Safeguarding Statement
Last updated: September 2026
In short: Mr Sear's Spelling is a classroom spelling test tool with no chat, no messaging, and no uploads. It's designed for a teacher to lead a live spelling test with their class.
What this app does
Mr Sear's Spelling is a live spelling test tool for schools. The teacher types a word and sends it to the class. Each pupil's screen shows a "Get Ready" waiting screen, then a typing screen with an on-screen keyboard.
The only thing children type is their spelling of the word the teacher has sent, which goes to the teacher's screen. The only thing they can personalise is their own seat, and only by choosing from a fixed set of background colours and stickers. They cannot upload anything or type their own text on their seat, and seat designs are only seen within the child's own class.
No social or communication features
The app has:
- No chat or messaging between children
- No photo, video, or audio uploads
- No advertising or tracking
How children's identities are protected
- Children are recorded by first name only - schools are asked not to use surnames, and the app warns if a name looks like it includes one
- Each child also has a display alias, such as "Star" or "Moon"
- Children log in with their class login, then sign in individually with their own 4-digit PIN, so they only ever enter as themselves
- On their waiting and typing screens, a child sees only their own name
Teachers can see all the names, status and results for their class, and school leads can see the classes in their school. See the Privacy Policy for full details on who can see what.
Age-appropriate design
- We hold first names, PINs, display aliases, seat positions, absent or present marks, reading preferences, seat designs and tokens. These are shared with Mr Sear's MTC, so a child is the same child in both
- Teachers can also choose to record whether a child is pupil premium, SEND or EAL. Only the school's own teachers can add this, it is never shown to pupils, and only the fact of membership is stored
- During a live test we hold each child's answer to the current word and whether it was right. This is cleared when the teacher ends or resets the test
- We hold no surnames, email addresses, home addresses, photographs, or dates of birth
- No advertising or tracking
- Tokens are earned by taking part, not by time spent: a Spelling test counts when the child finishes it with at least 30% of their answers right, at most 2 sessions a day count across both apps, and 8 counted sessions earn a token
School filtering and monitoring
- Runs as a standard website in the browser, served by Google Firebase Hosting
- Loads no scripts or fonts from outside services while it runs - everything comes from the Mr Sear's Spelling site itself
Supervised use
The app is designed for a teacher to lead a live test with the class. Teachers can:
- Choose and send each word
- See each pupil's status live on the class seating plan (waiting, typing, correct or incorrect)
- Mark children absent or present for the day
- Turn on an optional 10-second timer
- Sign a pupil's device out
- End or reset the test, which clears the live test information
Invite-only access
The app is not publicly available. Access is by invitation only from Sear Education, and teachers use the same account they use for Mr Sear's MTC.
No one can sign up without an invitation.
Contact
If you have safeguarding questions or concerns:
Sear Education
Email: info@mrsearmtc.uk