About Arnot St. Mary Church of England Primary School
Arnot St. Mary is located in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. Before introducing StepsWeb, the school's staff explored a range of ways to support their learners who required extra support. Their goal was to find a multisensory approach that is suitable and accessible for all pupils.
Finding inclusive literacy support for different learning needs
Arnot St. Mary was looking for an engaging and accessible way to support pupils with dyslexia and those displaying dyslexic traits. With children of different ages and abilities requiring additional literacy support, the school wanted a multisensory approach that could meet individual learning needs.
While exploring different literacy programmes, the team found that some resources were aimed primarily at younger children, while others took a more formal approach. They needed something that would engage pupils across different year groups while building their confidence and supporting their literacy development.
StepsWeb offered a combination of personalised literacy activities, assessment insights and an engaging, multisensory approach. Laura Sharps attributed these characteristics to their decision to adopt StepsWeb.
"StepsWeb provided us with valuable data and insights that helped us better understand and support our children’s individual needs."
- Laura Sharps, KS2 Classroom Teacher, Arnot St. Mary
StepsWeb is used with pupils from years 3-6, including SEND and EAL pupils, children with dyslexia, and children who need extra support with spelling.
To support regular use, the school has established a timetable around its shared iPads and provided headphones for participating pupils. This helps minimise distractions and creates an environment where children can engage with their activities independently.
The school aims for pupils to complete at least three 20-minute StepsWeb sessions each week, with a goal of completing all 20 weekly activities. Where possible, pupils are also encouraged to access StepsWeb at home for additional practice and reinforcement. StepsWeb's automatically generated printable worksheets are used for homework, giving pupils additional opportunities to practice and consolidate their learning away from the screen.
Teachers use personalised word lists to pre-teach key vocabulary in preparation for upcoming units of work, helping children become more familiar with new language, and supporting their access to the wider curriculum. They also use individualised word lists to address specific gaps in learning and target the needs of individual children. These may focus on high-frequency words, the days of the week, months of the year and other essential vocabulary, enabling educators to provide targeted support and reinforce key skills.
The school uses StepsWeb's certificates and medals to celebrate achievements. This helps to motivate pupils, build their confidence, and recognise their progress.
Improving spelling, confidence, and independence
After three years of using StepsWeb, Arnot St. Mary teachers have reported long-term improvements in spelling age, alongside increased confidence and independence.
The greatest impact was seen in pupils who engage with StepsWeb consistently. Their progress in confidence and spelling age has also transferred into their independent writing across the curriculum, demonstrating the positive impact that regular StepsWeb use can have on learners' wider literacy knowledge.
Pupils who previously relied heavily on adult support are now spelling familiar words more accurately in their everyday writing. Additionally, by assigning StepsWeb's built-in wordlists, pupils have improved knowledge such as the days of the week, months of the year, and subject-specific vocabulary, resulting in greater accuracy and confidence when writing in different curriculum subjects.
The school has also observed pupils becoming more willing to attempt unfamiliar words rather than avoiding them, showing greater confidence in applying spelling strategies they have learned through StepsWeb.
Celebrating progress and motivating pupils
Overall, Arnot St. Mary pupils respond very positively to StepsWeb. According to Laura, pupils enjoy the vast majority of the games and benefit from the consistency and routine StepsWeb provides. The opportunity to earn medals is particularly motivating, and pupils are keen to share their achievements with their peers. They also take great pride in receiving their certificates during celebration assemblies, where their progress can be recognised.
"One of the most rewarding outcomes has been the positive impact StepsWeb has had on the children’s confidence. It has been lovely to see pupils take pride in their learning, celebrate their successes and develop a more positive attitude towards their own abilities."
One particular success story
Laura shared the story of one pupil with cognition and learning difficulties who has used StepsWeb regularly over three years.
At her initial assessment, she was working approximately two years and ten months below her expected level. The pupil really enjoys using StepsWeb and regularly engages with the programme. Through consistent engagement with StepsWeb, alongside targeted teaching and additional interventions, she is now working just seven months below her expected level and is able to write sentences independently, representing significant progress in her learning.
StepsWeb's assessment information helped teachers identify her specific areas of need and determine the next steps in her learning, allowing them to provide targeted support as she continues to develop her skills.
"Her journey demonstrates the potential impact of consistent engagement with StepsWeb, alongside a targeted and personalised approach to teaching and intervention."
- Laura Sharps, KS2 Classroom Teacher, Arnot St. Mary School
Reducing teacher workload and supporting targeted instruction
Alongside supporting pupils' literacy development, StepsWeb has helped teachers at Arnot St. Mary reduce their workload and provide more targeted, individualised support.
The programme's range of diagnostic assessments, including the Spelling Placement Test, Phonics Check, Visual Recognition Speed Test, and Alphabet Test, helps teachers build a clearer picture of each pupil's abilities. These assessments provide useful baselines for measuring progress, identifying learning gaps and determining appropriate interventions. The information can also support referral forms when additional learning support is required.
StepsWeb's reporting tools make it easier to monitor pupils' progress and engagement. Teachers use the Weekly Goals Report to track consistency of use, the Phonics Report to identify gaps in phonics knowledge, and the Class Accuracy Report to highlight pupils who may be struggling with particular skills. These insights help teachers make informed decisions about where further support is needed.
Ready-made teaching resources have also helped reduce preparation time. Word cards, handwriting activities and differentiated worksheets allow teachers to provide targeted practice without having to create materials from scratch. The school also uses printable worksheets for homework, giving pupils opportunities to consolidate their learning away from the screen and apply their developing skills to handwriting and independent written work.
Together, these features have made it easier for Arnot St. Mary to identify individual learning needs, deliver appropriate support and monitor progress alongside existing teaching and interventions.
"It has also helped to reduce teacher workload by providing ready-made resources, including word cards, handwriting activities and worksheets tailored to individual ability levels."
- Laura Sharps, KS2 Classroom Teacher, Arnot St. Mary School
Building on three years of progress
After three years, StepsWeb has become a valuable part of Arnot St. Mary's approach to supporting pupils' literacy development. The school continues to value its ease of use, responsive customer service and ability to provide engaging, personalised support for children with diverse learning needs.
With encouraging improvements in spelling, confidence and independence, the school is keen to build on the progress already achieved. A key priority moving forward is strengthening the transfer of pupils' developing literacy skills into independent writing across the curriculum.
By continuing to combine StepsWeb's multisensory activities, assessment insights and personalised resources with targeted teaching and interventions, Arnot St. Mary aims to support further progress and help pupils become increasingly confident and independent learners.
"Overall, StepsWeb has become a valuable part of our approach to supporting children’s literacy development, and we are keen to continue building on the progress we have seen."
- Laura Sharps, KS2 Classroom Teacher, Arnot St. Mary School
We asked Laura Sharps what advice she would give to another school considering StepsWeb. This was her response:
"My advice would be to trial the program with a small group of 5–10 children from different year groups before committing to it fully. Gather feedback from the children themselves and find out what they like, what they dislike and how they feel it supports their learning. Their feedback can provide valuable insight into how effective and engaging the program will be for your pupils.
Most importantly, choose a program that meets the specific needs of your school and children. Avoid adopting something simply because it is widely used by other schools or has been established for a long time. What works well in one setting may not be the best fit for another. Take the time to explore the options, involve your children in the decision-making process and find the approach that will have the greatest positive impact on their learning."
- Laura Sharps, KS2 Classroom Teacher, Arnot St. Mary School
If you have any questions or would like to book a meeting with us to introduce you to StepsWeb and discuss how it might fit in your school, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
