FAQs
Find answers to our frequently asked questions about Atom Nucleus and Atom Prime.
Parents | Atom Nucleus
General
What age is Atom Nucleus suitable for?
Atom Nucleus is suitable for children ages 7–11 (Years 3–6). Our Exam Prep packages are specifically for children preparing for the 11+ and independent school exams.
Is Atom Nucleus tailored to my child’s age?
Yes – the platform uses adaptive technology which means that questions are displayed at an optimal level of difficulty for your child. This ensures they are stretched and challenged without becoming demotivated.
My child is in Year 1 / Year 2 (Key Stage 1). Can we use Atom Nucleus?
Atom Nucleus is an adaptive learning platform designed to support children studying Key Stage 2 (Years 3–6). We generally would not recommend children younger than Year 3 use the platform, although there may be exceptions to this.
Please contact [email protected] if you would like individual advice regarding your child.
My child is in Year 7 / Year 8 / Year 9 (Key Stage 3). Can we use Atom Nucleus?
Your child is welcome to use Atom Nucleus in Year 7 or above. However, our content is only mapped to early Key Stage 3 topics to help children in Year 6 prepare for the transition to Year 7.
If your child is in late Year 7 or beyond, they may not find the content challenging enough. Your child can practise verbal and non-verbal reasoning on Atom Nucleus, although we would expect the tests they sit in Year 7 and above to be more challenging.
What support does Atom Learning provide?
We’re here to support you and your child with your education journey. You can talk with our Education Experts via LiveChat, phone or email. You can also attend our parent webinars for advice on exam prep and school admissions.
What is Atom’s approach to inclusivity?
At Atom, we are dedicated to creating inclusive content that meets international standards for Culturally Responsive Education. The educational content on Atom Nucleus represents the diversity of the world we live in. The questions, examples and illustrations reflect different cultures and ethnicities, abilities, gender identities, and types of families.
Atom Nucleus is safe to be used by children independently. All questions and scenarios are designed to be age-appropriate and relevant.
Education
Is Atom Nucleus mapped to the national curriculum?
Yes - all of the learning resources available on Atom Nucleus, including the learning journeys, worksheets and video tutorials, are created by teachers and mapped to the UK national curriculum for Key Stage 2 and early Key Stage 3.
My child needs support with maths, English and science. Is Atom Nucleus suitable?
Yes – our Core Curriculum package is designed to help support children in Years 3 to 6 with English, maths and science. For £39.99 per month, your child will be able to access over 70,000 tailored practice questions across the core Key Stage 2 curriculum.
Do you offer 1:1 tuition?
Yes! You can arrange 1:1 tuition with us on top of your regular subscription. Using your data from Atom Learning, our tuition managers will recommend one of our expert tutors to support your child on a 1:1 basis. Our focused tuition will target weaknesses identified by Atom in order to accelerate progress!
You can choose from either short or long-term packages. Any package includes weekly feedback and comprehensive reports provided by our tuition managers.
You can register your interest by clicking the ‘1 to 1 Tuition’ tab in the blue toolbar on the left-hand side of your account. Alternatively, send us an email at [email protected].
Using the platform
Do I need to help my child when they’re working on Atom Nucleus?
No, our platform is designed for your child to use independently. It’s fun and easy to navigate, with helpsheets and videos to help them build and consolidate their knowledge.
How can I measure my child’s progress on Atom Nucleus?
You’ll see in-depth data on your parent dashboard, including your child’s attainment in every subtopic and the depth of their understanding.
What do Atom Learning Points do?
Your child will earn Atom Learning Points (ALPs) when they answer questions correctly on Nucleus. For every question they answer correctly, your child will earn between 2-8 ALPs. The more difficult the question, the more ALPs they will earn.
Each week, Nucleus gives your child personalised ALP targets. Targets change depending on their age, attainment level, and time left until their exam (if you've provided this information). Meeting the weekly ALP target is the most efficient way to make sure your child’s learning is on track, whether preparing for an exam or looking to get ahead by the end of the academic year.
