
• Works on phones and tablets, in light or dark mode, and with large text.

FREE
• Your first phonics practice check and your first times tables practice check
• Single letter sounds practice
• Daily practice on the 2, 5 and 10 times tables
• One child

PRO: A SCHOOL YEAR PLAN OR LIFETIME
Choose a yearly plan that covers the school year, or pay once for lifetime. Both unlock exactly the same things: unlimited practice checks with new words and questions, all phonics sounds and word practice, daily practice on every table, unlimited children, full progress history and printable sheets. There are no weekly or monthly plans, both prices are shown in full before you buy, and you can cancel the yearly plan at any time in Google Play.

SAFE AND PRIVATE
No account and no sign in. No analytics, tracking or advertising identifier, and no internet, microphone, camera, contacts or location permission. Names and progress stay on the phone. Why no speech marking? In our tests offline speech recognition could not judge made-up words reliably, so a grown-up listens.

School Checks is made by Zarkon, an independent UK app studio. It is not made by, linked to or approved by the Standards and Testing Agency or the Department for Education.

Questions or ideas: support@zarkon.co.uk

Recent changes:
First release.

• Phonics check practice: 40 real and alien words in two sections, marked by a grown-up with help for every alien word
• Times tables check practice in the published format: 25 questions, 6 seconds each
• The star map and gentle daily practice with Zib
• Unlimited children, progress history and printable sheets with Pro
• No account, and nothing leaves the phone