K-12 learning 🇬🇧 Derby, United Kingdom Since 2000 4.6 · 371 ratings

Busy Things

Curriculum-linked games and activities for ages 3 to 11, for schools and families.

Visit busythings.co.uk Try Busy Things free All companies
curriculum-linked activities and games
1,600+
subscribing schools, according to Busy Things
4,000+
a month for a family of up to 5 children
£4.49
average staff, year to March 2025
10

About Busy Things

Busy Things is a website with more than 1,600 curriculum-linked games and activities for children aged 3 to 11. Busythings Ltd makes it in Derby and has run the company since April 2000, first under the name Q & D Multimedia. Schools buy a whole-school licence from £215 a year, single teachers pay £7.99 a month, and families pay £4.49 a month or £34.99 a year. Pupils, teachers and families log in at busythings.co.uk/play. The company belongs to a Derby holding company and is not part of Twinkl or another edtech group.

Busy Things publishes online games, quizzes, labelling activities, printables and creative tools for early years and primary school. Activities follow the curriculum in England and can be set up for the Scottish and Australian curriculums. Children play in a browser on computers, laptops, tablets and interactive whiteboards.

Busythings Ltd was registered in England on 6 April 2000 as Q & D Multimedia Ltd and took its current name in June 2013. Anthony Hall and Rachel Hall have been directors since April 2000. The company calls itself an Early Years and Key Stage 1 specialist and has added Key Stage 2 content over time. It won its first BETT Award in 2008.

Since January 2020 Busythings (Holdings) Ltd has owned the company. In March 2026 Busythings Holdings Group Ltd became the top company of the group, and Isobel Hall joined the board. Schools in London get Busy Things through the London Grid for Learning, where LGfL says it is the most used resource. In January 2026 Busy Things won the Bett Award for Primary Digital Learning Product, Wider Curriculum.

History

  1. 2000 Q & D Multimedia Ltd is registered on 6 April. Anthony and Rachel Hall become directors.
  2. 2006 Shortlisted for a BETT Award, as again in 2007 and 2008.
  3. 2008 Wins its first BETT Award.
  4. 2013 Wins a fourth BETT Award after 2010 and 2011. The company takes the name Busythings Ltd in June and releases the Busy Bundle iPad app.
  5. 2017 Wins a BETT Award and an ERA award.
  6. 2019 Releases the paid iPhone and iPad games Super Hen Hunt and Busy Box.
  7. 2020 Busythings (Holdings) Ltd becomes the parent company in January.
  8. 2022 Moves its registered office to St James Court, Friar Gate, Derby.
  9. 2023 From June, unused LGfL USO logins stop working, and London schools switch to new ways to sign in.
  10. 2026 Wins the Bett Award for Primary Digital Learning Product, Wider Curriculum, in January. Busythings Holdings Group Ltd becomes the top company in March.
  11. 2026 New terms of 11 August describe an AI lesson planner and AI character interviews, which subscribers can switch off.

Leadership

  • Anthony Hall Director of Busythings Ltd since April 2000
  • Rachel Hall Director since April 2000, company secretary since 2006
  • Isobel Hall Director since March 2026

Roles from Companies House on 15 October 2026. Busy Things does not name its founders on its website, so we do not list any.

How Busy Things works

activities and games
1,600+
child profiles in a family plan
5
children in a single-teacher class
35
  • Curriculum browser and keyword search
  • Activity settings for each child or class
  • Assignments with collected results
  • Pupil timelines
  • Favourites and pinned activities
  • Paint, publishing and graph tools
  • Resource Maker worksheets
  • QR codes and direct login links
  • Google and Microsoft logins for schools
  • Works with Seesaw and Boop

Subjects at Busy Things

Subjects9

  • Literacy and English
  • Phonics
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Coding
  • Geography
  • History
  • Music and art
  • French and Spanish

Stages3

  • Nursery and EYFS, ages 3–5
  • KS1, ages 5–7
  • KS2, ages 7–11

Curriculums3

  • England
  • Scotland
  • Australia

SEND4

  • Sensory and physical needs
  • Cognition and learning
  • Communication and interaction
  • Social, emotional and mental health

Events and topics6

  • Monthly calendar packs
  • Chinese New Year
  • Ramadan and Eid
  • World Book Day
  • Safer Internet Day
  • Harvest festival

Subjects and stages listed on busythings.co.uk on 15 October 2026. SEND areas from the Busy Things SEND page.

