The Link - Edition 14 - March 2021

Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Special edition: Learning in lockdown

ISSUE No. 14 - MAR 2021

THE LINK

DELTA REMOTE LEARNING Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Welcome

Paul Tarn

Chief Executive Officer

Welcome to a special edition of The Link, which celebrates the remarkable efforts made by colleagues across the Trust during the latest lockdown. rightly, dominated by our remote learning offers but, away from lockdown, we have taken huge strides forward. We feature three significant developments on pages 19 and 20.

I am delighted Grange Lane Infant Academy has been designated a Teaching School Hub for Barnsley and Doncaster, and Selby and Wakefield.

It was a vote of confidence by ministers in our consortia.

Working with these partners, it presents a chance to pool talents and transform outcomes for communities across the North of England.

A new Education Exchange, purpose built at Knottingley, will be home to the Teaching School Hub. It will be a place where experts deliver high quality professional development for all working in

Our inspirational, innovative, hard-working staff have ensured children have received high-quality education during the pandemic, reflected in the excellent levels of engagement.

Ed Tech Week showcased fantastic examples of work and the opportunities technology can bring going forward. My thanks to those colleagues involved.

While it is no substitute for learning in a classroom, your efforts have ensured children have not missed out.

Everybody has faced challenges during this lockdown, including colleagues teaching their children at home while balancing professional lives.

I want to thank everybody for doing their best in these challenging times. It is appreciated.

This 14th edition of The Link is,

education at every stage of their careers.

We have the capacity, expertise, and talent in our academies and Trusts to transform our region.

I am also incredibly proud of our significant investment at Dallowgill, our environmental and outdoor centre in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.

I paid another visit during half term to see the progress. It is amazing what has been created and the opportunities it will provide.

It will benefit children across the Trust, but particularly those who are most disadvantaged.

I cannot wait for colleagues and children to see it up and running.

Thank you again to everybody. You are making a real difference to the lives of the children in our Trust and the communities we serve.

Ed Tech Week showcases excellent practice Fantastic work in every academy across the Trust has ensured children have accessed high quality remote learning during the third lockdown.

Colleagues have pushed the boundaries of what is possible with remote learning and their innovation was showcased during Ed Tech Week.

It shared good remote learning practice to the wider education staff.

Some of the colleagues who delivered CPD during the week spoke about their experiences to The Link.

Science teaching has been remodelled over the last 18 months and Ed Tech Week provided a chance to show lockdown had not hindered the progress.

Executive Director Nic Atkinson said science had made enormous strides, redesigning the curriculum in response to the needs of our students and also to align with the new Ofsted regime.

“The thrust of my Ed Tech presentation was about how we have provided an online learning platform without disrupting the progress made since January 2020 and allowing students to continue their learning journey,” he said.

“We split science into 10 strands and it has more flow and continuity as a result.

“The staff mindset is which strand they are teaching and how the learning flows from year to year, rather than which topic.”

The third lockdown came along and presented challenges, with the renewed emphasis on home learning.

“Since January, every lesson up to and beyond Easter has been recorded by the science directors,” said Nic.

“These lessons can be set asynchronously for students to access independently.

“Everything the students may need is on those resources – drill questions, embedded videos and answers to everything, along with quizzes to test understanding.

“When children have not been able to access laboratories, these recordings have been even more important.

“The lesson resources have to be tweaked and differentiated for a class but that is the skill of a teacher knowing their classes.

“You would not expect a plumber to turn up on his first day at a new company and bring his own tools.

Why should a teacher?

“We are giving them the toolkit and they then use their skills to apply them.

“I’m keen our recorded lessons are not delivered as lectures and there is interaction.

“They have been well received by

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Nic Atkinson

Executive Director (Science)

staff and students.

“There is longevity here beyond the pandemic. We have resources in perpetuity, hugely beneficial to young teachers.

“Children also benefit as they are able to go at their own pace, pausing or skipping. In terms of accessibility there are no barriers.

“It is exciting and I’m really keen to keep pushing the boundaries. Ed Tech was a chance to get across these ideas.”

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Remote learning triumphs

A discussion on how closely aligned classroom practice could be with the remote offer, led to David Irving being part of the Ed Tech team.

The Associate Executive Principal had been speaking to Andrew Yeomans at the end of last year.

“As we all started from much the same place back in Lockdown 1, it was up to us to try to get the best possible learning experiences to our pupils at home,” David said.

“We began with what we knew already worked well in the classroom and from then on it was about being brave, being honest, and trying new things.

“We quickly found that if we could find the right online resources, for example counting sticks and 100 squares, we could quite readily match our provision.”

After that, it was about how to use Zoom’s functions to facilitate usual classroom practice, for example breakout rooms for intervention, and chat for sharing ideas.

“By being reflective and refining our practice as we normally do in

school, we found that pupils soon settled in, as although new, there was a firm sense of familiarity in how we taught the curriculum,” David said.

David Irving

Associate Executive Principal

Good practice needs to be shared widely to benefit students’ learning outcomes – something Lucy Dix is passionate about.

The remote learning lead at Rossington All Saints regularly attended meetings about provision and sharing good practice.

“Through these I was put in touch with Andrew Yeomans who took the time to listen to my passion for OneNote,” she said.

“This developed into leading CPD for primary and secondary staff across the next few days, which snowballed into my role as an Ed Tech Innovation Lead.”

She has met with Academies in and outside of the Trust to support their remote provision.

The sessions support staff with

the technical use of Teams and other platforms while discussing the why, to enable each establishment to make informed decisions within their settings.

Lucy said: “Ed Tech Week was an excellent platform to provide this support to many, reaching a large variety of establishments.

“I wanted to be part of Ed Tech Week to enable the great practice we had found from our researchbased trials and working with other academies, to be shared externally.

“The opportunity to show how we could provide support results in greater remote learning provision

for all and, of course, better learning outcomes for students.”

For Lucy, Ed Tech was more about the why than how?

“While my session discussed the technologies and multimedia that could be used in asynchronous sessions, it focused on pedagogy and why it is important.

“As part of my Associate Lead Teacher role, I am responsible for a wide variety of areas all focused around collating great practice from across the Trust and ensuring this is shared.

“Each week, I deliver a video newsletter focused around

remote learning and important updates or focus areas.”

In the role, Lucy has started an initiative ‘Delta Digital Hero’, where each week staff nominate others for their great practice and / or support.

“This is something I find extremely important, sharing positivity and celebrating staff, especially in current circumstances.

“We would not be able to do anything without them so having the opportunity to recognise and praise their never-ending hard work is something I am committed to continuing.”

Ed Tech Week provided Scott Berry an opportunity to work with “amazing people” inside and outside the Trust.

He said: “It has been fantastic to share what we have learnt with others based in education all around the country.

“We are supporting educators to develop their pedagogy during this challenging time and empowering them to recreate the magic of their classroom practice remotely.”

Providing educators with the tools needed to ensure their remote learning practice was strong, sustainable, and effective had been a pleasure.

“This is such a difficult time for everybody, but it is exciting to see what we can take away from

Scott Berry

Reading Lead, Macaulay Primary Academy

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everything we have learnt and use it to support pedagogy back in the ‘brick-and-mortar’ classroom once pupils are back in school,” said Scott.

“Everybody has a right to an education, and what brought me into education was my passion for ensuring that all children, no matter what their background, have the opportunity to flourish.

“I have been blessed to work with such amazing people throughout my career, and I feel very fortunate right now to be doing just that.”

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The Vale: Lockdown pride Live lessons are being attended by 99% of students at The Vale Academy.

Undeterred by lockdown restrictions, The Vale Academy’s student leadership team was determined to ensure Holocaust Memorial Day was honoured.

