Every summer term, the same question surfaces in schools across the country: can we use AI assessment tools with Year 6 and stay compliant with STA requirements?
The short answer is yes. Here is how.
Teacher judgement always leads
Under Standards and Testing Agency (STA) guidelines, teacher assessment at KS2 must reflect the professional judgement of the class teacher. That does not change when Olex is in the room.
Olex is designed to support teacher assessment – never to replace it. No feedback reaches a student without the teacher’s explicit review and approval. The AI provides the evidence. The teacher makes the call.
This is not a workaround. It is how Olex works by design.
A practical approach across the year
Schools using Olex for Year 6 can follow a straightforward phased approach that keeps moderation evidence clean and independent.
| PHASE | HOW OLEX IS USED |
| Autumn Term | Use Olex as normal – students receive personalised, framework-aligned feedback to develop their writing skills. This is a teaching and learning phase; work produced here is not submitted for moderation. |
| Spring Term | Continue using Olex for whole-class analytics and teaching insights. Stop sharing AI-generated feedback directly with individual students on pieces intended for moderation evidence. |
| Summer Term | Olex provides teachers with objective, criterion-level evidence (e.g. punctuation, sentence structure, vocabulary) to inform – not determine – moderation judgements. Students write independently without AI feedback. |
How Olex makes moderation stronger
Rather than creating compliance concerns, a well-integrated approach to Olex actually strengthens moderation. Here is what it adds:
Evidence you might have missed. Olex surfaces criterion-level detail that can help a teacher confirm or reconsider a judgement with confidence – particularly useful when a piece of writing is on the boundary.
Reduced bias. Standardised, criteria-referenced analysis sits alongside professional assessment, helping teachers check their instincts against objective data.
Consistent, whole-class insight. Teachers get a clear picture of where the class sits ahead of moderation – informing targeted intervention and teaching at exactly the right time of year.
Time back. Teachers using Olex typically save 60-90 minutes per week on marking. In a term as demanding as the summer term of Year 6, that matters.
On the question of deskilling
Some schools raise concerns about whether AI assessment tools risk deskilling teachers over time. It is a fair question – and the evidence points the other way.
Standardised assessment data helps teachers build confidence in their judgements. It confirms initial instincts. It flags where bias might be influencing a decision. It does not make the call. The teacher does.
If anything, the act of comparing a professional judgement against objective criteria is a form of professional development in itself.
Data protection and compliance
Olex is fully GDPR-compliant with UK-based data handling. Student work never trains external AI models. A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) template is available for schools that need it.
For MAT and trust leaders overseeing multiple schools through moderation season, this consistency of compliance matters. You can roll out a single, clear approach across every school in your trust and know it holds up.
The bottom line
Olex and STA moderation requirements are not in tension. With a phased approach, clear communication to staff, and the understanding that Olex informs rather than determines, schools can use the tool right through Year 6 – and go into moderation with stronger evidence than they would have had otherwise.
If you would like guidance on setting up the right approach for your school or trust, get in touch with the Olex team.
