Bringing Primary Writing to Life
- Engaged writers acting on feedback
- Big write marking made manageable
The Goal
Charter Academy, part of Castle Phoenix Trust, set out to use technology to lift the quality of writing across the school. Digital creativity is a key driver for the trust, and the school narrowed its focus to two priorities: engagement and feedback.
Leaders wanted children excited to write, and feedback arriving early enough to shape the next piece of work, not after the unit had moved on. With a big write taking a teacher around five hours to mark alone, they also needed an approach that would ease marking workload.
The Impact with Olex
- Children motivated to write, knowing a personalised Imaginator image will bring their finished piece to life – and keen to share it at home
- Pupils reflecting on their own writing, comparing their image with what they intended and asking what their writing is missing
- Feedback that changes the next day’s writing. Year 6 pupils receive feedback mid-unit, so they know exactly what to improve while there is still time to act
- Big write marking transformed. A task that could take five hours is now a quick teacher review, with Olex’s next steps typically an exact fit
- Whole-class feedback turned into targeted lessons, closing recurring gaps rather than repeating the same comments
"The children love their Imaginator images - they can't wait to see their writing come to life, and they want to take it home to show their families. But the real impact is what happens next. They look at the image and the feedback side by side, ask themselves what their writing is missing, and go back and make it better."
Tom Wayne, Assistant Headteacher, Charter Academy, Castle Phoenix Trust
How They Did It
- Rolled out from Year 2 to Year 6, with every teacher logged in and using the platform
- Pupils draft in Pages – listening back to their writing, with voice-to-text for those who need it – then copy it into Olex; some classes photograph handwritten work, which pupils upload themselves
- Near one-to-one devices in Years 4-6, so pupils submit their own writing in class
- Olex run at different points in a unit – mid-unit to set targets for the next day, and at the end to drive an editing lesson; Year 6 ran five feedback cycles in six weeks
- Teacher reviews and personalises feedback, adapting next steps for half-termly assessments, then prints it into books
- Imaginator storybooks printed and displayed. Stuck into books, shown on classroom displays, and taken home by children keen to share them with their families
"Running Olex halfway through a unit has made the biggest difference. By day two of a four-day write, the children already know exactly what they need to improve - so they're not repeating the same mistakes all week. When we run it again at the end, you can see that feedback in their writing."
Tom Wayne, Assistant Headteacher, Charter Academy, Castle Phoenix Trust
What's Next?
- Embedding mid-unit feedback in every class, so pupils act on next steps while the unit is still live
- Building whole-class feedback into lesson planning, turning recurring next steps into targeted teaching
- Setting a clear whole-school expectation for how Olex is used across every writing unit
Schedule a Demo
We’d love to show you how Olex.AI works for schools and trusts in a 30-minute demo of the platform.