How much time should my child spend on the platform?
The amount of time your child should spend on Atom Nucleus will depend on their individual goals. If your child is using Atom to consolidate their Key Stage 2 learning but not preparing for an entrance exam, it is likely they will spend less time using the platform.
If your child is preparing for an entrance exam, it is important to view this preparation as a marathon rather than a sprint. The little and often approach tends to have the greatest impact on balancing progress with long-term engagement, so we recommend spending 90–120 minutes on Atom Nucleus each week.
Exam preparation
My child is preparing for an exam. Which exam boards is Atom Nucleus suitable for?
Atom Nucleus is designed to support preparation for all major 11+ exam boards for grammar and independent school exams, including CEM, GL Assessments, ISEB, CAT4 and schools' own papers.
Can Atom Nucleus be used for 13+ exam preparation?
The content on Atom Nucleus covers the Key Stage 2 core curriculum, which means that it is suitable for children who are sitting first-stage 13+ exams (pre-tests) while in Year 6. There are also mock tests available for the ISEB Common Pre-Test, which many schools use for 13+ entry. However, the content on Atom Nucleus may not be challenging enough for candidates sitting second-stage 13+ tests (Common Entrance or scholarship exams) in Year 8, as children are normally tested on Key Stage 3 content at this point.
How many mock tests can my child access?
With Atom’s Exam Preparation Plus subscription, your child can attempt multiple mock tests and will see completely different questions in every attempt. This means that no two mock tests are identical.
Do I need to set a target school for my child?
Setting a target school and exam date for your child on the platform allows the algorithm to calculate the recommended number of Atom Learning Points (ALPs) your child should achieve each week to stay on track. It also means that if you get in contact with a member of the Customer Support team, they can make tailored recommendations for you based on your target school.
Account and billing
How much does Atom Nucleus cost?
There are three subscription options with Atom Nucleus:
Core Curriculum: £39.99 per month (£383.90 if paid in full for 12 months)
Exam Preparation: £59.99 per month (£575.90 if paid in full for 12 months)
Exam Preparation Plus: £69.99 per month (£671.90 if paid in full for 12 months)
Can I try Atom for free first?
Yes! All new customers are eligible for a five-day free trial to explore the platform without commitment. If you wish to subscribe, payment for your chosen package will be taken on the sixth day, unless cancelled in advance.
What is your cancellation policy?
You can cancel your Atom subscription at any time in your Parent Portal. You will still be able to use all the features until the day before your subscription would normally renew.
If you require any support cancelling your subscription, please email us at [email protected] or call on 020 3973 9226.
When will my payment be taken?
Payment for your Atom Nucleus subscription will be taken after the five days of your trial period have elapsed. If you are on a monthly subscription, it will then be taken each month on that date going forward. If you are on an annual subscription, payment will be taken on the same date the following year.
How do I change my subscription?
If you would like to switch your subscription to another plan, please contact our team at [email protected].
Is Atom Nucleus a fixed-term subscription?
No – your Atom Nucleus subscription will automatically renew each billing period (depending on whether you are paying monthly or annually). If you do decide to cancel your subscription, you will retain access to the subscription until the end of the current billing period, after which point your account will be closed.
How do I resubscribe to Atom?
If you would like to resubscribe to Atom, you can sign back into your Parent Portal and click ‘Add Subscription’ in the top right. Select the child you would like to resubscribe for and follow the steps to complete the sign-up journey.
Your child’s progress data from your last subscription will be saved so that you and your child can pick up from where you left off.
Can I have two children on one subscription?
As Atom Nucleus uses an algorithm that adapts to each child’s progress, each child must have their own subscription. This is to ensure that the content they see is appropriate and accurately tailored to their unique learning journey.
You can add multiple students to your parent portal. To do this, sign in to your parent portal and click the "+" icon in the top right of your screen. If you require more than one subscription, please contact [email protected] so we can provide you with a sibling discount code.
Technology
How does Atom's adaptive technology work?
