St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Case Study:

St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School

St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a welcoming and inclusive primary school located in Aldershot, Hampshire. Having successfully trialled Anima Phonics with their Reception children for a year, the school extended the programme to Year 1 and Year 2 in September 2021. They also utilise the Anima Phonics decodable book series for home and school reading, ensuring a seamless literacy journey for their children.

Rachel Nash, Early Years Phase Leader at St. Joseph's, was keen to show us around her school.

"I'm so thankful that I opened the initial Anima Phonics email..."

Rachel: "The children really enjoy Anima Phonics lessons. The characters are fun, current and bright. They love the songs (especially Go Go Gorilla!).

"The Anima Phonics books are accessible from the start and allow the children to succeed at reading right from the start. The structured framework of the lesson helps them focus, knowing that there will be a change of pace, activity etc very soon. A parent reported that his child had ‘cried’ because they would miss phonics while off sick!

"The reading books exactly matching the programme are excellent. The Phase 2 and 3 ‘Read and See’ books are really effective at reinforcing the GPCs and building early decoding and blending skills.

"The children love the individual grapheme colouring sheets and often try to colour the character exactly right (although we do often get rainbow gorillas / lions / cheetahs too!).

"I’m so thankful that I opened the initial AP email – it was exactly what I was looking for to refresh, revamp and revitalise phonics teaching in St Joseph’s and has proved to be a fantastic scheme for children, parents and staff alike."

"The lessons are fun and engaging, well structured and easy to follow. All the resources match the exact lesson that you are teaching."

- EARLY YEARS TEACHER -

What do St Joseph's parents have to say?

Rachel: We send the relevant action poems and reading sheets home in ‘Phonic Folders’ each week. These have helped engage home with the phonics programme. Many parents have said their child is ‘teaching them phonics’ or ‘tells them off’ when they don’t do / say it correctly!

"My son has got on so well with Anima Phonics - I can really see a difference in how much more easily he picked up phonics and reading than his brother, who did Jolly Phonics. The phonics books we found so much better!"

“My daughter fully engaged with the actions, sounds and illustration in reception and continues to build confidence with the more advanced resources."

"My son really enjoys his phonics and has learnt so much this last year. He started school not knowing any phonics sounds, and unable to read and he is now very confident and fluent with his reading and recognising letter sounds."

"We love Anima Phonics! Our son has been learning the songs and sounds since Pre-School and it has helped him learn to read.”

- ST JOSEPH'S PARENT -

What do the children think?

Rachel: Our reports have a child’s comment section: 'My favourite thing about school is...’ After lunchtime, the playground and toys, phonics was the most popular answer!

Quotes from children in Reception:

"It’s brilliant! The sound recap is exciting. Go gorilla is my favourite."

Armani

"I like doing Alien Words. I love it when the spider says do it again, it’s so funny!"

Elena

"I like the sound recap so I learn all the sounds and I like singing the songs."

Harley

"I like the Naughtifier, sometimes it’s not easy."

Emy

"The alien words are funny and I feel excited!"

Max

"My favourite is writing sounds, I like learning them."

Joshua

"The songs and actions went down really well. I would 100% recommend it to others."

- ST JOSEPH'S PARENT -

Ofsted Report 2024

Rachel: We have just received our Ofsted report following the inspection in February. A busy time for me, with a deep dive in Early Reading as well as Early Years. It was brilliant, though; I was so confident in talking about Anima Phonics, the programme & sequencing, the reading support (from poems & reading pages through to the Phase 6 books), and how much the children (and parents) are engaged. So many thanks for producing such a fabulous scheme and for all your help and support over the years! It really is VERY much appreciated, never more so than during the inspection!

Ofsted inspection feedback:
The teaching of reading is exemplary. Children in Reception start the reading programme swiftly and with purpose. This continues throughout the school and reading remains a clear priority. Staff use information from precise checks to ensure that pupils read books that are accurately matched to the sounds they have learned. Consequently, pupils develop into fluid and accurate readers. Pupils love reading and enjoy a broad range of carefully chosen books in the well-used library. They are keen to discuss their favourite authors and books, and this inspires them to continue reading at home.

Overall effectiveness: Outstanding

A message from Anima Phonics co-creator, Kerry Harwood:

St. Joseph's embraced Anima Phonics at a critical time when children were just returning to school after prolonged lockdowns. Despite the challenges of introducing a new phonics programme during this period, their results have soared to new heights!

Anima Phonics offers a seamless rollout, user-friendly materials, and a comprehensive solution to achieve outstanding results. If you're interested in implementing Anima Phonics in your school, don't hesitate to get in touch with us. Let's discuss how Anima Phonics can make a remarkable difference in your school!