TT Rockstars to switch on school time limits after MP raises concerns

TT Rockstars plans to switch on a daily play limit and a log-in curfew for every school from 24 November, its founder Bruno Reddy has told BBC News. School leaderboards will also be turned off by default.

The maths practice app is widely used for homework and lets children earn virtual coins, customise characters and compete with classmates. Its maker, Maths Circle, says TT Rockstars and its addition-and-subtraction app NumBots are used in 17,000 schools and more than 100,000 households.

Labour MP Emily Darlington raised concerns about TT Rockstars at a Commons committee on 3 November. She told the BBC that game-style rewards could lead children to spend hours online to earn outfits, and that parents were concerned about screen-time conflicts and pressure to perform against classmates.

Reddy said he shared concerns about screen time and that the company discouraged long sessions. He said a typical child played on three days in September, for about six minutes each time. The company recommends that schools use the app for three minutes, four or five times a week. The typical-use figure does not show how long the heaviest users play.

The company’s current guidance says its daily play limit applies to games outside school-defined hours, rather than to all time on the app. It can be extended automatically for unfinished homework due that day, and other parts of the app remain accessible. The existing curfew controls when pupils can log in, applies across a school and can be changed by a teacher with access.

The BBC did not report the planned default limit in minutes or the hours of the curfew.

At the committee, early education minister Paul Waugh criticised the use of game features in educational technology, saying it was driven by a desire to increase screen time and profits. Reddy said TT Rockstars had no advertising and schools paid the same subscription regardless of how much pupils played.

The government is drawing up screen-time guidance for schools and parents of five to 16-year-olds.