Year 11s took part in a live cook-a-long making a decorated Focaccia using vegetables and herbs. They made the dough first thing and left it to prove until the lesson.

“I really like the extra help you can get using the live lessons where instead of struggling you can easily ask the teacher for some extra support.”

Ruby, Year 8, said: “I like how organised Teams is. It is easy to use and very helpful.

“I also enjoy the live lessons.

They allow me to ask questions to my teachers if I am ever stuck or confused about a task.”

Year 7’s Jack said: “I’m really enjoying school and feel like I’m making progress.”

Science teacher Andrew Williams said: “E-learning has allowed us to stay in touch with students and teach them, so they can still make progress, even in these difficult circumstances.”

Caroline Wray, an English teacher and mentor said: “Thank you for your fantastic ideas – I am going to

be trying some of these out.”

Geography and English teacher Abbie Austin “loved Kahoot” while English colleague Amy Ogman said: “Teams allows them still to interact with others - talk in the chat and see each other.”

Kirsty Longden, who also teaches English, commented: “My A-Level group has enjoyed being able to design and present research findings via Teams.”

Psychology teacher Jill Hopkinson felt “discussions can be as good as being in school” while head of modern foreign languages Giusi Perseu liked the fact learning was at the heart of the remote offer.

“The continuous communication that happens between teachers and students is focused on the same thing: for learning to happen,” he said.

Stunning artwork

E-learning has meant more freedom for the interpretation of each task in art.

Curriculum Leader at The Vale Academy Louise Mather said this could be illustrated by the work submitted.

Students access and complete practical work at home using materials they have available while having personal choice.

Students have generated different and creative responses to work.

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Members took part in a Brigg online Holocaust Memorial Service and lit candles in memory of those who were, and continue to be, affected by the atrocities.

This ceremony - entitled Be the Light in the Darkness - took place via Zoom on Sunday, 24th January, and included biblical readings from local MP Andrew Percy and Brigg Town councillor Sharon Riggall.

A moving reflection of his own family members’ encounters and a concluding prayer were shared by Rabbi Thomas Salamon.

The Academy’s representation was greatly appreciated, and students were praised at the end of the ceremony by Mr Percy.

A memorial candle was placed in reception on the day, 27th January, and staff created a number of lessons focusing on the Holocaust.

Students in English looked at poetry and created Holocaustinspired poetry.

Toby’s work

Remote artwork from Jess

This statistic was among the reasons Principal Nicola Williams has felt proud during lockdown.

Teaching styles have developed with the use of apps: class notebook, Sway, Mentimeter, Kahoot, forms quizzes and assignments.

Students and staff are working together in multiple ways to monitor engagement and complete work.

There had also been an improved use of notebook for sharing resources.

“What was once daunting has now empowered us all,” said Nicola.

The efforts were organised initially

by Associate Assistant Principal (e-learning) Sandy King and Assistant Principal (teaching and learning) Colleen Zietsman, who delivered all Teams training in CPD time on Tuesday evenings.

Ongoing CPD in faculty times has empowered the whole staff to deliver quality, seamless learning.

The hard work has been recognised by students.

India, in Year 11, said: “I like the fact that teachers are still putting the effort into teaching.

“Some of my friends from other schools aren’t being taught, they’re just being sent work to do, which isn’t helping them.”

Year 10’s Sophie liked the explanations.

“Teachers check we are all done before moving on, they don’t just check two or three people,” she said.

Isobel, Year 10, commented: “I like the small bits of work that we do. It seems more broken up into manageable parts.”

Additional teacher support was appreciated by Year 8’s Keeley.

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Grange Lane: Book covers fun

Imaginative pupils had fun recreating a cover of their favourite story book in a remote reading challenge at Grange Lane Infant Academy.

Organised by Vice Principal and Literacy Lead Janice Murrell, the children gave it some good thought and, with some help from mums and dads, created fabulous new covers for famous books.

“When I set this challenge, I knew that this was a tricky one as there are so many amazing stories with already amazing front covers,” she said.

“But I have to say, I now prefer the new front covers made by our children for their favourite story books!”

Lydia, in Year 2, recreated Wake Up Do Lydia Lou. “This is my favourite book because it has got my name in it,” she said.

“I felt a bit sleepy in my bed. I really enjoyed the story and acting out the picture.”

Year 1’s Ethan, took on Peter Pan. “I enjoyed working together with my family to make the Pirate ship. I liked dressing up too,” he said.

Maja (Year 1, Little Unicorn’s birthday) liked getting dressed as a unicorn and looking at the cover and putting all the things in the right place.

Reception’s Jaxon liked doing Dinosaurs Love Underpants because he dressed his big teddy in underpants!

Jamie – The dinosaur that pooped the past

Alice – Wow said the owl Georgia – Rapunzel

Jaxon – Dinosaurs love underpants

Maja – Little Unicorn’s birthday

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* Grange Lane announced as Teaching School Hub – page 22 5

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De Warenne: Right option

Portfolio coursework was improved across De Warenne Academy’s Year 10 in a remote, deep learning day.

Art, photography, performing arts, health and social studies, hospitality and catering, iMedia, and travel and tourism were the option subjects studied.

The project title was food and pupils completed observational drawings of food found in their homes.

They also examined the work of artists and some chose to produce work in their style.

Two pupils worked on improving their personal response to a previous project.

Pupils started the day, organised

by Vice Principal Joe Spencer, with

a live lesson on Microsoft Teams.

It was delivered by Craig Deakes (photography), Sarah Heath (performing arts), Catherine Shires (health and social care) Steph Howard (hospitality and catering), Dan Joyce and Lewis Brown (imedia), Alisya Clarke (travel and tourism), Dan Gough, Mark Storey, Andy Turton and Laura Morley (sport studies).

Catherine said: “Pupils worked really hard and appreciated the chance to spend quality time with staff to get personalised help.”

“Pupils were enthusiastic throughout sessions and made

some excellent improvements to their Unit 2 coursework,” said Alisya.

The day was well received by pupils.

Demi said: “I was able to enjoy the subject that I like most and finish work that would have taken me forever to do.”

“After working hard all week, an art drop down was a stress relief as it can be fun,” Ruby said.

Sam started and finished a lot of new coursework while Chloe said: “Working on my option subject relieved all the stress.”

Work produced during the deep learning day

Fun was had by pupils and staff in a weekly Teams enrichment quiz at De Warenne. The Super Massive Quiz of Everything was designed to promote pupil wellbeing and develop cultural capital.

It also offered pupils the chance to improve their oracy / communication skills and test knowledge of subject specific vocabulary from their learning during the half-term.

The quiz was written and organised by Vice Principal John Hall and Associate Assistant Principal Natalie Agar.

Learning Managers donned the role of quiz masters and other colleagues joined in the fun.

Chloe, in Year 7, felt the doing the quiz brought everyone together while Courtney in Year 8 enjoyed it because it was fun.

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Personal development days focusing on relationships and sex education were run over a week at De Warenne Academy.

The theme was healthy and respectful relationships.

Years 9 to 11 learned about sexual health and contraception in a session delivered by Academy nurse Pauline Hargreaves.

Other lessons examined families and parenting, commitment, and healthy friendships.

The days were organised by relationships and sex education lead Catherine Shires, with lessons also delivered by subject teachers.

Nicole, in Year 10, said: “The sessions were amazing. I hope to learn about more things like this.

“It was a nice break to talk about things in our personal lives.”

Fellow Year 10 pupil Ruby said it had been “a good way to inform young people about STIs, treatment and contraception.”

Keva, in Year 11, commented: “I think it was a good session because it helped young people understand that it is OK to go and seek help if they are concerned about anything.”

