A spelling app for your child's own school list - in Australian English

Spelling.Live turns the spelling list your child's school sends home into short daily practice, and remembers the words they find hard so those keep coming back until they stick. It was built in the UK, and it teaches the English your child's school uses: when you add your child, choose 🇦🇺 Australian English and everything follows - the spellings we accept, the voice that reads the words, and school years named the way you know them (Foundation onwards).

Start free with this week's list 200 free credits · no card

What it does

Type them. Pick them. Write them on paper. Photograph the test. Keep track of progress.

• Your school's own list - type it in, or photograph the sheet that came home.
• Ready-made lists - every year level's lists below, in Australian spelling, ready to add in one tap when school hasn't sent a list yet.
• Four ways to practise - choose it, type it, say it and write it, with handwriting checked.
• Paper tests marked from a photo - a real written test, marked in seconds.
• Practice on paper - the app reads the words aloud while your child writes, or prints a week of pages from their own words. Less screen time, more pen and paper.
• Every mistake diagnosed - the app names the spelling pattern behind it.
• Missed words come back on a spaced schedule until they stick.
• Support for dyslexia and SEN - OpenDyslexic, colour overlays, slower speech and more.
• NAPLAN-ready habits - short, regular practice for the spelling in the Year 3 and Year 5 Conventions of Language test.

Australian spelling follows British forms (colour, favourite, organise), and Spelling.Live reads words aloud in an Australian voice when your child is set to Australian English.

Organised around the Australian Curriculum

When your child is set to Australian English, their progress report is organised under the Australian Curriculum (version 9), Foundation to Year 6, using its own English content descriptions word for word, codes and all. A parent can see straight away which part of the curriculum each rule belongs to.

The Australian Curriculum describes spelling in a few broad lines a year. On its own that would tell you very little, so under each heading we list the specific spelling rules that put it into practice. For example, under Year 3's "use phoneme–grapheme (sound–letter) relationships and less common letter patterns to spell words" you'll see rules like the "ou" in young, the "ch" in chemist and the "eigh" in eight, each marked Started, Nearly there or Secure.

• Australian spelling - British-style spellings, so colour and neighbour stay as your school teaches them.
• Australian year levels - Foundation to Year 6, placed by age.
• Real proof of progress - a rule only reads Secure when your child has spelled it right, unaided and in writing, on different words.

How the progress report works in each country · Why we start from England's Appendix 1

Less screen time, more pen and paper

NSW public schools are limiting classroom screen time from 2027, starting at 15 minutes a day for Kindergarten to Year 2, with at least an hour a day of learning with pen and paper. Education ministers have also agreed to work towards the Year 5 NAPLAN writing test being done on paper from 2028. Spelling is one of the ten things that test is marked on.

Write on paper → capture the result → understand the mistakes → practise what matters. Your child's part stays on paper, and a grown-up holds the phone:

• Dictation test - the app reads each word aloud (and in a sentence) while your child writes it on numbered paper. Photograph the page and it is marked. How it works.
• Printed practice pack - look-cover-write-check, a crossword or word search, a paragraph and a Friday test, built from your child's own words. Free to print. What is in the pack.
• Paper practice - photograph the test your child's teacher marked and the ticks and crosses go into the progress report. How it works.
• A paper week - the learning plan has a Paper-First Week, and a paper day asks your child to fetch a grown-up rather than handing them the camera. The learning plan.
• For teachers - print personalised test sheets with a script to read from, give the test on paper, then photograph the sheets with a phone. The app marks every one. See a class test, step by step.

Written work is also what moves a spelling rule to Secure on the Australian Curriculum report: a rule only reads Secure when your child has spelled it right, unaided and in writing.

Read: Australia is putting pens back in classrooms - what it means for spelling

Spelling words by year level

The Australian Curriculum sets out the spelling knowledge expected at each year level but does not publish a single word list, and schools choose their own. These are words commonly taught, grouped by the spelling pattern they practise.

• FoundationAges 5–6
• Year 1Ages 6–7
• Year 2Ages 7–8
• Year 3Ages 8–9
• Year 4Ages 9–10
• Year 5Ages 10–11

Ready-made lists in the app

No list from school yet? Every year level list on this page is ready-made in Spelling.Live in Australian (British-style) spelling. Set your child to Australian English, open Browse Spelling Lists and add one in a tap. Or let Spelling.Live choose the right list for their year level when you sign up.

For teachers

Using Spelling.Live with a class? Teacher accounts and school options have their own page: Spelling.Live for schools. Setting up a class already? See the teacher help pages.

Working with us in Australia

Spelling.Live is made by a small team in England, and families in Australia already use it. We would like to work more closely with the people who support Australian children with their spelling.

• Teachers, tutors, tuition centres and literacy specialists - we will set you up, walk you through it and listen to what would make it fit your classroom better.
• Resellers and distributors - if you supply resources to Australian schools or families and think there is a fit, we would be glad to talk.

Email support@spelling.live with "Australia" in the subject line and tell us a little about what you do. Schools can also request a quote.

Reading for Australian families and teachers

• Australia is putting pens back in classrooms: what it means for spelling practice
• One spelling map, four countries: how our report follows the Australian Curriculum
• Offline spelling practice: a printable pack built from your child's own words
• Spelling tests, sorted: print, dictate, scan - the class marking workflow step by step
• Look, cover, write, check - why handwriting still matters in spelling practice
• Sweden is bringing back handwriting: the research behind it
• How to help your child practise for a weekly spelling test at home

What it costs

Start free with 200 credits and no card. When they run out, choose what suits your family.

• Family plan £5.99 a month or £59.99 a year (2 months free). Practice is free for up to 4 children.
• One-child plan £4.49 a month or £44.99 a year (2 months free). Practice is free for one child.
• Pay as you go £4 for 400 credits or £20 for 5,000. No subscription, and credits last 12 months.

Prices are in pounds sterling, and your bank converts them to Australian dollars when you pay. Cancel a plan any time. See all prices.