K-12 learning 🇬🇧 Bristol, United Kingdom Since 1999 4.5 · 210 ratings

Nessy

Online reading, spelling, maths and typing programmes for children with dyslexia.

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founded in Bristol
1999
online programmes for children
6
schools, according to Nessy
5,000+
a month for one programme, UK
£10.50

About Nessy

Nessy is a Bristol company that sells online reading, spelling, writing, typing and maths programmes for children, built for children with dyslexia and used in whole classes too. Nessy Reading and Spelling covers ages 6 to 11, Hairy Reading ages 4 to 6, and Number Sense ages 4 to 8. Families in the UK pay £10.50 a month or £76.50 a year per child for one of these three, or £102 a year for a pack of three programmes. In the US the same programmes cost $15.50 a month or $126 a year. Mike Jones founded Nessy in 1999 on his mother Pat Jones’s methods, and the Swedish group ILT Education has owned it since April 2024.

Nessy makes online programmes that teach children to read, spell, write, type and count. Each programme starts with a placement test, then gives the child a personal plan of video lessons, games and printable worksheets. Parents and teachers follow progress in reports. Nessy follows Structured Literacy and the Science of Reading, and the Dyslexia Quest game screens children aged 5 to 11 for signs of dyslexia.

Pat Jones, a trained teacher, homeschooled her dyslexic son Mike and founded the Bristol Dyslexia Centre in 1989. Mike Jones later taught at the centre and turned her card games, board games and teaching sequence into software. He drew the illustrations and voiced the characters himself. The company was registered as Net Educational Systems Limited on 21 September 1999 and took the name Nessy Learning Limited in 2013.

In April 2024 ILT Education from Stockholm bought Nessy. ILT owns Polylino, Giglets and Aski Raski, and Nessy gave it customers in the US, Australia and New Zealand. Mike Jones and Tiffany Jones left the board in September 2025. Nessy reported an average of 30 employees in 2025 and moved its office to Runway East in central Bristol in February 2026.

History

  1. 1989 Pat Jones founds the Bristol Dyslexia Centre, where the Nessy teaching materials begin.
  2. 1999 Mike Jones registers Net Educational Systems Limited in Bristol on 21 September. Nessy Reading and Spelling starts.
  3. 2000 Publishes an online learning programme for dyslexic children in August.
  4. 2007 Joins the British Educational Suppliers Association and publishes Nessy Tales, read by comedian Bill Bailey.
  5. 2009 Nessy Fingers Touch Typing wins an Educational Resources Award. Further awards follow in 2010 and 2011.
  6. 2011 Releases the first iPhone and iPad app, Hairy Letters, and the Dyslexia Quest screener.
  7. 2013 The company changes its name to Nessy Learning Limited in May.
  8. 2015 Pat Jones receives an OBE for services to dyslexia.
  9. 2024 ILT Education from Stockholm buys Nessy in April. ILT CEO Jakob Skogholm joins the board.
  10. 2025 Mike Jones and Tiffany Jones step down as directors on 30 September.
  11. 2026 A study by Furlong et al. puts two Nessy apps in the top three of 309 phonics apps. The office moves to 1 Victoria Street, Bristol, in February.

Leadership

  • Jakob Skogholm Director since April 2024, CEO of ILT Education
  • Craig Johnstone Director since April 2024, co-founder of Giglets Education

Founder Mike Jones ran Nessy as managing director until the sale and left the board in September 2025, together with Tiffany Jones. Companies House lists two active directors.

