Help & FAQ

Learning Block locks your child's iPad (or iPhone) at OS level until they complete a short, curriculum-aligned maths quiz. No quiz, no screen time. It uses Apple's own Screen Time framework — there are no workarounds.

Download from the App Store, open the app, and follow the onboarding steps. You'll be asked to grant Screen Time permission, set a parent PIN, enter your child's name and year group, and choose your settings. The device will lock automatically once setup is complete.

Free tier: KS1 Addition only, 5 questions per quiz, 1 quiz per day, 90-minute earned session. No schedule, no configurable settings.

Premium: All year groups (Year 1–6), all topics, configurable quiz length, pass mark, and difficulty, schedule with bedtime, configurable earned time, daily screen time cap, daily quiz limits, Learn section with step-by-step walkthroughs, and the full collections system.

New users get 7 days of full premium access free — no payment details needed. After 7 days it reverts to the free tier.

This is the normal mode. Your child's device is locked and they must complete a maths quiz to unlock it. All your configured rules apply — schedule, earned time, screen time limits, and daily quiz caps.

Full access — no restrictions. All apps are open. Your child can still do quizzes for fun, but they don't earn screen time. Use this for weekends, holidays, or when you're supervising and want the iPad open.

Full lockdown. The device is completely locked and only a parent can unlock it. Your child cannot quiz their way out — the quiz button is disabled. Use this when the iPad needs to be off limits entirely.

If you toggle this on, whatever mode you've set (Unblock or Block) automatically reverts to Learning Block Active at midnight. This is useful if you unblock for the evening but want the quiz lock back by morning without having to remember to switch it yourself.

The schedule sets a wake time and a bedtime. The device locks automatically at bedtime and stays locked until wake time the next morning. At wake time, the device returns to quiz-lock mode — your child needs to do a quiz to unlock.

After completing a quiz, your child earns a set amount of free screen time — you choose between 5 and 60 minutes. A countdown timer shows how much time they have left. When it runs out, the device locks again until the next quiz.

This limits how many quizzes your child can do per day. For example, if you set it to 3, they can unlock the device up to 3 times by completing quizzes. After the third session, the device locks for the rest of the day — even if they want to do more quizzes. Resets at midnight.

A total daily screen time cap. Once your child has used the device for this many hours in total (across all unlocks), it locks for the rest of the day — regardless of remaining quizzes or earned sessions. You select which apps count toward this limit using the app picker.

If Learning Block is deleted, the OS-level lock is removed and the device becomes fully accessible. To fix this, reinstall Learning Block from the App Store and grant Screen Time permission again when prompted.

To prevent this happening again: On the child's device, go to Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → iTunes & App Store Purchases → Deleting Apps → Don't Allow. This prevents any app from being deleted without the Screen Time passcode.

On the child's device: Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → iTunes & App Store Purchases → Deleting Apps → Don't Allow. This is protected by the Screen Time passcode, which only the parent knows.

Open Learning Block on the device. If prompted, grant Screen Time / Family Controls permission again. Complete the onboarding steps — the lock will re-apply once setup is complete.

Delete and reinstall Learning Block, then set a new PIN during onboarding. Please note that quiz progress and settings will be reset — this data is stored locally on the device and doesn't survive deletion.

Check your schedule times in Parent Settings — tap Parent, enter your PIN, then look at the Schedule section. The times use your device's clock, so make sure the device time is set correctly in Settings → General → Date & Time.

All progress (quiz history, stars, streaks, badges) is stored locally on the device. If the app was deleted and reinstalled, this data is lost. We're working on cloud backup for a future update.

When you first install Learning Block, you get 7 days of full premium access — all year groups, all topics, all features. No payment details are needed. After 7 days the app reverts to the free tier. You can subscribe anytime via the in-app paywall.

On your device: Settings → Apple ID (your name at the top) → Subscriptions → Learning Block → Cancel Subscription. You'll keep premium access until the end of your current billing period.

Your subscription is tied to your Apple ID. You can install Learning Block on any device signed into the same Apple ID account. Each device maintains its own settings and progress independently.

Yes — we offer free premium codes for teachers to try, and batch codes for schools to share with parents. Contact us at hello@learningblock.app and we'll set you up.

The app: Nothing leaves your device. All quiz data, child profiles, and settings are stored locally on the iPad only. No accounts, no analytics, no advertising, no tracking. The app uses Apple's FamilyControls framework for device management — this only uses opaque tokens that stay on-device.

This website: With your consent, we use Google Analytics to understand how parents find the site and Meta Pixel to measure whether our ads lead to downloads. Both are optional — you can accept or decline via the cookie banner, and change your preference any time using the Cookie settings link in the footer. Neither tool is ever used inside the app.

See our full privacy policy for details.