Sponsored by 
Auris Tech / Fonetti
The National Read-Aloud Challenge (NRAC), delivered by Auris Tech, is a UK-wide literacy initiative designed to tackle summer reading regression by re-engaging children when reading levels typically decline. Open to schools and families, the programme provides free access to the Fonetti read-aloud platform during the summer holidays, transforming reading into an interactive and confidence-building experience.
Using patented automatic speech recognition technology developed specifically for reading, children receive real-time feedback on accuracy and fluency as they read aloud. This creates an engaging, gamified experience that motivates sustained participation, even among reluctant readers.
Since its launch in 2023, the NRAC has supported tens of thousands of children across the UK, generating one of the largest structured datasets of read-aloud activity. Results show increased reading engagement, improved confidence, and measurable gains in fluency and accuracy.
The initiative also supports teachers with post-summer insights into pupil progress, while empowering parents to maintain reading routines at home.
By combining accessibility, engagement and evidence-driven technology, the NRAC demonstrates how innovative EdTech can deliver meaningful impact at scale and help address one of education’s most persistent challenges.
Blackout Education
Blackout Education is transforming how schools manage smartphone use during the school day. Through an evidence-led approach, the programme helps schools establish consistent routines that reduce digital distraction while supporting pupil wellbeing and safeguarding.
Blackout provides a bespoke digital solution to a digital problem. The programme combines patented technology with whole-school implementation, restricting non-essential apps during the school day while keeping essential functions available. Schools gain clear visibility into real-time data through a dashboard, helping staff apply expectations consistently without relying on phone confiscations.
Alongside practical management of devices, Blackout also supports education around healthy digital habits. Pupils develop the skills and understanding needed to use technology responsibly, reflecting the Department for Education’s focus on inclusive, digitally aware education that prepares young people for lifelong learning.
Impact has been evaluated through the January 2026 Blackout Impact Assessment, which analysed implementation across schools representing more than 5,000 pupils. Evidence from staff surveys, pupil feedback and school observations shows reductions in phone-related disruption, calmer classrooms and improved focus during lessons, creating more productive learning environments.
Chatty Toolbox
Chatty Toolbox is a digital learning platform designed to support speech, language and EAL development, with a focus on the early years. Developed by a Speech and Language Therapist with 25 years’ experience, in conjunction with an experienced EYFS Lead, it brings clinically informed, evidence-based practice directly into nursery and reception classrooms, where early intervention has the greatest impact.
The platform supports the development of skills including vocabulary, understanding, attention, and early speech sounds. Modules such as Chatty Early and Chatty Subjects are closely aligned with the EYFS curriculum, helping practitioners embed language development into everyday teaching and play-based learning. Chatty Emotions further supports early emotional literacy, including the language of feelings and self-regulation.
Grounded in approaches such as Bringing Words to Life and Blank’s Levels, Chatty Toolbox enables staff to deliver consistent, high-quality language support, regardless of prior specialist training. It supports early identification of need and inclusive practice, particularly for children with SEND and EAL.
While rooted in early years, the platform extends across the whole primary phase, ensuring continuity of support as children progress through school. Used by over 100 schools, Chatty Toolbox is improving outcomes, building staff confidence, and strengthening partnerships with parents.
Lawn Tennis Association
FAGE LTA Youth Schools (LTAYS) programme is a free national initiative from the LTA, designed to help schools make tennis accessible to all children. It offers free teacher training and resources for schools, enabling them to embed tennis into their PE curriculum without financial barriers.
FAGE LTAYS has transformed both children’s and teachers’ experience of tennis in schools. It has boosted the confidence of tens of thousands of educators across Britain to deliver tennis in PE lessons thanks to its resources, and in turn nearly 1.5 million children across Britain have taken part in tennis sessions by teachers who’ve received training through the programme. The programme has also delivered over £2.5 million in funding thanks to the LTA Tennis Foundation, helping schools to access either brand-new equipment or further coaching from local LTA-accredited coaches.
With boys two times more likely and girls three times more likely to play tennis as an adult if they play the sport in school, FAGE LTAYS is delivering a long-term positive impact on children across Britain, helping them to develop a lifelong passion for sport and physical activity, as well as helping teachers to enjoy delivering tennis in their schools.
