Teacher Play Ltd, an online retailer and business which creates and sells educational resources designed for children–by teachers, has experienced a huge surge in sales since its launch in October 2019.

Emma Anderson, a Peterborough-based assistant primary school headteacher and entrepreneur is the brains behind the play-based learning, e-commerce business.

Emma has been teaching for ten years and launched Teacher Play to fulfil her dreams of running a small business that helps children learn. Emma works hard behind the scenes to develop creative, play-based products to enhance a child’s educational journey.

Teacher Play products help children flourish in their early stages of life, accelerating their existing skills by teaching them language, reading, writing, and numeracy skills.

Teacher Play’s products are made for children aged 1-7 years and designed to help create and spark conversation by teaching vocabulary, conversation and phonics.  The product range features reusable and wipeable flashcards, learning mats, home learning packs and the most recent addition to the range – decodable phonics books, all of which support learning by enhancing fine motor skills and pre-writing skills.

The business has seen huge success in 2021, with sales increasing by over 5,000% in the past six months, driven through social media marketing and the rise in home learning as schools were forced to close during the pandemic. A recent study by I CAN suggests that 1.5 million children were struggling with communication skills following the isolation of successive lockdowns. Teacher Play’s products aim to help bridge the gap paved by the pandemic, supporting the development of social skills in early years settings and through home learning.

As well as being popular among parents to use at home, Teacher Play Ltd has also seen an increase in demand to stock its products in both primary schools and nurseries. The business has also recently begun stocking its products on Amazon, making them accessible for even more parents and children.

Emma, Director of Teacher Play Ltd explained: “I have a huge passion for teaching, and I love watching children grow in their knowledge. Our products have been a blessing to so many in lockdown and I know they continue to help children learn no matter what level they are at.

“As a teacher, the biggest reward is watching children progress in their learning in a fun and engaging way. This has always been the main aim with our business, and I am so proud to know we are achieving this with our products.”