The proposed project is a collaboration between the Universities of Sheffield and Edinburgh, the BBC (CBeebies), children's media industry partners, the companies Foundling Bird and Dubit, and Monteney Primary School in Sheffield. The project has been co-constructed amongst these partners in order to address a gap in knowledge with regard to preschool children's (aged from birth to five) use of tablet apps. The aim of the project is to develop understanding about preschool children's use of tablet apps and identify the ways in which the use of apps may promote play and creativity, and to use this information to inform future app development and future purchases of apps by parents/ caregivers and early years settings/ schools. The project has four distinct but interrelated phases. In the first phase of the project, a survey of 2000 parents of children from birth to 5 will be undertaken by Dubit. Little is known about the most frequently used tablet apps by young children in the UK and the survey will provide information about the extent of children's use of tablet apps, the type of apps used and parents' motivation for buying specific apps. In Phase 2 of the study, six case studies will be undertaken of families with children aged from birth to 5 who use tablet apps. The case studies will develop understanding about parents' motivation for purchasing specific apps and children's responses to a range of apps in terms of their promotion of play and creativity. Four visits will be made to each family in which parents will be interviewed about their children's use of tablet apps and children will be observed using their favourite apps. In the third phase of the project, workshop sessions will be undertaken in a Foundation Stage 1 class and a Foundation Stage 2 class involving children aged three to five, in which children will be observed using a range of apps. The extent to which the apps promote play and creativity will be reviewed. The apps that will be the focus for Phase 3 of the study will be identified as the top six named favourites of children, as recorded in the Phase 1 survey. In addition, children will also be observed using four augmented reality apps identified as being of interest by the research team. In Phase 4, we will analyse the apps used in Phase 3 in order to identify which features were successful in promoting play and creativity The project will have a range of impacts. The information developed regarding this range of apps will be of value for the children's media industry partners involved in the project. The project will inform future development of apps by the children's media industry. In addition, the project will inform educational provision for apps in the early years through the development of a set of criteria for choosing apps and guidelines for practice. Finally, the project will provide guidance for parents and caregivers in terms of selecting apps to be used with young children and in using them to support play and creativity.