Phoebe in Year 9 said: “I found it interesting and it’s important that we learn about this sort of stuff at a young age so we know what to do in our future.”

Teacher of science Stefan Hines said students engaged well and raised great points.

“I think it worked well with a good variety of independent work, discussion, videos, and longer tasks,” he said.

Head of History Rhiannon Vanstone-Dale: “Students made some interesting points and really valuable conversations were had around healthy relationships.”

Demi, in Year 10, said: “I enjoyed it because after a long hard day of school, we got to chill and have a laugh.”

Year 9’s Phoebe commented: It was good fun and it tested how much general knowledge I knew.”

Alana, in Year 11, said: “It was a fun way to relax with everyone from school and let go of all the stress of online learning.”

All staff involved really enjoyed the first week and requests were made to deliver specific rounds and take part in the second week.

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Holocaust victims remembered

Victims of the Holocaust were remembered by pupils at De Warenne Academy in a series of activities.

On Monday, 25th January, two days before Holocaust Memorial Day, a live assembly was delivered to all pupils.

Key Stage 3 pupils were read extracts in daily assemblies from “After the War,” a book written by Tom Palmer.

The book is about Jewish children who survived the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps and reached the safety of The Lake District.

All pupils participated in a live lesson on the day.

Key Stage 3 completed a blackout poetry activity while Key Stage 4 explored the Holocaust and modern-day genocide through an online presentation.

The week was organised by Jane McDermott (Key Stage 3 Life lead) and history subject leader Rhiannon Vanstone-Dale.

The morning assemblies were delivered by learning managers and live lessons by a team consisting of the history department and Life leaders.

Pupils engaged well with the activities. Pupils in Key Stage 3 emailed teachers a selection of beautiful work completed as part of a blackout poetry competition.

Skye (Year 9), Summer and Rhyan (both Year 8) produced wonderful pieces of work.

Pupils in Key Stage 4 made some mature and reflective comments after the presentation.

Karen Nadin, Year 10 Learning Manager had “really enjoyed” the Key Stage 4 presentation.

“I had a lump in my throat and a tear right at the end. It was very moving,” she said.

East Garforth: Virtual sport’s a hit PE sessions delivered from a virtual classroom have proved a big hit at East Garforth Primary.

Head of Academy Jessica Roy was proud of the sessions and said they were very lucky to have “fantastic” sports coach Steve Wales.

He has designed the virtual classroom from where he does live sessions or encourages pupils to access activities from the internet.

Jessica said there had been lots of different physical activities and quizzes for the children to access at home and in school.

“I would definitely recommend Mr Wales’s virtual classroom to other Delta schools,” she said.

“He has been supportive throughout remote learning and always looking for strategies to engage all children.”

Tom, in Year 3, said: “I really enjoy them as it helps keep you fit and healthy.”

Year 3’s India enjoyed doing the activities with her family.

Mya, also in Year 3, said: “Great!

I love doing the activities with Mr Wales.”

Year 6’s Connor described the many things to do.

“If I want to do running or jumping there are all sorts of activities I can do. Mr Wales is really good.”

HLTA Helen Armitage said: “The children love the virtual classroom from Mr Wales, as there are lots of

different activities and levels for everybody to enjoy.”

Teacher Rebekah Wilkinson felt the same.

“There is a wide variety of different activities for the children to complete, which are pitched at different levels, meaning everybody of every age and ability can get involved,” she commented.

Fellow teacher Danial Horry said: “The virtual classroom allows the children to be active whenever they want and they are able to join in with other family members.

“The children love all the different activities, which is great.”

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Wybers’ wonders

The NSPCC number day in February saw a Times Table Rock Stars play off and pupils wearing numbers in their homes

Amazing challenges have been undertaken at Wybers Wood despite lockdown.

The Academy’s taken part in its own pentathlon, with pupils at home and in school doing speed bounces, standing long jumps, shuttle runs, vertical jumps and chest passes.

They each had 30 seconds to record their total number.

Each activity completed resulted in 1 Dojo as a reward.

Families have tweeted lots of the pupils participating at home and sibling rivalry has been prevalent!

NSPCC number day in February was celebrated with a day full of mathematical challenges, a

Times Tables Rock Stars play off and dressing up in clothes with numbers on.

The £160 raised for a worthy charity was added to amounts raised in the first term: • £432 for #HelloYellow in support of raising awareness of mental health.

• £356 for Children in Need.

• £616 on Wear a Hat day, raised for the James Clifford Campling Trust in memory of Mrs Campling’s son who died two years ago from a brain tumour.

• A virtual Christmas raffle,

Enterprise Week and class fairs in December raised more than £3,000 to help upgrade ICT devices and develop a sensory room.

• A remote harvest festival with the Rev Anne saw dozens of

Staff and pupils at Wybers Wood have been “incredible” during the third lockdown, says its Principal Teresa Rouse.

Every week, each class chooses two Lockdown Legends to receive a certificate and join in a Zoom assembly with their parents.

One week, a dad joined from Estonia where he is stationed with the Army.

“Our families have been amazing at sharing on Twitter what they have all been getting up to and we are so proud of them all,” said Teresa.

Crookesbroom ‘Wragg’ - time Ukulele lessons have continued during lockdown for Years 3 and 4 at Crookesbroom Primary.

Music teacher Mr Wragg, part of Doncaster Music Education Hub, created the weekly sessions for the teachers to share on Seesaw with the children.

“I love our lessons with Mr Wragg,” said Sebastian in Year 4, pictured with his homemade ukulele.

“I am really happy that we can still have our lessons during the lockdown.”

Year 4 class teacher Nicola Gudgin said the children had loved hearing from Mr Wragg and completing his weekly challenges.

“It has been great to recap on their knowledge that they learned with him in school and also to develop their knowledge of the ukulele by completing fun activities at home,” she said.

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bags of food donated to the Willows food bank.

• A reverse advent calendar to collect donations for the same cause, met with an overwhelming response.

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Garforth: Evie earns praise Professionalism and reliability shown by a Level 3 Childcare student at Garforth Academy have earned praise.

Artwork: Olivia (Year 5)

Lower Fields celebrates

Collaboration and community have been developed through the introduction of a whole school virtual ‘Celebration Assembly’ at Lower Fields Primary.

It takes place each week and children in school and at home join in, along with some parents.

Principal Alex Gavin said: “We introduced our current learning behaviour ‘Creativity’ and then, at the end of each assembly, a challenge is set for the children.

“All those who ‘have a go’ are celebrated at the assembly the following week.”

Pupils responded positively.

Many said it was the only time they saw children from other classes.

Skyla’s mum (Year 1) said: “Wow, me and Skyla are super excited after the assembly and we’re going to both have a go at doing the Pointillism. Mummy can’t help herself. It will be great fun!”

Assistant Principal Joe Gallucci said the assembly was an opportunity to come together as a whole school, important at this time.

“The children have enjoyed the challenges set and are excited to see their efforts on show the following week,” he said.

Year 12 student Evie has attended her early years placement in a nursery two days every week, despite lockdown.

She has also attended every lesson online and submitted every piece

of assignment work on time and at a Distinction level, evidencing her commitment.

Education and Care staff, Lydia Binks and Catherine Fleming, are incredibly proud of Evie.

Level 2 and 3 Beauty Therapy students at Garforth Academy have been taking part in remote learning sessions with industry professionals.

Caroline Turner, owner of The Salon Money Maker training programme, has helped build confidence in client care, consultation, and aftercare.

Louise Godsil, from Ellison’s Hair and Beauty Suppliers, has talked about the different careers available while former student Ellie Hollick has prepared a session on the perfect application of polish for the manicure unit.

