How Stanley Road Primary in Oldham uses Successmaker

Other Successmaker links

RM's SuccessMaker website

Abernet website 

Report from Wester Hailes Education Centre

Other literacy & numeracy software

In a discussion on senco-forum, Maggie Goley, outlined the way SuccessMaker is used at Stanley Road Primary School  in Oldham where she is acting SENCo. Her head teacher, Mrs. Green-Hughes, has allowed her to share their good practice here.

As with all good SuccessMaker implementations it is clear that at Stanley Road success is a team effort which benefits from the support of all involved. Originally set up by Mrs Chris Green-Hughes (Head Teacher) and Mrs. Emma Lees (I.C.T. coordinator) the program is used with all Junior children and selected SEN children from Y1 and Y2. 

Maggie Goley has this to say about its use:

"Each child gets four roughly 20-30 minute slots per week.  We have a computer Suite staffed full time by a very effective teaching assistant.  She joined the staff as a novice, but was willing, attended the training and now she knows more than I do about the system.  She pulls off assessment information regularly, (at least twice a term) which staff use to inform IEP targets for SEN children and literacy targets for other children as appropriate.

Because all the junior children go to SuccessMaker, there is no stigma attached and the vast majority of children are very keen.  The teaching assistant runs a reward scheme which includes certificates given out in assembly for course completion.  The children usually do a maths, reading and spelling programme each session. The younger children do not do the spelling programme.  

There has been a big improvement in children's National Curriculum scores since we began using SuccessMaker, and I am now able to hone my special needs teaching to the very neediest children."

Points worth stressing here are the way SuccessMaker is integrated into target-setting and IEPs. Also, having someone who is very familiar with the system and has time to pull off assessment information regularly is a very big plus, which allows Maggie the time to focus on "the very neediest children".