CASE STUDY · PRIMARY SCHOOL
Clearer feedback for every young writer
How St. Fidelis Catholic Primary School reduced marking workload while giving teachers and pupils more consistent, actionable insight
The Challenge: Marking Workload and Consistency
Despite this forward-thinking culture, the marking of writing remained a significant challenge. Teachers relied on detailed checklists to assess pupils’ work, yet the process was arduous for staff and many pupils struggled to understand how to act on feedback.
“It was very time consuming,” said Laura Cook, Year 6 teacher. “We used checklists for expected standards and sometimes pupils tried to self-assess, but they did not really understand what they needed to include.”
Adopting stylus
Having previously used other AI-based marking systems, the school was interested in stylus because it combines AI analysis with human moderation to produce accurate, evidence-based assessment.
“We were already exploring AI through our curriculum,” says Laura. “So the mix of needing support with writing assessment and the opportunity to use AI just worked perfectly.”
Teachers trialled the marking service in one Year 6 class, manually marking the work as well as submitting the writing to stylus. Comparing the AI-moderated feedback with their own judgments gave them confidence in the system:
“We did teacher marking and then used stylus,” Laura explains. “It was really useful to see how closely it matched our own judgments.”
Impact on Teaching and Learning
Teachers found the feedback detailed, individualised, and more comprehensive than traditional marking allowed.
Key benefits include:
Richer comments that pupils could understand and put into action
Modelled examples showing how to apply specific skills
Greater variety in phrasing, which helped teachers expand their own feedback language
Clear next steps that pupils could revisit during future writing tasks
“The pupils really liked the fact that they’re getting so much more detail,” says Laura. “That sort of thing would take us forever and a day. As a teacher, you want to do that — that’s where stylus particularly shines.”
stylus also changed how feedback is used across the school. Pupils receive printed reports summarising strengths, next steps, and examples. These are used in dedicated feedback sessions, where pupils discuss their targets and keep them on their desks as reminders for future writing.
“We’ve used stylus to inform their targets which then go on their desk,” Laura explains. “It’s not just that piece of writing — it’s an ongoing tool to make sure to include it in every piece of writing and remember the cross-curricular implications.”
Reducing Workload and Enhancing Consistency
The introduction of stylus has reduced teacher workload and supported wellbeing. Teachers now spend less time marking while gaining confidence in the accuracy and consistency of their judgments.
“For me, it was about trust,” Laura admits. “Can I trust the judgment? Can I rely on it to be as effective as we are? That was probably the biggest thing for me and I would say that now I can see it as a useful tool working alongside me.”
The school also values stylus for the consistency it brings to assessment across cohorts, strengthening moderation and reducing variability between teachers.
“I feel it’s improving me and my teacher marking,” Laura shares.
Summary
For St. Fidelis, stylus has become a useful part of its already successful assessment framework. It saves time, strengthens feedback, improves consistency, and deepens pupil engagement with writing. Teachers feel supported rather than replaced and stylus insights help them refine their marking and deliver feedback with greater precision.