Ruth Cockcroft organised for the employers’ contributions to ensure learners engage and have the best possible experience.

Students have enjoyed the sessions from Caroline (pictured) as it helps prepare them for graded practical assessments and salon or spa life.

“From Caroline, I have learnt how to give full professional advice, and what not to do,” said Tierney.

Maisie commented: “I have learnt that body language is very important and the tone of your voice.

“It made me understand the power of positivity. It has made me

more confident in myself and as a therapist.”

Hannah had been helped with knowing how to communicate with clients and make them feel comfortable.

“Most important is that it helped me understand everybody, such as working in a team, myself, and clients,” she said.

Ruth said it had been difficult to teach remotely when beauty therapy was a practical-based subject.

Creative English students have produced amazing work after staff suggested websites to encourage independent learning when revising key novels and poems.

Jade and Grace, both in Year 10, have sent in work inspired by using www.storyboardthat. com Jade sent in the storyboard while Grace produced the wanted poster.

Artwork: Darcie (Year 6)

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Christmas jumper day at Garforth Academy in December raised £2306.60, split between Air Ambulance and Save the Children.

“Eight hours a week is dedicated to salon practise and usually these would be commercial salons with clients,” she said.

“Connecting practical and theory is the goal of the department.

“When learners see that connection, they lift their energy and can provide client care and professionalism to the highest standards.

“Caroline has helped lift their confidence and see that by using tone of voice, body language and the right techniques they can achieve the full professionalism of the industry.”

A full-size mannequin has been purchased, with the support of Principal Anna Young, to video practical body treatments.

“I purchased it and thought I had lost the plot,” said Caroline.

“But the more I thought about it the more it made sense.

“It is difficult to have resources or videos for Level 3 beauty treatments, due to all different manufacturers having different machines.

“After a lot of laughing at my idea, we have been able to start filming practical procedures to show the learners the treatments and for them to start connecting the dots between theory and practical sessions. It’s worked.”

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#ProudThursday is great success Nearly 400 students or pieces of work were celebrated for #ProudThursday during the half term at Don Valley Academy.

Every week maths teacher Josh Travers collated the submissions from every department and year group to put together a fantastic celebration of effort and work.

Highlights included: Year 11’s Ting Ting’s detailed work on volume of cones and spheres, Carly (Year 7) producing a great piece of work on Roald Dahl’s headmaster,

An unbelievable piece of work from Alfie in Year 9 Engineering, who has been sketching everyday objects in 3D and building in twopoint perspective, Sophie in Year 8’s amazing Op-Art image, Amazing language analysis responses from Josh in Year 11, and Year 10 Emily’s revision poster.

Impressive work

Talented students submitted these pieces of work for #ProudThursday at The Vale Academy.

The eco-friendly poster is by a Year 7

Staff are always impressed with the range and standard of work submitted.

Some is shared via Twitter (@ TVABrigg) with all students receiving of certificates and prizes.

Well done everyone – staff are looking forward to next term’s entries.

The shell is created by a Year 11 Art student. She drew it from a photograph she had taken.

The heart model was completed by a Year 10 student in GCSE PE.

Outstanding effort

Highlights from the hundreds of outstanding pieces of work (left) have been shared through #ProudThursday by Goole Academy.

One has been an excellent focus on mental health, particularly during Children’s Mental Health Week.

Year 11 student Leona made it into the local paper with her initiative to create mental health support boxes for people around the country.

An article is on Goole’s website, and the Academy is really proud of what she is doing to support the community in these challenging times.

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DELTA #PROUDTHURSDAY Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Rossington shout outs Teachers have been nominating students who deserve to be congratulated on #ProudThursday at Rossington All Saints Academy.

Each week, the two most deserving students win an Amazon voucher.

The Academy has also incorporated a “student shout out” too, where they can nominate a teacher who deserves recognition.

All are put on Twitter, and students get sent out their Proud Thursday certificates in the post to keep.

Organised by Chris Deasy and Emily Moxon, the children love being recognised for their hard work in these difficult times and that it can be someone different each week.

History teacher Henry Whitehead has been incredibly proud of the entire Year 10 History cohort.

“The majority of students have not let remote learning impact their learning and it is great to see lots of young people value their education,” he said. “#ProudThursday is my opportunity to say thank you.”

PE teacher Kat Fewster said: “I think #ProudThursday is a great idea, it celebrates the amazing work of the students and gives them a bit of recognition for their efforts.”

In Heath and Social Care, a student messaged Jane Wheeldon to thank her for the nomination and that it made their day.

“It is a great way for staff to praise students who go above and beyond in lessons,” she said.

English teacher Sam Green said: “It allows the students to notice that their hard work is getting recognised by their teachers and that, even though they are not in school, they are still able to contribute to our academy life.”

As for the staff shout outs, maths teacher Ryan Hall said everybody was on board.

“It is a great opportunity for the kids to show appreciation for the tremendous work staff are doing with remote learning.

“When a staff member receives their message, it brightens up their day and helps to strengthen the positive relationships that have already been created,” he said.

Morley: Children thrive Oracy work was combined with a social side to make Thrive Thursdays a popular addition at Morley Place Primary.

Wellbeing checks identified the children missed talking with friends and the social side of being in school.

As well as the one specific session each week, staff have introduced a range of mindful techniques, such as breathing exercises, emotional check ins and other activities to help develop their right time needs.

The Thrive activities are published on social media platforms each week and responses shared with classes.

A kindness and wellbeing afternoon gave children time away from screens to do something for themselves and others as part of Children’s Mental Health Week.

Check-ins are being used regularly within lessons.

Uptake has been really positive and the children are responding incredibly well to the activities set on Seesaw and used within our lessons.

Jodie Griffiths, Year 6 teacher and lead Thrive Practitioner in school, said: “The children have loved being able to take part in the activities we have introduced.

“They really like having time to talk to their friends and reflect on their emotions and the reasons behind them.”

Ruby, in Year 6, really enjoyed taking part in the activities posted on Thrive Thursday.

“I like having time away from screens to focus on something that makes me happy. The happiness box really made me smile when I filled it up.”

Molly and her dog Cooper, with a letter to him written as part of Thrive Thursday.

Sarah Fitzpatrick, Year 4 teacher and SENCO, said her class are loving Thrive Thursday.

“We’ve used some of the smaller activities within lessons but for the last two weeks we’ve dedicated a whole lesson to Thrive.

“So far, we’ve completed some riddles, breathing exercises, scavenger hunts and played a game of imposter. The children are really enjoying it and can’t wait for the next session.”

Nicola Walker, Year 3 teacher and maths lead, agreed.

“We do regular Thrive check ins and play little games to give the children some social time too.

“The thrive check ins have started to become more meaningful now the children are getting used to them.

“Some children choose to send me messages in chat privately and then they can choose if they want to stay behind if they want to talk.”

Year 6 teacher and parent Joanne Carton said Thrive Thursday has opened up a range of opportunities for the children to showcase different skills.

A happiness box filled with special things.

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“They have been thinking about how they can be kind to other people and how that makes them feel.

“One child said that she, ‘did a little dance when she remembered it was Thrive Thursday’.

“Linked with our World War 2 work, it has made the children realise that, although we are having a tough time at the moment, it could be worse and we have a lot to be grateful for.

“Children have sent a range of work including art work and videos of them singing.

“They have brought baking into school and sent messages telling staff how they are appreciated.”

DELTA REMOTE LEARNING Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Goldthorpe: Spare a thought for NQTs Praise has been handed out to a special team of newly qualified teachers at Goldthorpe Primary.

Head of Academy Stuart Knight has been delighted with the hard work and dedication of the recruits in a difficult year to enter the profession.