Products

  • Busy Things for Schools 1,600+ activities for EYFS, KS1 and KS2, with pupil timelines, assignments with results, feedback to pupils and saved-files areas. A whole-school licence covers unlimited classes, pupils and teachers. Schools
  • AI lesson planner Teachers generate lesson plans and PowerPoint lesson starters from Busy Things content. The terms say the tool uses third-party AI, and subscribers can turn all AI features off. Teacher features
  • Busy Things for Families Up to 5 child profiles in one household. Content is set by each child’s age, and parents change levels in the Parent Things bar. Families
  • Resource Maker Builds printable worksheets for phonics, spelling, handwriting and maths. It comes with family and school plans and with the Premium single-teacher plan. Prices
  • Busy Things for SEND Activities work with eye gaze and switch access, and every activity has its own difficulty settings. Special schools pay from £135 a year. SEND
  • Super Hen Hunt and Busy Box Paid iPhone and iPad games for ages 3–8 from 2019. Super Hen Hunt has 225 levels of 3D mazes, and Busy Box has 42 quick literacy and numeracy games. App Store
  • Busy Things for Nurseries One shared login for unlimited children in a nursery, with games for independent play and printable worksheets, for £110 plus VAT a year. Nurseries

How much is Busy Things?

  • Family, monthly £4.49/mo £4.49 a month, renews monthly, up to 5 children
  • Lowest price for families Family, yearly £34.99 a year one year, no automatic renewal
  • Single teacher Standard £7.99/mo £7.99 a month, one class of up to 35, renews monthly
  • Single teacher Premium £9.99/mo £9.99 a month, adds Resource Maker
  • Whole school from £215 a year quote by pupil numbers
  • Special school from £135 a year bespoke pricing on request
  • Nursery £110 + VAT a year one shared login, paid by invoice

Is Busy Things free?

Free trials need no payment details: 28 days for schools, 7 days for families, 10 days for nurseries.

Prices on busythings.co.uk on 15 October 2026, in pounds sterling. Whole-school prices depend on pupil numbers in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 and are given as a quote, for 1, 2 or 3 years. The nursery price is shown plus VAT. Home access for school pupils is sold separately.

How to cancel Busy Things

Terms
  • Monthly plans ↗
    1. Sign in at busythings.co.uk/login
    2. Open Manage account
    3. Use Cancel my subscription at least 3 business days before the monthly renewal date
  • The yearly family plan runs for one year and does not renew automatically, according to the subscribe page.
  • A monthly plan cancelled less than 3 business days before renewal runs for one more month at full price.
  • Subscribers can switch off all AI features in the account management area.
  • After a subscription ends, Busy Things may delete subscriber data unless the subscriber asks for a backup within 10 days.

Refund rules

Monthly
Renews every month until cancelled, paid in advance.
Annual
Runs for 12 months, paid in advance.
Refunds
Fees are non-cancellable and non-refundable.
Law
Law of England and Wales, courts of England and Wales.

From the Busythings Ltd terms and conditions of 11 August 2026 and the family subscribe page, checked on 15 October 2026.

Busy Things for Business

School subscriptions
  • 01Schools buy one, two or three of EYFS, KS1 and KS2, priced by pupil numbers.
  • 02A licence covers unlimited classes, teachers and pupils, with individual or shared logins.
  • 03Admin and end-of-year migration tools move classes to the next year.
  • 04Schools pay by invoice, and Busy Things says pupil premium funding can pay for it.

From £215 a year on a quote, checked on 15 October 2026. Special schools, small schools, SEND units and MATs get bespoke prices.

App ratings

Latest news

  1. Isobel Hall appointed director of Busythings Ltd
  2. LGfL: Busy Things winner at the Bett Awards 2026
  3. Bett Award 2026 winner: Busy Things sets the standard for primary digital learning
  4. Busythings Ltd files accounts for the year to March 2025

Contacts and company data

Legal entity
Busythings Ltd, 3 St James Court, Friar Gate, Derby, DE1 1BT, England
Company number
03965692, England and Wales
Registered
6 April 2000, as Q & D Multimedia Ltd until 28 June 2013
Parent
Busythings (Holdings) Ltd, 12362314, since 29 January 2020
Top company
Busythings Holdings Group Ltd, 17034318, since 27 March 2026
Activity
SIC 58290, other software publishing
ICO registration
ZA033853
VAT number
745429711

Alternatives to Busy Things

How we built this profile

  1. Sources. Facts come from the company’s own website, press room, imprint and careers page, from Wikipedia, the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Every source is listed on the page.
  2. Checks. Kinescope checked every number on 15 October 2026. Prices, ratings and job counts change, and we refresh them with each update.
  3. Our words. Descriptions are written by the Kinescope team. Quotes from reviews are marked with the author and source, and we do not rate the company ourselves.
  4. Corrections. The company can send new facts or corrections, and we update the profile.

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Busy Things FAQ

Busy Things is a website with more than 1,600 curriculum-linked games and activities for children aged 3 to 11. Schools, nurseries and families use it. Busythings Ltd makes it in Derby.

Pupils, teachers and families log in at busythings.co.uk/play on a computer, laptop or tablet. Account holders manage subscriptions at busythings.co.uk/login. London schools can also sign in through LGfL.

Busythings Ltd belongs to Busythings (Holdings) Ltd, a Derby company. Since March 2026 the top company of the group is Busythings Holdings Group Ltd. Companies House shows no link to Twinkl or another edtech group.

A whole-school licence starts at £215 a year and is priced by pupil numbers in EYFS, KS1 and KS2. Special schools start at £135 a year. A single teacher pays £7.99 a month, or £9.99 with the Resource Maker.

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