For parents and coaches
Getting started with Neuranova
A complete walkthrough for parents, coaches and learners: how lessons work, which parts make a full curriculum, how to read the reports and how to plan a week that actually holds.
1. Setting up the learner
Half an hour here decides whether the next six months feel like a fight or a rhythm.
Create the learner profile
Name, age and grade band determine which lessons and skills appear. Interests feed the tutor's examples — a child who loves horses gets fractions with horses.
- Grade band, not school year: Neuranova works from what the child can do, not from a birth date.
- Add two or three real interests. They show up inside lesson text.
Run the adaptive settings wizard
Five short questions set how lessons look, sound and feel: answering, timing, breaks, predictability and reading. Start from a preset (ADHD-friendly, Predictable, Reading & seeing) and fine-tune.
- You can change every setting at any moment; nothing is locked in.
- The settings apply everywhere — lessons, worksheets, practice and projects.
Do the diagnostic checks
One adaptive check for maths and one for English/ELA. They take about ten minutes each and place the learner on the skill graph so lessons are neither boring nor crushing.
- Do them on a calm morning, not at the end of a hard day.
- A surprisingly low result is usually reading load or nerves — you can redo it.
2. How a lesson works
Every lesson follows the same five-step shape, so the format never has to be learned twice.
Explain, visualise, exercise, recap, flashcards
The tutor explains the idea, shows a diagram, then hands over to exercises. The recap puts it in the learner's own words and the flashcards schedule it for spaced review.
- The diagram is not decoration — ask your child to explain it back to you.
- The flashcards are what makes it stick weeks later.
Speaking or writing
Answers can be typed or spoken with the microphone button. For a child whose writing lags behind their thinking, speaking removes a barrier that has nothing to do with the subject.
- Speaking is a full answer, not a shortcut.
- Switch mid-lesson whenever it suits the moment.
Breaks and timers
Depending on the settings, a Pomodoro block, a visual time timer, or nothing at all. Movement breaks come with a concrete suggestion rather than an empty pause screen.
- For ADHD profiles: short blocks, real movement, no countdown pressure.
- For autism profiles: a visible time timer showing how much, not how fast.
Skill credit and practice
Finishing a lesson credits the skills it builds, capped at 85%. The last stretch always comes from practice sessions, because doing is the only proof.
- Use the 'Practise now' button on the skills card at the end of a lesson.
- Three short practice sessions beat one long one.
3. What makes a complete curriculum
Lessons alone are not a programme. These are the parts that together cover a defensible learning year.
Framework and goals
Choose IB PYP/MYP, Cambridge Primary/Lower Secondary, or your national goals. The framework maps every lesson to a recognised standard, which is what an inspector or a future school wants to see.
- One framework is enough; you can view the mapping at any time.
- The curriculum page shows exactly which goals are covered.
Core subjects and skill practice
Maths and language every week, science and world understanding through projects or themed flows. Practice sessions are what move mastery, so schedule practice, not only lessons.
- Three maths sessions a week is a solid baseline.
- Clear overdue reviews in one fixed weekly slot.
Projects and themes
Project flows run over several lessons towards a visible end product. Transdisciplinary themes tie subjects into one story for a term.
- One project running at a time is plenty.
- Finish each project lesson with an exit ticket: made, learned, solved.
Wellbeing and movement
Self-esteem, thoughts and beliefs, emotional regulation and movement breaks are part of the curriculum, not an extra. Without regulation the academic work does not land.
- A mood check-in gives you the pattern behind a difficult learning week.
- Movement breaks are built into the day template.
4. Reading the reports
The portfolio, the skills overview and the mastery timeline answer one question: what is the next small step?
Mastery percentages
Under 50% the idea is new; 50–79% works with support; 80% and up is solid and ready to be used in bigger work. Lesson-credited skills stop at 85% until practice confirms them.
- A percentage is a snapshot, never a grade.
- Look at the four-week trend, not at one number.
Where the update came from
Lesson, practice or diagnostic. Practice is the most reliable of the three, diagnostics move fastest in the first weeks.
- Two lesson credits without practice? Start a practice session.
- Every update is timestamped in the mastery timeline.
Exit tickets, reviews and the PDF export
Exit tickets carry the learner's own words about what was hard — the most useful line in any report. Export a PDF each term for your learning file.
- The portfolio PDF holds the mastery timeline, exit tickets and reviews.
- The skills overview shows every learner side by side, with review dates.
5. Planning a week that holds
A plan that survives a bad week is worth more than a perfect plan that dies on Tuesday.
Daily target and day templates
Set a daily minutes target that you hit four days out of five, then build day templates for school days, weekends and holidays.
- Ages 6–8: 30–45 min. Ages 9–12: 60–90 min. Ages 13+: 90–150 min.
- Hardest subject in the first block after breakfast.
Calendar, exams and holidays
Enter holidays and exam dates so the planner schedules review blocks in the weeks before an exam, not the night before.