“I wanted to highlight how fabulous the four have been, given the challenges we currently face,” he said.

The team are Jack Lucas, Jack Steers, Chloe Marsden and Victoria Beckitt.

Jack Lucas, an NQT in Year 1/2, said: “Despite finding the move challenging at first, I have grown to love it.

“With the support of Stuart, Director of Learning and constant stress buster Zoe Bowkett, Associate Executive Principal Donna Brown, Key Stage leader Chanelle Henshaw and the Key Stage 1 team, I have found some great successes.”

His biggest concern was keeping lessons as engaging as they had been in class and not diminishing the “great progress” made since September.

“Once I got into the swing of it and grew in confidence, I began to

have responded, joining in with activities and fully committing to the craziness of my teaching like they do in school.

“I cannot express how proud I am to be their teacher.”

EYFS teacher Jack Steers had concerns about remote learning but they were put to rest in days.

“The responses of the children and parents were and have continued to be fantastic,” he said.

“I cannot praise the EYFS staff enough. They have come together to stay open for two separate bubbles of nursery and reception while maintaining the remote learning of the highest attending cohort throughout our school.

“From the first day to the last, the children have learnt a new sound each day through videos by myself, website links and multi-sensory activities that have been suitably set to engage the children to thrive whilst learning from home.

“They have consistently given their all daily.

explore how I could implement the creative and hook-led approaches that I use in class within Zoom and Seesaw tasks,” Jack said.

“We have had phonics discos, workouts, superhero rescue missions and fancy dress for every occasion.

“As an NQT, I am proud that my videos and ideas - and a model session with my class - have not only been shared Trust wide, but also used by Roxy Grant (Early Reading Lead) in her Ed Tech presentation.

“I am also so incredibly proud of how the children and their families

Estcourt’s bespoke offer

Classes have been split into groups to give bespoke provision to children with SEN as part of Estcourt Primary’s remote learning.

Examples include additional/preteach maths lessons daily in Year 6, and small group interventions for maths and phonics in Years 3 and 4.

Head of Academy Selina MidgleyWright said: “Across the whole school, where needs are more significant, we have adapted our approach for individual learners to give them access to a one-toone Zoom with their class teacher, which has seen a great impact in the child’s confidence and participation.

“In addition, we are using breakout rooms to support onthe-spot interventions and for fluency sessions to continue.”

Teaching assistants, after liaising with teachers, are being used to deliver additional phonics, speech and language intervention and EAL sessions across the academy.

Teachers liaised with SENDCo and SLT/Phase Leaders with

proposed ideas for organisation and then delivered the additional sessions.

Three Year 6 children, all dyslexic learners, were losing confidence at the beginning of the year that the Academy had worked hard to gain.

In the first few days of Zoom, they struggled to keep up and access the learning.

Consultation between the Head and parents resulted in a 30-minute, pre-teach session put in place before their maths lesson for these children.

Selina said: “The children are now more vocal and confident in class and know that if they are still finding it difficult, they have the extra session the following day to go over anything.

“Staff have noticed confidence in children and participation increase.”

“I could not be any prouder of the children! They have had to go into this lockdown not fully understanding why they cannot go to school to see all their friends.

“The variation in activities that we, as a staff team, have set has meant the children have been busy throughout each school day, but they have met this head on and responded to each activity with the most fantastic attitude to learning.”

He was proud and happy each child’s wellbeing had been thought of with considered planning of daily philosophy, mindfulness, and wellbeing activities, alongside phone calls home by the EYFS team.

“My confidence in remote learning has grown and grown which has meant that I have pushed myself to plan and implement a wider variety of activities for the children.

“I did not see myself leading a Zoom physical workout for a group of 30+ children and parents or being a bingo caller for that matter.”

He also thanked his “amazing mentor” Claire Cowlishaw.

Vale’s multiple sessions

Pupils have gained confidence with a times table teaching approach at The Vale Primary.

They are taught daily for 15 minutes and iteratively over a fortnight, helping with instant recall skills, improving knowledge of related facts, developing conceptual understanding, and exploring relationships between numbers.

The sessions are organised by Year 3 Teacher and Maths lead Lee Goodman.

Children enjoy the short, succinct approach to times tables.

Parents are able to get involved and upload videos of their children practising the focus from that day.

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Staff enjoy teaching times tables this way. It provides them with an approach and direction for each day/session.

Sally Cartwright, Year 6 and English leader, said: “This innovative approach is fantastic.

“Children and staff know what the focus is each day: Monday is 9x and 7x, Tuesday is 9x, 7x, 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x and 11x.

“It has all been meticulously planned and taught in a fun and interactive way.”

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Elland: Support pays off Key Stage 2 staff at The Elland Academy Primary have been working tirelessly to ensure continued academic and therapeutic support for pupils on site and working remotely.

The team has worked collaboratively to devise creative ways for our pupils to have continued access to all aspects of the curriculum including English, reading, Maths, SPAG, Mindfulness, Dramatherapy and Thrive.

They organised a ‘Screen-Free’ day during Children’s Mental Health Week and used a thematic approach to link learning activities about online safety in recognition of Safer Internet Day. Thank you to the staff involved Martin Britton, Michaela Green, Ruth Valentine, Kathryn Martin and Emma Sleeman.

Assistant Principal Simone King said: “The pupils have engaged well and have been very

positive about the activities set.

“Baking, the Thrive scavenger hunt and Mindfulness breathing techniques were particularly well received.”

Children were excited to complete the codebreaker challenges as part of a week’s Thrive activities.

“This has really helped me to stay calm in between tasks,” said Jayden (Year 4).

Coby-Jack said: “We had fun searching for the objects.”

Simone said remote learning had given opportunities to provide a wider range of challenges for the children.

“It is clear from the responses and work produced that the pupils have enjoyed engaging in tasks and activities away from the classroom,” she said.

Bespoke therapeutic support to assist students with wellbeing and mental health has been set up at The Elland Academy.

In collaboration with Fortis Therapy, dramatherapist Imogen Fuller has been proactive across the school community.

Assistant Principal and SENCO Simone King said: “When we found out we were going to be working remotely we were able to seamlessly set up online sessions with students already receiving therapy and reach out to others who might benefit from some additional support.

“Now more than ever, it is important to be flexible in the way we work, and it has been brilliant to add Imogen’s skillset to the already excellent work the Elland Staff do to ensure every student feels seen, heard and important.”

The Academy set up its own Wellbeing and Mindfulness channel on Microsoft Teams to provide a ‘newsfeed’ of content such as breathing exercises, nature walks and activities to promote wellbeing and mental health.

“Some students have attended therapeutic groups via Zoom, where we provide creative, fun and engaging activities to promote social skills, resilience and provide a sometimes much-needed break from remote learning.”

Regular telephone calls with parents and family members have helped support the school community during a difficult time.

Students accessing the Academy have been provided with one-toone sessions and group creative therapies which centre around play, relationship building, self-discovery and resilience.

Personal Learning Advocate Yassmina Dakhla said: “The therapeutic offer from The Elland Academy has ensured that help is made accessible to every student.

“Imogen has ensured she is available and flexible in the way she works according to student need and I

Imogen’s also posted motivational quotes, such as the one from Winston Churchill (above).

SENCO and Thrive Practitioner Louisa Barber has also helped establish the therapeutic offer and contributed to the channel.

Other staff have done likewise, and it has become a collaboration of creativity and different ideas.

Imogen said: “We’ve scheduled in ‘Tea and Talk’ sessions for Key Stage 4 so they have a space to chat through any worries, both personal and academic.

“In our primary setting, therapeutic content has been created specifically to cater for our learners’ needs and to promote wellbeing.