How Nessy teaches

lessons in Reading and Spelling
100
main age range
4–11
for the dyslexia screener
20–30 min
  • Structured Literacy
  • Systematic synthetic phonics
  • Orton-Gillingham principles
  • Placement test
  • Personal learning plan
  • Videos on spelling rules
  • Game-based practice
  • Printable worksheets and flash cards
  • Decodable books
  • Progress reports for parents and teachers
  • Nessy nuggets as rewards
In a 2025 study by Dr Lisa Furlong and colleagues, Hairy Letters and Chimp Fu Syllables took two of the top three places among 309 phonics and phonological awareness apps.
ILT Education, 8 January 2026

Programmes by age

Reading and spelling2

  • Hairy Reading, ages 4–6
  • Nessy Reading and Spelling, ages 6–11

Writing and typing2

  • Writing Beach, ages 7+
  • Nessy Fingers Touch Typing, ages 7+

Maths1

  • Chris Woodin’s Number Sense, ages 4–8

Dyslexia2

  • Dyslexia Quest screener, ages 5–11
  • Understanding Dyslexia course for adults

Apps4

  • Hairy Letters
  • Hairy Phonics 1–3
  • Hairy Words 1–2
  • Chimp Fu Syllables

Programmes and ages from the Nessy shop for home and school on 7 October 2026. Older lists, Wikipedia among them, name Nessy Numbers. The current shop sells Chris Woodin’s Number Sense for maths.

Products

  • Nessy Reading and Spelling Structured Literacy for ages 6 to 11, from Year 1 to Year 6: phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, spelling and morphology. The Nessy Challenge sets the starting level, then 100 lessons with videos, games and thousands of printable worksheets follow. Programme page
  • Hairy Reading Phonics with decodable books for ages 4 to 6, for children not yet ready for Reading and Spelling. 100 learning journeys and 11 games, with letter tracing. The programme tests the child three times a year, and parents get a weekly email report. Programme page
  • Chris Woodin’s Number Sense Early maths for ages 4 to 8, built on the methods of maths teacher Chris Woodin. Children learn to see patterns of 5 and 10, then addition, subtraction, multiplication and division across three islands. Nessy designed it with dyscalculia in mind. Programme page
  • Nessy Fingers Touch Typing Typing and spelling for ages 7+. Keys come in alphabetical order, and children type real words from more than 3,000 words and sentences in 15 games. Parents can add the spelling list from school. Programme page
  • Writing Beach 10 lessons for ages 7+ on sentences, conjunctions, punctuation, parts of speech, paragraphs and story plans, with games and printable activities. Programme page
  • Dyslexia Quest A dyslexia screener for ages 5 to 11 inside the game Yeti Mountain. It tests rapid naming, working memory and phonological awareness in 20 to 30 minutes with an adult nearby. Nessy says it does not give a diagnosis. Screener page
  • Understanding Dyslexia A course for parents and teachers: 40 videos of 2 to 3 minutes, a quiz after each section and a certificate. It takes about 3 hours. Course page
  • Nessy for School The same programmes for schools, priced per student licence. A licence moves to another student when one leaves. Schools get an 8-week free trial through a school specialist. School products

How much is Nessy?

  • Reading and Spelling, Hairy Reading or Number Sense £10.50/mo £10.50 a month, recurring monthly, per programme
  • Lower price per month Reading and Spelling, Hairy Reading or Number Sense £6.38/mo £76.50 a year, per programme
  • Nessy Fingers Touch Typing £38.50 a year billed yearly
  • Writing Beach £19.50 a year billed yearly
  • Dyslexia Quest screener £13 a year billed yearly
  • Home Education Pack £102 a year Reading and Spelling, Writing Beach, Nessy Fingers
  • Dyslexia Home Education Pack £127 a year adds Dyslexia Quest and the Dyslexia Explained ebook

Is Nessy free?

A free trial needs no payment details. Schools can ask for an 8-week free trial.

Prices in the Nessy shop on 7 October 2026 for one child, home use. UK prices in pounds exclude VAT. US prices in dollars: Reading and Spelling, Hairy Reading and Number Sense $15.50 a month or $126 a year; Nessy Fingers $63, Writing Beach $31.75, Dyslexia Quest $25.50, Home Education Pack $176.75 and Dyslexia Home Education Pack $195.50 a year. Per-child prices fall for 2 to 5 children.

