Concerns have been raised with the government about the length of time primary school children are spending on a gamified learning platform designed to make times tables practice engaging and competitive.
TT Rockstars, which enables children to compete with classmates for virtual coins and rock-star themed characters and outfits, is used extensively by schools for maths homework. According to BBC News, Labour MP Emily Darlington has raised concerns that the app and similar products could be damaging children's development by rewarding extended screen time rather than quality learning.
The Milton Keynes Central MP brought the issue to the Commons Science Committee on Tuesday, which is investigating the impact of screen time and digital devices on children's brain development. Her intervention comes as part of a broader government review into educational technology's role in classrooms.
What does the app's creator say?
Bruno Reddy, founder of Maths Circle, the company behind TT Rockstars, acknowledged concerns about screen time and stated he is working with schools to implement curfews and time limits. He emphasised that the company actively discourages extended play sessions through its design.
Every game in TTRS is deliberately short, and our characters remind children to take regular breaks. The rule of thumb we give schools is: three minutes, four or five times a week. In September, a typical child played on three days, for about six minutes each time.
Reddy announced that from 24 November, all schools using the platform will have a curfew and daily time limit switched on by default, with leaderboards also disabled as standard. He stressed that the company has deliberately avoided features designed to encourage prolonged engagement, such as streaks, random rewards, chat functions, loot boxes or push notifications.
The company operates without advertising and charges schools a flat subscription fee regardless of usage levels, Reddy noted, meaning there is no financial incentive to keep children on screen longer. Maths Circle reports that TT Rockstars and its companion app Numbots, designed for addition and subtraction practice, are used in 17,000 schools and over 100,000 households.
Why are parents and educators concerned?
Darlington told BBC News that while educational technology can have a legitimate place in classrooms, gamification creates problematic dynamics. She explained that when reward systems are built around virtual achievements, children spend extended periods online attempting to earn cosmetic items.
When gamification is used, children spend hours online to 'earn' the latest outfit. Parents are concerned that this causes conflict on time spent on devices and the pressure to perform against classmates.
She added that this pressure to compete may discourage children from participating in physical, non-screen-based activities. Her concerns reflect a wider movement among parents and educators questioning the role of gamified learning tools in schools.
Charlotte Ashton, co-founder of Generation Focus, which campaigns for smartphone-free schools, stated that many parents and teachers are rejecting educational technology products due to limited evidence of learning benefits and growing evidence of potential harms.
Increasingly parents and teachers are saying no to Ed Tech because for the vast majority of digital 'learning tools' there's very little evidence they actually improve learning and growing evidence they can be harmful.
Ashton emphasised that while not all technology is inherently problematic, schools should prioritise proven teaching methods until new digital tools can be confidently shown to improve learning without causing harm or unintended consequences.
What is the government's position?
Early years education minister Paul Waugh expressed scepticism about gamification as a learning strategy at the committee hearing. He argued that educational technology companies promote gamification primarily to increase screen time and usage, driven by commercial interests rather than pedagogical benefits.
Gamification isn't the way to learn. That's the propaganda they [EdTech companies] will give you but it is all about driving their screen time and their screen use. So it's profit driven.
Waugh stated that there are alternative approaches to making learning engaging that do not rely on competitive elements or extended device use, and that educational technology should support teachers rather than replace them.
According to reporting from Milton Keynes, Waugh indicated that the government is considering introducing safety certification for educational technology products, allowing schools to identify tools that have been independently judged as both safe and effective. The government is also testing products with teachers and considering secondary legislation that would enable the Information Commissioner's Office to produce a statutory code of practice for educational technology.
Waugh noted that more than 150 clinicians had written to ministers the previous month warning of a "crisis" in children's physical and developmental health linked to screen-based learning. According to Parliament's written evidence, those clinicians highlighted that English schools spend approximately £900 million annually on educational technology, yet products are not required to demonstrate physical-health safety before schools purchase them.
What does the research show?
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology told Parliament that current evidence does not demonstrate a strong, consistent direct effect of digital-device use on children's brain development. The department described the evidence on longer-term and causal effects as inconclusive, suggesting the scientific picture remains complex and contested.
This contrasts with the concerns raised by medical professionals. A 2024 Education Committee report called for stronger guidance and controls to protect children from screen time, and the government provided a response in May 2025, indicating ongoing policy development in this area.
What happens next?
The government is developing comprehensive screen-use guidance for children aged 5 to 16, according to its written evidence submitted to Parliament. This guidance is expected to provide clearer recommendations for schools and parents on appropriate device usage across different age groups.
The Commons Science Committee's investigation into the impact of screen time and digital devices on children's brain development will continue to examine these issues, with the TT Rockstars case serving as a focal point for broader questions about how educational technology is designed, deployed and regulated in English schools.