“Along with individual activities, wellbeing packs have been added to the software Seesaw so that learners can engage and respond to activities by sharing pictures, drawings or notes.

know that students understand how to they can receive support.”

Key Stage 2 teacher Martin Britton said the children enjoy the dramatherapy sessions and the chance to experience activities and learning aside from their academic work.

“Imogen comes with a wealth of knowledge and resources in a bid to engage the children and the progress we have seen in the one-toone sessions has proved invaluable to our difficult-to-reach cohort,” he said.

One student said: “What I like about the online sessions is that we can have fun and play games like “I Spy”.

I find the sessions helpful because they give me a break from my school work and I enjoy it.”

Imogen said: “It has been a team effort and the communication and care put into this has been heartwarming.”

One student took a big step forward in his remote learning at The Elland Academy.

GR was encouraged to complete a piece of work from accessing live learning and PowerPoints on Teams.

He has struggled to engage with English, in and out of the Academy.

Assistant Principal Linda Scott described it as a huge milestone for GR. “I’m proud of him for completing the work; especially since he has had an emotionally challenging week.”

English teacher Kirsty delivered the session and LSC organised the one-to-one support.

“GR was verbally enthusiastic about plastics and how we can reduce our use of them.

“He was keen to write his poem and to try to make it rhyme. He was saddened by how much plastic is in our oceans and how it was affecting wildlife.”

GR’s personal learning assistant Yassmina Dakhla was very proud

and supported him when writing the piece.

She said he was “throwing out all sorts of rhyming words to try and make them work.”

“He did not give up and gave it his best.”

Linda gave two further examples of feeling proud in recent weeks.

She had set up the use of GCSE Pod and set tasks by multiple choice questions on angles.

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Staff had enjoyed the easy layout and how clear and concise the task was.

The software will be used in classroom learning this next half term.

Linda had also learned how to use and make sway presentations.

Training arranged by Scott Berry on the software ensures a good change from PowerPoint for resources on assignments.

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Ash Hill: Work is the real thing Observational drawing focused on developing material skills knowledge has produced some outstanding work at Ash Hill.

The assignment in virtual lessons was set by Head of Art Kirsty Whitter.

Cara, in Year 9, who produced the ice cream cone, said: “I really enjoy my art lessons, learning new skills and gaining knowledge of different artistic techniques, which I have used in my observational drawings.”

The Coke cans were created by fellow Year 9 student Mackenzie.

“I really enjoy the freedom to express myself in the art lessons I study at Ash Hill Academy.

“I particularly like studying the techniques of different artists and incorporating them into my assignments.”

Kirsty said: “The outstanding observational drawings are testament to the hard work, resilience and dedication that Cara and Mackenzie have displayed during their virtual art lessons.

“I am immensely proud of the artistic skills they have developed during their learning journey at Ash Hill Academy.

“The students will finally produce a unique piece of surreal art.”

Eye-catching designs were created in virtual design and technology lessons at Ash Hill Academy.

Associate Assistant Principal Kev Downing, a teacher of Design and Technology, said the computeraided design (CAD) software made it possible to teach a practical subject without being in a workshop.

Year 9 have been working on a package called TinkerCAD. “During the lessons, I am able to help them with their work in real time from a distance,” he said.

“This has proved highly successful and Katie and Milosz have shown high levels of creativity and technical proficiency in using industry-standard design software.”

The students have been working on an assignment to produce functional phone holders.

“The knowledge and skills developed during their virtual Design and Technology lessons will seamlessly translate into the engineering workshop lessons, when our dedicated and talented students return to the academy,” Kev said.

Katie, in Year 9, who created the Katie Statue pictured, really enjoyed using it.

“I think the benefit of the virtual Design and Technology lessons are that we can work independently with the virtual support of our teacher,” she said.

Milosz, in the same year group who produced the anchor, said: “The CAD design software which we use is the same thing which engineering companies use, which is amazing as it provides me with transferable skills I can use in the world of work.”

A weekly wellbeing group set up for Ash Hill’s LGBTQ students offers help, support, guidance, honest conversations and celebrates its diverse school community.

The Virtual Chatterbox Rainbow Café has been organised by Rona Swainston and Paul Goodwin (pictured).

They said: “The group has helped to empower our students to be proud of who they are.

We are immensely proud of the LGBTQ community at Ash Hill Academy and the virtual Chatterbox Rainbow Café.

This empowering focus group provides our students with cultural capital through educational talks about the history of the LGBTQ+ community and a range of personal development experiences, allowing students to embrace their sexual preferences.”

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DELTA REMOTE LEARNING Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Hatfield: Victorian times via Zoom The session ended with a discussion about corporal punishment.

The children were amazed by this and asked multiple questions.

They understood the meaning of the expression that ‘Children should be seen and not heard’ - even without the use of a mute button!

Year 6 has benefitted from a virtual trip to the National Holocaust Museum as part of studying ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’.

They completed preliminary work before the trip, considering what ‘identity’ meant to them.

During the trip, they followed the life of a Jewish boy named Leo and learnt all about his journey.

Remote learning at Hatfield Woodhouse Primary has seen 97% of children, staff and parents respond to and engage with it.

Principal Helen Action said staff have used the ideas from the excellent training provided by Andrew Yeomans and his team to dissolve the screen and build positive relationships vital to successful online learning.

Museums and venues, normally used for school trips, were approached to see if they could add further sparkle and enrichment.

To fit with the ‘Street Child’ book studied by Year 5, they have discovered more about life in a Victorian school by being taught by

a teacher based at Beamish, Living Museum of the North.

The artefacts they would normally see in a trip to the museum were shared on screen whilst the children focused on the 3 Rs. They tried copperplate handwriting on chalkboard, which they found extremely difficult.

The children did times tables practice and realised learning over Zoom was far more engaging than learning by rote in Victorian times.

They also met virtually with a survivor of the Holocaust and had chance to listen to their interesting story and ask questions.

After the visit, the class completed a follow-up activity, reflecting on the day. Even the youngest children have had a virtual workshop from Debutots, learning about the Chinese New Year Festival.

Helen said: “Not only have these experiences helped the children’s engagement and understanding of the learning, the small cost charged by each museum might go towards ensuring that they are a resource still available for schools once this lockdown is over.”

A beautiful new painting on the back wall of the hall at Hatfield Woodhouse Primary is waiting for contributing children to see it once lockdown is over.

It is the culmination of the school’s work with artists Steve Smallman, Fran Sierevogel and Suzie Cross.

The painting is part of an art project funded by Leeds University to highlight the importance of noticing the unseen in nature.

Year 4 had the fantastic opportunity last year to work with Suzie and Fran to create lanterns.

They took them on an after-school outing to the Wheldrake Ings Nature Reserve in the Lower Derwent Valley to see them lit up in their amazing glory.

They had been decorated with animals native to Hatfield Moor.

The artists got back in touch and wanted to work on another collaboration, this time with the rest of school.

Sadly, because of COVID-19, pupils could not work with the artists in person this time.

But they have been brilliant and sent video clips explaining what they wanted pupils to do, then delivered

Smallman before it was published.

“The children were sitting on the edge of their seats listening, in awe of the adventures of the nightjar.”

This helped inspire and motivate the pupils to produce their best artwork and draw different animal characters and backgrounds to create an animation of the book.

Suzie had selected wonderful, different materials. Year 5 used water crystals to create watery-looking whales. The crystals come alive when water is sprayed on them and

to school fantastic art resources to be used.

Children researched the nightjar bird and included the local names this rare bird was called due to its unusual behaviours.