How to cancel Nessy and get a refund

Terms
  • Nessy shop account ↗
    1. Log in under My Account on the Nessy website
    2. Open Subscriptions and click View next to the plan
    3. Click Cancel. The status changes to Pending Cancellation
  • Cancelling stops the automatic renewal. Access stays until the end date shown in the account.
  • For a refund or to stop access at once, contact Nessy support.
  • Schools with an account manager write to schools@nessy.com.

Refund rules

Terms of 25 August 2024
Contracts renew for one year unless either side gives three full calendar months’ written notice before the term ends.
Price at renewal
Charges can rise with the UK Consumer Prices Index or move to the current list price.
Law
The terms follow the law of England and Wales.

From the Nessy help centre and the terms and conditions of 25 August 2024, checked on 7 October 2026.

Nessy for schools

School products
  • 01Schools pay per student licence. Reading and Spelling, Hairy Reading and Number Sense cost £76.50 for one student and £25.50 per student from 7 students, per year.
  • 02In the US the same three cost $126 for one student and $100 per student for 10 students, per year.
  • 03The online shop sells up to 10 licences. Larger orders go through schools@nessy.com.
  • 04A licence moves to another student when one leaves. Nessy contacts the school 3 months before renewal.
  • 05Nessy’s Universal Literacy offer targets local authorities and multi-academy trusts in England ahead of the 2026 SEND reforms.

Prices in the Nessy shop on 7 October 2026, UK prices without VAT.

App ratings

App details, App Store US

Apps on the App Store
Hairy Letters, Hairy Phonics 1–3, Hairy Words 1–2, Chimp Fu Syllables
Price
£2.99 or $2.99 each, Hairy Phonics 1 free in the UK
First app
Hairy Letters, 10 January 2011
Latest update
Chimp Fu Syllables 2.5, April 2021

Is Nessy worth it?

What parents like

What parents criticise

What parents and buyers write in reviews, not our rating. Most published reviews of the web programmes are testimonials that Nessy selected on its own site, so independent reviews are few.

Latest news

  1. Nessy Reading and Spelling: an academic critique
  2. Nessy apps rank in a study of 309 phonics apps
  3. ILT Education acquires UK based company Nessy Learning

Contacts and company data

Legal entity
Nessy Learning Limited, Runway East, 1 Victoria Street, Redcliffe, Bristol BS1 6AA, United Kingdom
Company number
03845393, England and Wales
Incorporated
21 September 1999, as Net Educational Systems Limited
Renamed
Nessy Learning Limited, 7 May 2013
Parent
Poly Bidco AB, Stockholm, part of ILT Education
VAT number
GB821655927
Net assets
£523,400 at 31 December 2025, small company accounts

Alternatives to Nessy

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 7 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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Nessy FAQ

In the UK on 7 October 2026, Nessy Reading and Spelling, Hairy Reading and Number Sense cost £10.50 a month or £76.50 a year each for one child, without VAT. Nessy Fingers costs £38.50, Writing Beach £19.50 and Dyslexia Quest £13 a year. In the US the three main programmes cost $15.50 a month or $126 a year.

No. Families can start a free trial without payment details. Schools can ask for an 8-week free trial. Nessy also posts free worksheets and videos.

Hairy Reading covers ages 4 to 6, Nessy Reading and Spelling ages 6 to 11, Number Sense ages 4 to 8 and Dyslexia Quest ages 5 to 11. Nessy Fingers and Writing Beach start at age 7. Nessy says many older students use Reading and Spelling too.

Nessy Reading and Spelling, Hairy Reading, Chris Woodin’s Number Sense, Nessy Fingers Touch Typing, Writing Beach, the Dyslexia Quest screener and the Understanding Dyslexia course for adults. It also sells 7 iPhone and iPad apps such as Hairy Letters and Chimp Fu Syllables.

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