About St Joseph's School (Orakei)
St Joseph's School (Orakei) is a decile 6 Catholic Primary School with 81 students, situated in Orakei, Auckland, New Zealand.
Students range between years 0-6 and include a wide range of ethnicities, including: African/African Origins, NZ European, NZ Māori, Australian, Chinese, Samoan, Latin American/Hispanic, Tongan, Other South East Asian, British/Irish.
How the school came across StepsWeb
StepsWeb was introduced to St. Joseph’s by a teacher, Pam Robertson, in 2021 after setting the program up in two previous schools she’s taught at. Pam had used StepsWeb since 2013 after receiving training to use the program.
Initially starting StepsWeb on select students, the school expanded their StepsWeb use when they saw the positive impact the program had on their students.
St. Joseph’s School (Orakei) wanted to improve its students’ literacy ability through interactive and fun digital exercises.
St. Joseph’s recognised a need to provide structured literacy intervention for students who they had identified required further support in spelling, phonological awareness as well as providing additional help to their ESOL students. Following the recommendation from a teacher who had previously used StepsWeb, they implemented the program at the start of 2021.
Starting with small groups of learners from Year 2 to Year 6, StepsWeb was introduced as a supplement to their learning. Not only did they see a marked improvement in their spelling, reading and writing, but they also noticed a change in their students’ enthusiasm and confidence. Due to the program’s success, the use of StepsWeb expanded throughout the school and became a useful tool for whole-class and remote learning.
“We have seen improved confidence and improvement in student learning and participation over the year.”
-Pam Robertson, teacher at St. Joseph’s
The school chose StepsWeb as they felt it would greatly benefit their students from Y1-6 who needed further support with:
"Setting up and implementing StepsWeb in the school was quick and easy."
Long-time StepsWeb user, Pam Robertson, implemented 30 minutes of StepsWeb time everyday. They used StepsWeb either individually, or within groups.
The educators at St Joseph's School (Orakei) used the StepsWeb structured literacy Course alongside workbooks and hands-on resources to support struggling students.
After seeing measurable improvements and increased enthusiasm to learn with their current students using the program, they decided to add more students onto StepsWeb.
Part-way through 2021, New Zealand entered a COVID-19 lockdown. During this time, StepsWeb offered free logins to schools across the country, as many schools were not yet equipped for remote learning. St Joseph's School (Orakei) increased their StepsWeb usage even further to support their students learning from home over lockdown.
Initially, students either went to another classroom or to the library to complete their StepsWeb work. Once the program was integrated more as a whole-class resource, students remained within their classrooms to use StepsWeb.
The educators found the StepsWeb teacher training (Lockdown Literacy Series) webinars particularly beneficial in helping them understand how to use the program effectively.
Pam reported seeing "excellent success for all students on the program" with students from Year 3 to Year 6, especially for those students 'at risk' in both reading and writing. During that time, Pam saw student engagement and confidence grow as they maintained continued progress using StepsWeb.
St Joseph's School (Orakei) initially started using StepsWeb with a select few students starting in March 2021. More students joined in May due to its success. More students were added once again in August due to the lockdowns.
Below are tables detailing spelling test results from two of the classrooms at St Joseph's School (Orakei). This is based on the Spelling Placement Test within StepsWeb. This is a standardised spelling test that measures a students' spelling age. The first test was taken when each student first entered StepsWeb, and the second test was taken in Term 3.
Note: Some student results have been excluded from these data sets as they were placed incorrectly during their initial Spelling Placement Test. Read more in the Considerations and Limitations section of this Case Study page to learn about student placement onto the Course and St Joseph's experience of this.
Additionally, students who started StepsWeb due to the lockdowns are not included in this data as they were only added in August, and not enough time had passed when these results were collected to make any meaningful conclusions.
Three students from Room 6 entered StepsWeb in March, followed by seven more students who started in May (two students were incorrectly placed and are not included in the data). These students went to a different classroom for 30 minutes each day, using the program under supervision of Mrs McCrystal, a Teacher Aide.
On average, students from Room 6 gained 16 months in spelling age over the period using StepsWeb.