This research contributed towards a delightful storybook for children called The Mysterious Bird in the Moon light – a Nightjar bird (found on Hatfield Moor).

Principal Helen Acton said: “We were very privileged to get a filmed reading of the book by author Steve 15

dance colours across the page. The pupils enjoyed this.

Each pupil in school has received a free copy of the book as a thank you for their hard work, determination, and talent. The school was gifted the original and colourful painting, now in the hall (above).

Helen said: “In the dark days of lockdown, this project has been a real lifeline for some of our pupils and has given them a positive focus to look forward to and aspire towards.”

DELTA REMOTE LEARNING Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Manor Croft

Goole’s top squad

Innovative and exciting ways to teach online have been deployed by the maths team at Manor Croft.

OneNote has been used for live lessons alongside Hegarty and Microsoft Forms for demonstrate tasks.

Kathryn Darwin gave training on OneNote to the whole department and teacher Michael Murray set it up and delivered it to his classes.

“OneNote was well received by the majority of pupils,” he said.

“I have a lesson that I can annotate on and the pupils can see this in real time.

“I can also push the lesson to pupils so that they have their own copy they can physically write and annotate and work on, again in real time.

“Those students who still prefer to do their work on paper can do so.

Pupils seamlessly transitioned to a full timetable of live lessons delivered by staff at Goole Academy.

There has been fantastic engagement with work completed to a high standard from day one.

Pod Squad has hit a quarter of a million GCSEPod pods, a wonderful achievement, and students have made outstanding progress with Maths on Hegarty Maths and Sparx, French on Language Nut, and reading on MyOn and Accelerated Reader.

Great learning has been showcased on Twitter, with big pushes for the Delta #ProudThursday initiative.

Since online learning began in January, Goole has had more than 400,000 impressions of people seeing and interacting with our students’ work.

Principal Julian Harrison said: “We are very proud of all of the remote learning that is going on, both in lessons and out of it.

“There has been great delivery from all staff online, with a special mention to Bob Jackson for his continued support with online learning.

“They then just upload a photo of their work to their lesson.

“Everything is stored and kept in one place, including my annotations of lessons, so pupils who miss a lesson due to connection issues, for instance, can go back and review the lesson they missed.”

This, coupled with setting a task on Hegarty as a demonstrate for the pupils to complete independently or similarly using Microsoft Forms, provides the tools needed for online learning in maths.

“It also allows me to see those pupils who were struggling with the content and then I can plan subsequent lessons,” said Michael.

“I have found that patience and consistency have been the key tools for me to be effective in an online lesson. Persevere and eventually it will work out.

“Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice. Colleagues are going through the same struggles and they are all coming up with innovative and exciting ways to teach online.”

“Students have responded fantastically to online learning, and are always ready to learn and engage with their different subjects.

“I know I speak on behalf of all our staff when I say we are immensely proud of our students.

“The way they have adapted to remote learning has been simply magnificent.”

Julian also posted the Academy’s first end-of-term message on Youtube to celebrate remote learning successes and share with students.

Melior: Proud of Izzy

A talented Melior Community Academy student has been selected to take part in a prestigious event with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Izzy, in Year 10, plays the flute and has been a member of North Lincolnshire Youth Orchestra for the past five years.

She learned about the opportunity from one of the leaders of the music centre and immediately applied.

Izzy had to write a personal statement where she talked passionately about wanting to pursue a career in music.

The aim of the project was to compose new music during half term.

She experienced sessions working with lyricists, the RPO and professional digital teams.

At the end, the piece was recorded, filmed, and showcased to the performers.

Joanne Haynes, Izzy’s Learning Manager, is so proud of how focused and dedicated she is to her music and wishes her every success in the future.

Topic overviews were completed by Year 11 students at Manor Croft of Chemistry C1.

The purpose was to write down from memory all the knowledge they could remember, and to link ideas together.

It was also designed to give students a break from computer screens and to look after their eyes, said Head of Science Maha Mohsin.

“Excellent pieces were produced, spanning over two pages, linking ideas together with key terminology,” she said.

“Some students went above and beyond, linking not just ideas and knowledge from chapter 1, but brought in knowledge from other chapters, demonstrating a firm grasp of the content.”

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Gillian Mills, Vice Principal, said: “In lockdown, it is wonderful to see national music events going ahead for students.

“We are very proud of Izzy’s achievement and her dedication to music.”

DELTA REMOTE LEARNING Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Hull Trinity: ‘Write’ ideas

Lockdown has not stopped the boys at Hull Trinity House Academy continuing their successful First Story Anthology programme.

A Year 9 cohort are attending online workshops run once a week by resident writer Russ Litten.

The boys have been sending stories to Russ and Christina Dunn, the lead contact at the academy for the programme.

The First Story Team gives the boys a space to talk to each other and share work and ideas.

They are encouraged to unmute and read their work and they are responding well to having a safe space like this.

The live sessions were organised by the First Story regional programme officer Jessica Fear and delivered

by Russ, supported by her and Christina.

Benjamin said: “I am writing my own anthology, so this adds to my ideas.

For Jacob, it was his “favourite part of the week.”

English teacher Christina feels by running these creative writing sessions she is making a difference to these boys’ lives and lockdown experiences.

“It is wonderful to be able to talk to them outside of a formal lesson, about writing, ideas and well, everything.

“It is one of the things I am most proud of this year. I believe this anthology will be something very special,” she said.

As well as the anthology programme, Assistant Principal Shauna Jordan said students have been sending teachers pictures of fantastic work from different subjects, maintaining excellent engagement and effort. A few examples are published.

St Wilfrid’s: Great results

Collaborative remote learning is a source of pride at St Wilfrid’s Academy.

Staff have produced a new offer for students which has adapted and developed through reflective practice.

Executive Principal Jo Pittard said the team has produced spectacular results in terms of student engagement. It averaged 98% in the week preceding half term, far exceeding expectations.

“Teachers are working online and producing lessons of the highest standard,” said Jo. “Our support staff have been in school and ensuring those most vulnerable students in the building are able to transfer their skills back into classroom learning.

“The personal learning advocates have been communicating with students to encourage them to keep engaging. The attendance figures we have achieved have been remarkable.”

Key Stage 3 Humanities teacher Ernie Wilson has taken the lead as the Academy’s remote learning guru, helping with online advice to staff, students and parents to get the children online and Teams ‘friendly’.

“Teachers and personal learning advocates have had a central figure to aid them in the rapid learning and our own development of Teams within school. Of late he has been ably assisted by one of our English teachers, Jemma Doyle,” said Jo. The Alternative Provision academy works with students across Doncaster, with children being referred throughout lockdown. Many have yet to meet their teachers in person.

Whitgift smiles

Spirits have been raised by a little horsing around at John Whitgift Academy.

The JWA horse has been giving out awards for attendance at tutor sessions.

The character is part of the drive towards raising attendance and is linked in with educational grades, aspirations, and dreams.

Yet-to-be-named, it remains a mystery as to who is carrying out the voluntary duties.

The JWA Horse surprises Mr Bee

A special visitor to the classroom.

But, during a difficult time, the horse has put smiles on faces.

The JWA Horse made a daily video during Mental Health Week for Children, sent out to students and staff and tweeted @DeltaJWhitgift.

The events covered Joke Monday, Exercise Tuesday, Literature Wednesday, Song and Dance Thursday and culminated in Portrait Painting Friday with some surprise guests.

The Academy’s asked all staff and students to engage with its ‘Stay the course with our Horse’ programme.

Bookings are being taken.

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Michael, from Year 8, likes being in school as he “enjoys the small groups and meeting his friends is fun”.

Hayden, in Year 10, has not been in mainstream school for almost 12 months yet he has hardly missed an online lesson and his contribution has been first class.

