Who makes this, and why you should be sceptical

Ladderbug is a small, independent project. It is not backed by a publisher, a university or a curriculum company, and nobody here has a doctorate in education.

Where the method comes from

Everything in the product is built on published work rather than on our own opinions: systematic synthetic phonics and the Simple View of Reading, Ehri's phases of word reading and orthographic mapping, Scarborough's rope, the Common Core progressions for mathematics, Handwriting Without Tears for letter formation order and verbal cues, and the retrieval-practice and spacing literature for how the review schedule works. Every source we used is listed, with links, on the sources page.

What that does not make us

Reading research is a field with real disagreements and we are not qualified to settle them. Where the evidence is contested we have tried to say so on the page rather than present one side as settled. Where our commercial interest might bend an answer — a comparison with a competitor, a claim about what our own product does — we have tried to flag it in the text.

Specifically, we do not screen for, diagnose or treat dyslexia or any other condition, and nothing on this site should be read as an assessment. If you are worried about a child, a teacher or an educational psychologist can assess properly and we cannot.

How to check us

• Every skill page names the Common Core standard it teaches, so you can look it up.
• The full phonics scope and sequence is public, in order, at /learn/phonics/.
• The site makes no third-party network requests. Open your browser's network tab and check.
• If something here is wrong, we would rather know. There is a contact link in the footer.

How it is paid for

Everything from the alphabet through the end of grade one is free, needs no account and no card, and will stay that way. Paid plans cover grades two to five. We take no advertising, we have no third-party trackers, and we do not sell or share data about anyone. The safety page sets out exactly what is stored and where.