Olex in Action

The Heath Family Multi-Academy Trust

Building a Writing Culture from Year 7

The Goal

The Prescot School, part of The Heath Family (NW) Multi-Academy Trust, wanted to build a genuine writing culture across the whole school – starting in Year 7, not waiting until Year 10. With an above-average SEND profile, and a boy-heavy cohort, they needed an approach that would motivate reluctant writers, build extended writing stamina early, and allow teachers to track development consistently across all year groups.

The challenge was two-fold: at KS4, feedback cycles were too slow to drive the rapid improvement students needed. At KS3, there was no consistent, objective way to measure writing progress across year groups or to build the habits that would serve students throughout secondary school.

Grade 4 ➝ 6

Average Class Improvement

Years 7-11

Olex Use Across Whole School

The Impact with Olex

Olex timetabled school-wide creating a consistent writing rhythm across all year groups
Students self-assessing and identifying their own gaps
Strong engagement from boys and disadvantaged pupils responding to instant, objective grading
SEND and lower-attaining students accessing extended writing at a higher level
Teachers moving from marker to mentor

"That instant feedback is really powerful. Over the year, our average improved from a grade 4 to a grade 6 - and I genuinely believe that regular, instant feedback is what drove that."

Nicola Traverse, Head of English, The Prescot School

How They Did It

30 laptops purchased to enable whole-school access.
Olex timetabled as a core part of the school week – not an add-on
Year 11 submit a weekly essay, younger year groups work fortnightly, building writing stamina from Year 7 upwards
Teachers scan and mark whole-class sets in minutes
Teacher time saved allows for same-day targeted feedback and next-lesson adjustments
Olex feedback used alongside teacher judgement

"Weekly Olex sessions changed the dynamic entirely. On a Friday, students sit their essay - and by lunchtime they're actively seeking out their score. It's not passive. They take ownership of their results and come to me already understanding why they got the mark they did. That kind of engagement is something that's genuinely hard to achieve with traditional marking."

Nicola Traverse, Senior Leader for English and Literacy, The Prescot School

What's Next?

With bespoke KS3 rubrics launching ahead of the 2026-27 academic year, The Prescot School will have a complete picture of writing development from Year 7 to Year 11 – with objective data at student, class and year group level, from day one of secondary school.

“Children are having conversations with us like, ‘Miss, I don’t think I did as well on that essay, and I think it’s because I missed out the authorial intent.’ Then when we look, it’s like, ‘Yes, you didn’t do as well on that essay — but you know how to fix it.’”

Nicola Traverse, Senior Leader for English and Literacy

Schedule a Demo

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