Four students started using StepsWeb from Room 7 in March, with four more joining in May.
Initially, students went to the library for 30 minutes each day to complete their StepsWeb work under the supervision of Mrs McCrystal (Teacher Aide). Once StepsWeb usage was increased, students remained in the classroom to use the program.
Student M was an ESOL student who increased their spelling age by over 1 year after just 6 months of using StepsWeb.
Student L was a dyslexic learner who really struggled with spelling. Student L saw a spelling age improvement of 8 months.
Overall, the students from Room 7 saw an average spelling age gain of 11 months.
Below are two graphs which show the spelling age gains from students.
The above graph shows students who used StepsWeb for two terms, starting in March. They were students St Joseph's educators identified as needing more support with spelling and phonological awareness, including ESOL students. They saw an average improvement of 13 months spelling age progress by Term 3.
Students who joined StepsWeb later and used the program for just one term saw an average improvement of 14 months by Term 3.
These were students who were not initially identified as needing further support, but were added on after experiencing success with their struggling students.
“We saw some children achieve up to four levels in the year and a huge boost to their confidence. Our parents were also very happy to see their children making progress and enjoying the program.”
-Pam Robertson, Class teacher
Key Findings
What St Joseph's School (Orakei) educators have to say:
“StepsWeb has brought a new air of excitement for learning and achievement to our school, in the area of spelling and reading especially.
Students have been highly engaged and show commitment to the programme. This has been able to continue during level 3 and 4 lockdown times away from school.
The students are motivated by the programme itself, but also through the knowledge they are given of their progress.
It is easy to manage, and children can work independently in class, or be supported in a breakout room with a Teacher Aide.
In one year it has already made a noticeable difference to our learners, particularly those who have struggled throughout Primary School in the area of literacy.
We will certainly be continuing with this programme next year.”
-Sue Bennett, Principal
“We have seen improved confidence and improvement in student learning and participation over the year.”
"Setting up and implementing StepsWeb in the school was quick and easy."
"We saw some children achieve up to four levels in the year and a huge boost to their confidence. Our parents were also very happy to see their children making progress and enjoying the programme.”
“My reluctant boy writers have no problem with going onto the computer work or playing the games.”
“My students enjoy doing their StepsWeb work. Very rarely do I have to remind them to do their StepsWeb work after play. They particularly love the games and play these with other children in the class.”
“I have fully endorsed this programme due to its effectiveness and ease of use. This programme addresses individual needs and supports learning.”
-Pam Robertson, Teacher
“I have found the StepsWeb programme to be a highly engaging and effective literacy tool for all my students, especially my priority learners.
As a teacher in a composite classroom, the programme is fantastic for differentiating learning and ensuring students receive a structured programme that is tailored to their individual needs.
Spending most of last term in lockdown, the programme has been an invaluable home-learning tool. I have received a large amount of positive feedback from parents who have highly praised both the content of the programme and their child’s engagement in their learning”
-Olivia Walker, Scale A Teacher
“StepsWeb sets the students up for learning and achievement in a simple but positive way. The format suits all.
StepsWeb is very helpful for my ESOL students who struggle with the English language and the idioms in the language, i.e. Island children who take what they hear
literally and have trouble processing a statement which has a double meaning.
Example: ‘he was over the moon with his marks.’ Because they take the statement literally, they question how he could be over the moon? These children had
problems to start with in this area but once they understood it was a sentence to create a picture in their mind then they began to enjoy it.
They also enjoyed the balloon letters to be fitted into the correct words. Those who did badly to start with did not mind doing the exercise again till they scored a required level.
Some students did not achieve well in the original assessment and decided the programme was too easy and boring, but a reassessment to get their true level got their interest back. They achieved further goals well and quickly.
The student I have who has dyslexia achieved really good scores with word recognition and building sentences, a task he has always struggled with. The programme gives him confidence and encourages his hand-eye coordination.
During lockdown they have been able to go online and achieve goals the same as they were able to do in class at school.”