When you sign up to Atom Nucleus, the platform will ask for your child's date of birth. This means that Atom knows which topics each child will need to cover in their year group — both to stay on track with their school’s curriculum and to challenge and extend their learning.
Once an account has been activated, and so that the technology can start to work its magic, children need to use the platform regularly. Every time a child answers a question, the algorithm uses their answers to measure their progress and display questions at an optimal level of difficulty. This ensures that children are challenged but not demotivated.
Atom derives data from each question answered to produce tailored and challenging content – so it's important that children work independently to answer questions. This performance data is split up by topic and parents can view a breakdown of each via their Parent Portal.
By continuing to use Atom, children benefit from granular insights, individualised content, and engaging learning. If you have questions about Atom’s adaptive technology, please get in touch with our support team at [email protected].
Does Atom work on iPads?
Yes, Atom Nucleus works on iPads. We always recommend that you keep your iPad up to date, and use Google Chrome if possible.
What devices are supported?
Atom Nucleus is compatible with all modern browsers and devices, in the UK and internationally. This includes modern desktop and laptop computers and tablets including Chromebooks and iPads.
What technical support does Atom provide?
We offer on-demand technical support, remotely or in person.
Teachers | Atom Prime
General FAQs
What age is Atom Nucleus suitable for?
Atom Nucleus is designed for children in Years 3–6 (ages 7–11).
Why is Atom Prime free?
We’ve chosen to offer the main features of Atom Prime to schools for free as part of our mission to democratise education. We do have paid products for home learning and managing assessments.
What is Atom Nucleus?
Atom Nucleus is the home platform for students and parents, aimed at bridging the gap between school and home learning. Atom Nucleus is designed to create a tailored learning journey for each child across English, maths, science, verbal and non-verbal reasoning.
Children have access to interactive activities as well as live lessons, mock tests and custom practice sessions. It can be used alongside the school platform as the two question banks are separate and it is proven to reinforce classroom learning, building confidence in less able students, and extending academically confident students. The algorithm allows them to access the national curriculum and ISEB content covering Years 3–6 (and early Year 7).
Education
What subjects does Atom Prime cover?
Atom Prime covers English, maths, science, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
Who writes the content on Atom Prime?
All of the content you see on the platform is written by teachers, for teachers.
Is Atom Prime mapped to the national curriculum?
Yes – our content is grounded in the UK Key Stage 2 core curriculum. The verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning content is mapped to 11+ exam boards.
Can Atom Prime help my pupils prepare for entrance exams?
Atom Prime is a great way to support entrance exam preparation. The platform’s algorithm and content are reflective of entrance exams such as the ISEB.
Technology
How is Atom Prime adaptive?
Atom’s adaptive question selecting algorithm means that a student will always see questions that are best suited to their ability. Put simply, the more questions the student gets correct, the more challenging their questions become. The opposite also applies: the more questions the student gets incorrect, the easier the questions will become.
How do I know that the algorithm is picking the right questions?
Each new question is assigned a difficulty level based on highly prescriptive specifications for question types. When writing a new question we know the difficulty of all the questions of its type, which have been graded by teachers on a scale of -1 to 5.
Atom’s algorithm takes this grading, then evaluates the responses of every child who encounters this question and accurately adapts the difficulty grading if needed. As a result, we have an enormous question bank that is standardised by the Atom population (approximately 150,000 students) from which the algorithm can choose and assign to students at the level best suited to them, based on their previous answers.
Does Atom work on iPads?
Yes, Atom Nucleus works on iPads. We always recommend that you keep your iPad up to date, and use Google Chrome if possible.
What devices are supported?
Atom Nucleus is compatible with all modern browsers and devices, in the UK and internationally. This includes modern desktop and laptop computers and tablets including Chromebooks and iPads.
What technical support does Atom provide?
We offer on-demand technical support, remotely or in person.
Contact
Who can I speak to about Atom Prime?
To contact a member of the schools team, please email [email protected].
How do I book a demo of Atom Prime?
You can book a demo of Atom Prime by clicking here.