- Add the whole year's holidays in one sitting.
- Enter test dates the day you hear about them.
The weekly review
Fifteen minutes together: what worked, what got skipped, what moves. Let the learner choose one change for next week.
- Skipped blocks say something about the plan, not the child.
- Reserve one block a week for whatever life brings.
6. Adjusting as you go
Nothing here is fixed. Adjust the moment something stops fitting.
Change the settings
Font, coloured vowels, text size, timers, breaks and answer mode can all be changed mid-week from the learner's settings page.
- Dyslexia: dyslexia-friendly font, coloured vowels, speaking answers.
- Low vision: Atkinson Hyperlegible, text up to 170%, reduced motion.
Change the level
If lessons feel too easy or too hard, redo the diagnostic for that subject. The skill graph re-places the learner and the lesson queue follows.
- Too easy is as damaging as too hard.
- You can practise any single skill directly from the skills overview.
Use the community
Share finished work in the community spotlights, see what other learners made, and let a project be reviewed by peers.
- Learner work is members-only by default; you choose the visibility.
- One submission per term is a good rhythm.
What these settings look like in practice
Concrete examples per profile: what the learner actually sees on screen, what you can practise away from the screen, and what helps at home.
For learners
Six things to know before your first lesson.
- 1Open your hub. Everything you can do today is on that one screen — no hunting.
- 2Pick a lesson or a skill practice. A lesson explains; practice proves you can do it.
- 3Every lesson runs the same five steps: explain, visualise, exercise, recap, flashcards.
- 4You may answer by typing or by pressing the microphone and saying it out loud. Both count.
- 5Take the break when the break appears. It is part of the work, not a reward for finishing.
- 6At the end, write your exit ticket: what you made, what you learned, what was hard. Two lines is enough.
Curriculum checklist — a complete learning year
Tick these off and you have a defensible, complete programme: core subjects, wellbeing, movement, projects, and the settings that make it work for this particular child.
1. Set-up (once, at the start)
Half an hour of set-up saves a term of guessing.
- Learner profile createdNeeded for a complete programmeName, age, grade band and interests filled in.
- Adaptive settings wizard completedNeeded for a complete programmeAnswer mode, timers, breaks, predictability, reading and accessibility.
- Framework chosenNeeded for a complete programmeIB PYP/MYP, Cambridge Primary/Lower Secondary, or your national goals.
- Diagnostic check for mathsNeeded for a complete programmeSets the starting level so lessons are neither boring nor crushing.
- Diagnostic check for English/ELANeeded for a complete programmeSame, for language.
- Study plan and daily target setNeeded for a complete programmeSchool year dates, minutes per day, weekly review on.
- Holidays and exam dates enteredSo the planner never schedules work you did not intend.
2. Core learning every week
The spine of the programme. Aim for coverage across the week, not every item every day.
- Maths lessons and skill practiceNeeded for a complete programmeAt least three sessions a week; practice, not only lessons.
- Language and literacyNeeded for a complete programmeReading, writing and spelling; speaking answers count as language work.
- Science and world understandingNeeded for a complete programmeThrough a project or a themed lesson flow.
- Overdue reviews clearedNeeded for a complete programmeOne fixed slot a week for spaced repetition.
- One transdisciplinary theme activeTies subjects together and makes the week feel like one story.
- Second languageFrench, German or another; short daily sessions work best.
3. Projects and active learning
This is where knowledge becomes usable.
- One project flow runningNeeded for a complete programmeA multi-lesson project with a visible end product.
- Exit ticket after each project lessonNeeded for a complete programmeThree sentences: made, learned, solved.
- One rubric review per projectSelf or peer review against the project rubric.
- One community submission per termShare the finished work in the community spotlight feed.
- One hands-on or outdoor activity a weekSand writing, number rods, measuring, cooking, a field trip.
4. Wellbeing and body
Not extra. Without this, the rest does not land.
- Wellbeing module in progressNeeded for a complete programmeSelf-esteem, thoughts and beliefs, or emotional regulation.
- Mood check-in used regularlyNeeded for a complete programmeGives you the pattern behind a bad learning week.
- Movement breaks switched onNeeded for a complete programmeBuilt into the Pomodoro or day template.
- Weekly reflection completed togetherFifteen minutes: what worked, what moves.
5. Evidence and reporting
What you show when someone asks 'and how is it going?'
- Portfolio PDF exported each termNeeded for a complete programmeMastery timeline, exit tickets and reviews in one document.
- Skills overview reviewed monthlyNeeded for a complete programmeWhich skills went up, when, and from what source.
- Planning reviewed weeklyNeeded for a complete programmeAdjust the target when reality says so.
- Learning summaries savedPeriod summaries and mind maps kept in the learning file.
Keep this sheet in your learning file. In most regions an inspector wants to see coverage, progress and adaptation — this checklist shows all three.
Frequently asked
Ready to set it up?
Download the curriculum checklist, open the settings wizard for your learner, and plan one week. That is enough to begin.