Create a Schedule to Stop Children Racing Through the Levels
What is Scheduling?
Scheduling lets you control how far children can progress in Phonics Hero. You set a limit (level and skill) and a date range — children can play freely up to that limit, but no further until you release the next level.
This is useful for pacing Phonics Hero to match your classroom phonics program, releasing levels after you teach new sounds.
Before you start: Check which level your students are currently on. Scheduling only limits how far children can go — it doesn’t change where they start. If needed, move students to the correct level first.
Add a New Schedule
Log in > Manage Accounts > Classes & Students
- Click the class name to expand it.
- Check the box next to the class name to select all students.*
- Click the blue Scheduling button.
- Scroll down to Add Scheduling and click the ‘Please Select Level’ dropdown.
- Select the furthest level and skill you want children to reach. To unlock a whole level, select the final skill: Sentence Reading.
- Set a start date (when the limit takes effect) and an end date (when you plan to release the next level).
- Click Save.
Important: Check that no students are already past the limit you’ve set. If a child is on Level 8 and you set a limit of Level 7, they’ll be blocked when they next log in. Either move them back or create a separate class with a different schedule for them.
Avoid gaps: If you leave days between two schedules with no limit set, children can play as far as they like during that gap. Set your schedules back-to-back to maintain pacing.
*Schedules apply to the whole class. To set a different pace for some children, move them to their own class first.
Watch the steps:
Edit an Existing Schedule
To change a schedule, check the box next to it and click Edit. The details will appear in the form above, ready to update.
Top tip: Plan ahead! You can add as many schedules as you like — set up your whole term in advance, including homework over the holidays.
