K-12 learning 🇬🇧 Bewdley, United Kingdom Since 2012

Literacy Shed

Free short films for primary literacy lessons, plus paid unit plans on Literacy Shed Plus.

Visit literacyshed.com Try Literacy Shed free All companies
themed film collections on the homepage
29
a year for one teacher on Literacy Shed Plus, inc. VAT
£38.39
per class a year for schools, excl. VAT
£30.75
country versions of the site
7

About Literacy Shed

Literacy Shed is a free website with short films and animations for primary reading and writing lessons. Former primary teacher Rob Smith created it, and the literacyshed.com domain dates from June 2012. Education Shed Ltd, the Bewdley company behind Spelling Shed, now runs the site. The paid sister site Literacy Shed Plus sells unit plans, VIPERS reading packs and writing scaffolds for £38.39 a year per teacher or £30.75 per class a year for schools. Teachers sign in to Literacy Shed Plus with an EdShed account at edshed.com/en-gb/login.

Literacy Shed collects short films, animations, adverts and trailers that teachers use as a stimulus for reading and writing. The films sit in themed collections called sheds, such as Inspiration Shed, Mystery Shed and Ghostly Shed. Most film pages carry a synopsis and a list of teaching ideas, and access to literacyshed.com is free. Literacy Shed marks films with mature or scary themes and asks teachers to watch them before a lesson.

Rob Smith taught in primary schools before he built the site. He has delivered training on film and image in the UK and abroad since 2013. In 2017 he and Martin Saunders founded Education Shed Ltd, which makes Spelling Shed, MathShed and Phonics Shed. Today the footer of literacyshed.com names Education Shed Ltd in Bewdley as the operator.

Literacy Shed Plus is the paid sister site. It sells unit plans based on Literacy Shed films, VIPERS reading comprehensions, novel study guides and DADWAVERS writing scaffolds for ages 3 to 14. A Platinum add-on adds Fluency Shed, a reading fluency programme. Teachers sign in with an EdShed account, and schools give licences to groups of teachers.

History

  1. 2012 The literacyshed.com domain is registered on 12 June.
  2. 2013 Rob Smith starts delivering CPD on film and image for literacy in the UK and abroad.
  3. 2015 The literacyshedplus.com domain is registered on 14 July.
  4. 2017 Martin Saunders and Rob Smith register The Spelling Shed Ltd on 6 September, the company later called EdShed.
  5. 2018 Bloomsbury Education publishes 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Literacy by Rob Smith and Katherine Simpson.
  6. 2019 The Spelling Shed Ltd becomes Education Shed Ltd on 20 August.
  7. 2026 Literacy Shed Platinum offers Fluency Shed and plans Picture Writing Prompts for autumn 2026.
  8. 2027 A Writing Curriculum is planned for Literacy Shed Platinum in autumn 2027.

Leadership

  • Rob Smith Creator of Literacy Shed, EdShed co-founder and director
  • Dr Martin Saunders EdShed co-founder and CEO
  • Alexander Athienitis EdShed curriculum director

How teachers use Literacy Shed

film sheds on literacyshed.com
29
age bands on Literacy Shed Plus, from 3–5 to 11–14
5
classes at the smallest school price
7
  • Free films with synopses
  • Teaching ideas per film
  • Advisory notes on mature themes
  • Unit plans per age band
  • Reading VIPERS
  • Comprehension Plus
  • Novel study guides
  • DADWAVERS writing scaffolds
  • Writing Shed
  • Poetry Shed
  • The News Shed
  • History Shed
  • Fluency Shed with Platinum

Products

  • Literacy Shed A free library of short films and animations in 29 themed sheds. Each film page has a synopsis, teaching ideas and links to paid plans on Literacy Shed Plus. Open literacyshed.com
  • Literacy Shed Plus Unit plans based on Literacy Shed films, VIPERS reading comprehensions, Classic Text VIPERS, novel study guides and DADWAVERS writing scaffolds. Resources are sorted by age from Early Years to 11–14. See memberships
  • Literacy Shed Platinum An add-on to Literacy Shed Plus, priced per class. It includes Fluency Shed, a reading programme for fluency, prosody and comprehension. Resources already in Literacy Shed Plus stay in the standard plan. Platinum FAQ
  • CPD with Rob Smith Training for school staff on film and image in reading and writing. A whole day costs £950, a half day £550 and a twilight session £375, plus VAT, for a single school. CPD details

How much is Literacy Shed?

  • For teachers Personal membership £38.39 a year inc. VAT, one teacher, personal use, card only
  • For schools School, 7 classes £215.25 a year £30.75 per class, excl. VAT
  • School, 10 classes £307.50 a year excl. VAT
  • School, 14 classes £430.50 a year excl. VAT
  • School, 21 classes £645.75 a year excl. VAT
  • School, 40 classes £1,230.00 a year excl. VAT
  • School, fewer than 7 classes On request contact support@edshed.com
  • Platinum add-on, teacher £25.50 per class a year plus VAT
  • Platinum add-on, school £24.50 per class a year plus VAT, 7 classes £171.50

Is Literacy Shed free?

literacyshed.com is free: films, synopses and teaching ideas need no account. Literacy Shed Plus has free samples, a Vocabulary Collector and home learning resources. We did not find a free trial of Literacy Shed Plus on its pages.

UK prices on literacyshedplus.com/en-gb/memberships on 15 October 2026, in pounds, per year. The personal plan includes VAT. The Literacy Shed Plus FAQ gives school prices excluding VAT. The US page lists $41.99 a year for one teacher, $239.75 a year for a 7-class school, and Platinum at $33.50 per class for teachers and $27.50 for schools, plus VAT as the page states. The EdShed help center shows lower figures: £24.95 + VAT per class, £31.50 personal, Platinum £20 + VAT.

Literacy Shed Plus for schools

School memberships
  • 01A school pays per class, including Year R, for every class in the school.
  • 02The price does not depend on the number of teachers who use the resources.
  • 03An account admin gives a licence to a group, and teachers in that group get access.
  • 04Schools with fewer than 7 classes ask support@edshed.com for a price.

£30.75 per class a year, excl. VAT; £215.25 for 7 classes, on 15 October 2026.

Contacts and company data

Legal entity
Education Shed Ltd, Severn House, River Side North, Bewdley, England, DY12 1AB
Operator
Education Shed Ltd, company number 10949607, England and Wales
VAT number
GB284 7395 56
Operator incorporated
6 September 2017 as The Spelling Shed Ltd, renamed 20 August 2019
US company
Education Shed Inc., Wellington, Florida

Alternatives to Literacy Shed

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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Literacy Shed FAQ

Literacy Shed is a free website with short films and animations for primary English lessons. The films sit in 29 themed sheds, and most pages have a synopsis and teaching ideas for reading and writing. Former primary teacher Rob Smith created it, and EdShed runs it today.

Yes. Films, synopses and teaching ideas on literacyshed.com are free and need no account. Unit plans and reading packs are on the paid sister site Literacy Shed Plus.

On 15 October 2026 a personal membership cost £38.39 a year including VAT. A school pays £30.75 per class a year excluding VAT, so a 7-class school pays £215.25. The Platinum add-on costs £24.50 per class for schools and £25.50 for teachers, plus VAT. In the US a personal membership costs $41.99 a year.

The free site literacyshed.com needs no login. For Literacy Shed Plus, click Sign In on literacyshedplus.com or go to https://www.edshed.com/en-gb/login and use your EdShed email or username. Schools can also use a school username, a QR code, Wonde, Snapplify, School Passport or OneClick. After an admin gives your group a licence, log out and log back in to see the resources.

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