Literacy Tree
Literacy Tree was developed to address fragmented curriculum design, inconsistent writing outcomes and limited access to high-quality, diverse literature in primary schools. Our research-informed, book-based whole-school approach integrates planning, professional development, and assessment within one coherent literacy platform.
Now used in over 1,300 schools, Literacy Tree supports teachers to embed explicit literacy instruction within meaningful literary contexts, strengthen curriculum progression and increase writing motivation. Successful implementation is supported through structured CPD, consultancy and ongoing subject leader networks to ensure sustained impact rather than short-term change!
Our impact is evaluated through triangulated evidence including structured Annual Member Surveys, cross-phase Pupil Voice surveys, embedded school tracking and post-training evaluation. In 2026, teachers reported increased pupil engagement, strengthened subject knowledge and improved writing attainment. Pupil voice data shows high levels of writing confidence, pride in work and exposure to diverse literature across both Key Stages.
To further strengthen objective validation, Literacy Tree is currently participating in an independent, EEF-funded efficacy trial delivered by RAND Europe and the University of Leeds, involving over 100 schools nationally.
Olex.AI
Olex.AI is a generative AI platform transforming how schools teach, assess, and develop English writing. By marking an entire class of 30 essays in under two minutes, Olex saves teachers thousands of hours while delivering consistent, individualised feedback aligned to curriculum standards.
This entry demonstrates measurable impact across two multi-academy trusts. At The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT), Olex was deployed across 15 secondary schools, marking 5,691 essays, saving over 1,000 hours, and enabling 70 hours of additional CPD per teacher. 100% of mock exams were marked on time.
At Moorside Primary (ALP Trust), Olex delivered immediate engagement from reluctant writers, improved attainment, reduced SEND barriers, and saved teachers 60–90 minutes per week.
Evidence was collected through quantitative platform data, structured teacher feedback, and trust-level outcomes tracking. Olex consistently marks within ±3 of the most experienced examiners.
Across the platform, Olex generated over 42,000 pieces of student feedback in 12 months, saving approximately 7,000 hours – demonstrating that AI can deliver meaningful workload reduction while improving consistency, outcomes, and teacher wellbeing.
Sumdog – Sumdog Maths
The Sumdog Maths England Efficacy Study (2024/25), conducted with independent evaluators ImpactEd Evaluation, examined the impact of Sumdog on Year 5 pupils’ maths attainment and engagement across 14 English primary schools.
Using a mixed-methods approach, the study analysed attainment data from nearly 500 pupils, alongside surveys from 239 pupils and qualitative insights from teacher interviews and focus groups. Over three terms, pupils using Sumdog demonstrated statistically significant improvements in maths attainment.
The proportion of pupils working above the expected standard increased from 13% to 20.4%, while the proportion working below the expected standard fell from 38.9% to 32.9%. Particularly strong progress was seen among pupils with special educational needs (SEN), where the proportion working at or above the expected standard more than doubled, rising from 28% to 59%.
Teachers reported that Sumdog strengthened mathematical fluency, supported consolidation of classroom learning, and helped identify gaps through clear, real-time data insights. The platform’s adaptive questioning and game-based design increased motivation and participation, particularly among previously disengaged or less confident learners.
Overall, the study demonstrates how adaptive, evidence-informed technology can support inclusive maths learning and help schools improve attainment, engagement and confidence in the primary classroom.
Teachmate
Teachmate is an AI-powered platform designed to support teachers and school staff with lesson planning and resource creation. It is primarily teacher-led rather than learner-facing. Educators use its 150+ purpose-built tools to reduce the time spent on administrative and preparatory tasks, freeing them to focus on pupils.
The platform is accessed through an intuitive, prompt-based interface and requires no specialist technical knowledge, making it accessible to teachers at any career stage. Its tools span the full range of professional tasks a teacher might face, including lesson planning, differentiated activities, model texts, retrieval questions, comprehension tasks, success criteria, and parent communications.
Beyond the classroom teacher, Teachmate also supports school leaders and managers. It has been used for school development planning, end-of-year reporting, and trust-wide communications. Support staff have equally benefited, using the platform to lead their own targeted interventions in areas such as speech and language and precision teaching.
Teachmate integrates into institutional workflows through school and trust-wide licences, meaning it functions as a shared professional resource across whole organisations rather than as an individual subscription tool. In short, it is designed to sit alongside the everyday professional practice of anyone working in a school setting, reducing workload without compromising the quality, consistency, or impact of teaching and learning.