Upton Heath Primary School

Case Study:

Upton Heath Primary School

Upton Heath Church of England Primary School is a friendly and inclusive primary school in Upton, Chester. They have been using Anima Phonics for three years. It is taught across the Early Years and Key Stage 1. Every year, the school holds an Anima Phonics Day, where the children and staff all dress as their favourite Anima Phonics character.

Lil Brocken, Reading Leader at Upton Heath, invited us to spend the day with them.

"The children love to learn with Anima Phonics."

Lil: "Anima Phonics brought a sense of fun to our phonics sessions. As phonics lead I was looking for something to freshen it up for children and staff and this was perfect. The online platform is easy to use and the planning and resources make it easier for staff to teach phonics. I love the format of each lesson and how it flows – this is easy for new staff to pick up and use. We love the addition of songs as the children enjoy them.

"By using the resources such as the sound mat, phonics frieze and interactive sound board we feel that children have become more independent writers and see that they are really applying their phonics to reading and writing. Children who may have struggled to apply their sounds to reading and writing are now able to as they have the action or visual cues to use as a prompt. As the children become more confident it is fantastic to see that they no longer need the prompts and then in KS1 it is lovely to hear the children discuss the different sounds they know and talk about alternative graphemes.

"The children look forward to phonics and if there is a slight change in timetable they make sure we are doing phonics at some point during the day! The children really love certain characters and the actions support them to remember certain digraphs that have been tricky in the past."

"By the end of Reception, my son would read wherever he saw text in the 'real world'... signs when out and about, the back of a cereal box - nothing phased him!”

- UPTON HEATH PARENT -

What do Upton Heath parents have to say?

"All during Reception, my son would wake up excited to go to school to find out what his sound of the day was. He just could not get enough and was always trying to sneakily find out what the next sounds were. It really was a credit to his teachers and Anima Phonics how much he embraced reading."

"Seeing how the scheme is taught allowed me to see how much sense it makes! The kids just get it and it clicks, giving them the building blocks and confidence to read so much earlier than in other schemes I have come across."

“As a parent, I have found the speed at which my child has acquired a large number of sounds most impressive. He quickly assimilated new sounds and is keen to use the actions as prompts. He readily uses the actions to help him blend words when reading his school books (and words he sees around the house!)."

"From their baseline assessments (starting around 10-14% secure), we usually see a huge jump to 80% by the end of Phase 3."

- RECEPTION TEACHER -

Ofsted Report 2024

Lil: We recently had an Ofsted inspection and phonics and early reading was deemed ‘impressive'.

Ofsted inspection feedback:
Leaders ensure that reading is central to the school’s curriculum. The teaching of phonics starts from children’s very first day in the Reception class. Staff are well trained and use the reading curriculum effectively to build children’s knowledge and confidence. They ensure that all children, including those with SEND, read books that are well matched to their phonics knowledge. Children who struggle with early reading receive well-structured support that helps them to keep up with their peers. Leaders ensure that the focus on reading remains as pupils move through school. Older pupils who met with the inspector were confident and fluent readers.

Overall effectiveness: Good

Phonics Screening Check results

2018/19
Before implementing Anima Phonics there was no given scheme at the school and staff used aspects from different schemes whilst following the progression of Letters and Sounds.

Phonics Screening Check results:

Year 1 - 76% (National average 82%)
Year 2 - 47% (National average 91%)

2019/20
Background:

12-month trial use of Anima Phonics
COVID first lockdown
PSC cancelled

2020/21
Background:

Continued use of Anima Phonics
COVID second lockdown
Remote daily phonics teaching was delivered. Parents could watch videos, access the Anima Phonics website, daily activities were set, etc
PSC cancelled again

2021/22
Background:

Anima Phonics is now established in EYFS, Y1 and Y2
Some individual children in KS2 are using Anima Phonics intervention resources
Some TAs and class teachers have received specific training for support

Phonics Screening Check results:

Year 1 - 78% (National average 75%)
Year 2 - 92% (National average 87%)

find out more

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

After two years of lockdowns, remote teaching and endless disruption, Upton Heath has incredibly achieved higher results in the 2022 Y1 PSC than in 2019. This bucks the national trend, which has seen average PSC results fall from 82% to 75%. I am so impressed with the achievements of all at Upton Heath!

Anima Phonics is quick to roll out, easy to understand and provides everything a school needs to achieve outstanding results. Contact us to discuss introducing Anima Phonics in your school.