-Shirley-Anne McCrystal, Teacher Aide (retired teacher)
“The pupil I helped that day was a girl from Year 5. She absolutely was like a duck to water with StepsWeb. It was so great to see as previously I have seen her struggle in this area. She seemed to really enjoy the simplicity, and the bright easy graphics helped.
I thought I would have to give her more assistance, but she actually flourished just being left alone to work through the exercises. I noticed her smiling to herself as she attained correct marks.
Several students in Room 1 - Y 1 - where I work predominantly are on the StepsWeb programme daily. These students obviously love it as there is never any problem getting them to go off to the library with Shirley-Ann. In fact they run off when called!
These two students would certainly not do anything they didn’t want to.”
-Debbie Pace, Teacher Aide
Student quotes (we have not included names for privacy):
"I like how it’s fun spelling."
“Makes me want to learn spelling.”
“Helpful. Has helped me in my spelling and is entertaining.”
“I think StepsWeb is great because it helps kids in fun ways. I like StepsWeb because it helps me in such different ways.”
Using the Spelling Placement Test inside StepsWeb
Students take the Spelling Placement Test once they log into StepsWeb for the first time. This test assesses their spelling age, and then automatically places them at the appropriate level of the structured literacy Course.
We recommend the following to both educators and parents when your students take this test:
A few students from St Joseph's School (Orakei) were placed at a level that was too low for their actual literacy ability. This was realised once the students made comments about the program being too easy. Their data was not included in the results section of this case study, as their gains were inflated and did not accurately reflect real progress being made.
Visit our Spelling Placement Test Support Site article for more guidance
Alternatively, feel free to reach out to us and we will be more than happy to talk you through it.
Using StepsWeb in small groups vs whole-class
The StepsWeb Course has been designed to look the same throughout, so students working at a lower level feel no different to their peers who are working at a more advanced level of literacy. StepsWeb will automatically provide more reinforcement to students who have been identified as struggling from the initial Spelling Placement Test, allowing them to catch up through more practice of core skills.
Using StepsWeb with small groups will likely see significant gains for those students, however using the program in this way also comes with limitations.
Recent research into StepsWeb usage suggests that using the program with small groups can cause students to feel self-conscious due to segregation from their peers. Using StepsWeb with the whole-class reduces this from happening, and all students, including both struggling and extension learners see progress. StepsWeb adapts to each learner, meaning every student works at their own level and pace, making it an ideal resource that caters to both high need and extension learners.
We also recommend struggling students use the workbooks alongside the online Course to provide further reinforcement and to consolidate the skills being practiced on StepsWeb. While workbooks would likely benefit all students, the majority of learners will progress just fine on the online Course alone. Learn more about StepsWeb Workbooks.
St Joseph's School (Orakei) started using StepsWeb within small groups as a remediation tool. But after seeing the benefits to all students, they increased their usage. This removed the need to segregate students to a separate working space - in their case, the library.
If you would like further advice on how to effectively use the program in the same way, please feel free to reach out.
The StepsWeb Course
When we refer to the 'StepsWeb Course,' we are referring to the structured, cumulative, built-in progression on StepsWeb which every student is placed onto as a result of their initial Spelling Placement Test.
The StepsWeb Course follows a progression which is research-based and aligns with Structured Literacy and the Science of Reading principles. A major benefit of StepsWeb is it will automatically assign activities to students at their own level.
StepsWeb Course Scope & Sequence
St Joseph's School (Orakei) primarily used the StepsWeb Course for their students, and has consistently seen excellent results. Please feel free to contact us if you would like more guidance on using the Course.
St. Joseph’s was looking for a literacy program that could keep their students engaged and meet the literacy needs of their struggling learners. After seeing the success of StepsWeb in their student’s test results, improved confidence and enthusiasm, St. Joseph’s extended the program to include more students within their school.
The educators at St Joseph's School (Orakei) saw improvements in:
Students who were identified as struggling used StepsWeb consistently across two terms (approximately 5-6 months) and saw an average spelling age improvement of 13 months.
StepsWeb exceeded their expectations once they saw excellent progress with not only their struggling learners, but for all students on the program.
St. Joseph’s plans to continue changing lives by improving literacy by using StepsWeb within their school for following years.
