Trademarks & Attribution

Jolly Phonics®

Jolly Phonics® is a registered trademark of Jolly Learning Ltd (United Kingdom). When a parent selects Jolly Phonics, the Reading Journey aligns its sound order with Jolly Learning's published 7-group progression.

Little Story Bear is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or otherwise connected to Jolly Learning Ltd. We reference the Jolly Phonics name only to identify the sequence that inspired this part of our product; this wording does not claim certification or endorsement. We do not reproduce, redistribute, or license any Jolly Learning copyrighted materials, assets, or branding.

Jolly Learning's official materials, curriculum resources, and products can be found at jollylearning.co.uk.

Other selectable phonics methods

Parents may also select Read Write Inc. Phonics, Floppy's Phonics, Sounds-Write, or the Department for Education's 2007 Letters and Soundsframework. Those names and associated marks belong to their respective owners.

Selection changes the Reading Journey's sound order and stage terminology to match the publicly available progression for that method. Little Story Bear supplies its own stories, practice words, parent guidance and assessments. It does not reproduce proprietary lesson scripts, stories, mnemonic text, pictures, assessments, or unpublished word banks.

Little Story Bear is an independent aligned companion. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, certified by, or an official implementation of any selectable programme. Letters and Sounds (2007) is a government framework rather than a complete current systematic synthetic phonics programme; schools should continue to follow their chosen programme's official materials and assessment guidance.

• Read Write Inc. information from Oxford Owl
• Floppy's Phonics information from Oxford Owl
• Sounds-Write
• Letters and Sounds from the Department for Education

NGRT (New Group Reading Test)

NGRT (New Group Reading Test) is a trademark of GL Assessment, a standardised reading assessment from GL Assessment.

Little Story Bear does not use, administer, or reproduce NGRT. Where we reference NGRT, we do so only to position our own (internal, non-standardised) oral-reading check-in as a complement to NGRT and similar standardised tests — not as a substitute. Our optional English voice estimate is informed by oral-reading fluency and accuracy concepts. The Level 1–5 starting-point framework is our own, parent-guided system; it is not norm-referenced, independently validated, or a substitute for NGRT or teacher assessment.

GL Assessment's official NGRT information is at gl-assessment.co.uk.

Methodological references

Our reading assessment mechanics and pedagogical scaffolding draw on established published research:

• U.S. Institute of Education Sciences, Foundational Skills Practice Guide. Its recommendations on linking speech sounds to letters, decoding words, and reading connected text inform the structure of our early-reading activities.
• National Reading Panel. Findings on systematic phonics and guided oral reading inform our phonics sequence and our prompts for adult-supported rereading.
• Hasbrouck & Tindal oral-reading-fluency norms and established accuracy conventions. These inform the optional English microphone estimate only. Our five product levels are not a standardised, norm-referenced, or independently validated test.
• Comprehension questions, vocabulary prompts, story completion, and parent check-ins are recorded as practice or observation. They are not presented as proof that a child has mastered a skill.

Little Story Bear is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the authors, publishers, organisations, or institutions listed above. These citations exist to be transparent about the research base our product draws from.

Other attributions

• Story text and history-mode fact-checking via OpenAI.
• Illustrations generated via Replicate or Google Gemini. When durable storage succeeds, image assets are stored on Vercel Blob; an adult should download important books.
• Story narration via OpenAI TTS.
• Voice transcription via OpenAI Whisper.
• Database hosting via Neon Postgres; app hosting via Vercel.
• Body typeface: Outfit (Rodrigo Fuenzalida, SIL Open Font License 1.1). Display typeface: Fraunces (Undercase Type, SIL Open Font License 1.1). Both served via Google Fonts.
• Iconography by Lucide (ISC License).
• All third-party product names and trademarks referenced on this site are the property of their respective owners.

AI-generated content disclosure

Stories and illustrations on Little Story Bear are generated with the help of AI models. Automated safety checks are applied to generated content. Reading Journey books also have lesson-specific checks for focus sounds, words, length, and text match. These checks reduce errors but do not make AI content infallible; parents and teachers should review it.

Fair use statement

Where we refer to third-party trademarks (Jolly Phonics, NGRT, DIBELS, etc.) we rely on nominative fair use — using the marks only to the extent necessary to identify the frameworks our app is compatible with or inspired by. If you are a rights-holder with a concern about how your mark is referenced, please contact us at supportlittlestorybear@gmail.com and we will respond within 5 business days.