When asked about his attendance his mum wrote: “Yes we are very proud of him.

“He has really taken to it well even after such a long gap. He is giving us good feedback and he cannot wait to attend in person.”

Jo said: “Staff have adapted very well to the distance learning.

“We have paired teaching staff up to ensure we can concentrate on the right areas and when things go wrong there is support on hand.”

Nominations to the Online Heroes add to that viewpoint.

Art teacher Anne Lee is full of praise for what she calls her ‘Pair of Teams gurus, always there to help when I have my hands full.”

The humanities theme in the last week of half term was children working in Victorian England and produced some outstanding work.

Jo said: “Teams has got us all thinking about the future of teaching and learning.

“While we cannot wait to return to classrooms, the innovative use of technology will hopefully continue to transform the way we reengage the most disaffected pupils, building on the success we have had to date.”

DELTA REMOTE LEARNING Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Rossington: Time for a breather

Staff and students at Rossington All Saints were encouraged to move away from computers for an afternoon and complete physical and mental well-being activities.

For staff, the Press Pause afternoon on 9th February involved a wellbeing session delivered by Sarah Wray, a former head teacher in Doncaster.

She encouraged everyone to really look after themselves and use a variety of techniques to reset and consider their personal needs.

An accompanying worksheet has given staff the tools to continue to focus on these techniques over the coming weeks.

Staff were encouraged to do something creative that makes them happy for the afternoon and share videos/photos of their efforts.

After school, staff were asked to take part in the #RASAWalkTheUKChallenge and enjoy the sunshine and snow.

On the same afternoon, students were set a Wellbeing Sway which gave them a range of creative activities to try e.g. baking or drawing.

If the students were particularly proud of the results, they could submit to earn the Creative Pledge.

The students also took part in the #RASAWalktheUKChallenge where staff and students tried to walk the length of the United Kingdom (874 miles!).

This became a competition between all year groups and the staff to see who could walk the most miles on the afternoon.

Katie, in Year 8, with her yummy cookies

Mr Deasy

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g in the sn

and his do

The event, organised by Emily Hannan and Chris Deasy, was enjoyed by students and staff.

Year 10 students gave positive feedback.

Hannah said: “It was nice to get out and have fresh air when it was still light.”

Tanatswa enjoyed spending time with her mum.

“She works in the evenings, so it was a nice change.”

Mille said: “I went for a socially distanced walk with my friend in the snow and felt better afterwards.”

Courtney also enjoyed special time.

“It was so nice to clear my head, have some me time. Plus, my dog loved it,” she remarked.

History teacher Mrs K. Noble said it was “surprising what fresh air can do.

“We all really needed the time away.’

Assistant Principal Suzi Ross said: “It was lovely to see the staff and students doing what they’re passionate about.”

Assistant Principal Miss K. Wainwright reflected: “It was good to have the time and given the tools to be able to reflect on our own wellbeing.”

Garforth: Bronze awards Certificate of Achievements have been awarded to 53 Garforth Academy students after they completed three non-expedition sections of the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award.

This new incentive recognises the effort made during the pandemic.

DofE, because of the training offered at school as well as an eventful residential weekend in February, has granted special permission to sign off the students’ full bronze awards.

The Academy’s training can replicate the skills, knowledge, and practicalities of an expedition.

Congratulations to the 53 students, as well as Mr Meyer and Miss Shaw for their hard work.

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Kingston Park’s successful recipe

Remote learning has not stopped Kingston Park Primary staff using Talk 4 Writing – nor pupils and parents from engaging.

Head of Academy Kerrie Longley is “really proud” staff have continued with the approach because they had only been using it a few months before lockdown.

“I find it incredible how the staff, children and parents have adapted and responded so quickly and positively towards learning online,” she said.

“We have received so many videos of children telling their stories with such increased confidence and flair.”

The Academy is at the start of its two-year journey so to switch to working remotely has been an added pressure.

All year groups have led either live or pre-recorded sessions or used

Sways to teach writing.

Tom (Year 4) said he loves story writing now and Ahana could not wait to reveal how hers ends.

Tilly, also in Year 4, enjoyed choosing her setting.

Terri Rush, Associate Assistant Principal, said children and parents have fully embraced learning the texts and completing work around them.

“They have helped the children understand specific vocabulary from the story.

“They have used story maps to help support them to learn the story and have created their own ‘s’ maps for their stories.

“We have had some great videos of the children retelling the story and they have done some character hot seating with their grown-ups at home.

“They have come up with some amazing and imaginative ideas for imitating our stories.

“We have had Pizza Men who rolled away, and a cheese girl who skates away on a skateboard!

“The children have tried really hard to use their phonics to write some simple sentences for their own stories.”

Katie Walker, a School Direct Trainee, said: “It was great seeing the children so engaged and producing such amazing stories.”

An example of work from Harry, from Foundation Stage 2, who also enjoyed making ginger biscuits.

Green Lane: New heights Different learning tasks have been successfully completed by year groups at Green Lane Primary Academy during lockdown.

A Times Table Rockstar from Year 4

Examples include Year 2, with remote and in-school learners coming together on Zoom to learn about Kilimanjaro.

Finley’s dad was kind enough to share his experience of climbing the mountain.

The children enjoyed seeing photographs, learning all about the different terrain on the way to the summit, and finding out about the people who live near the mountain.

Year 3 has been exploring light in science.

They looked at how shadows were formed and carried out an investigation to find out how and why they change their size.

Year 6 has also not let lockdown impact on learning.

One task was to study the portraits of L.S. Lowry, which inspired their own artistic creations.

Light was explored in science

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DELTA REMOTE LEARNING Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Rowena: Pupils thank creative staff Children and parents have adapted really well to the blended approach to learning at Rowena Academy.

It has encompassed the use of home learning packs, prerecorded asynchronous lessons and Zoom sessions alongside a daily timetable of activities placed on Seesaw.

Pupils and parents have embraced the full curriculum offer using many elements of the usual provision, including Phonics Bug, Bug Club, Letterland, Purple Mash, Letterjoin, and Jigsaw, all used via Seesaw.

One pupil has even co-hosted a radio show on a local station – DN12LIVE in a session called ‘Darcey Decides’. www.mixcloud. com/DN12LIVE/darcey-karenwilkins-darcey-decides-70221/ Another made her own bird feeder for the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch 2021, to tie in with the work in school.

Staff have been creative in coming up with ideas to keep children engaged.

Daily Zoom sessions have been well received, particularly when Mrs Budd and Mrs Bray started the trend of appearing on Zoom in full character, dressed as Grandma and the Big Bad Wolf.

Some of the children rushed off to put their dressing up clothes on during the session!

The remote contact has been used to keep relationships alive, with special messages from Mrs Heath and Mrs Nugent, who introduced their new babies to the children.

Class 3 have also had a Zoom session where they were introduced to their new teacher Miss Turnor, joining after half term.

Special occasions have not gone unnoticed, with Class 1 singing Happy Birthday to Ms Kahler on her birthday, via Zoom.

Staff have been blown away with the way very young children have

adapted to lockdown learning and the Academy’s tried to give praise and positivity in as many ways as possible.

‘Rowena Remote Learning Heroes’ postcards have been well received.

One pupil, whose mum posted on Twitter about it, had a reply from the

Delta Trust Chair, Steve Hodsman, who is looking forward to visiting when restrictions are lifted.

The children even made some postcards to thank our staff.

Mr Tindle and Mrs Winder were absolutely thrilled to receive theirs.

Wybers: Celebrity corner

Each class at Wybers Wood this year is named after local artists who have become famous.

Lloyd Griffith is a comedian and presented Soccer AM on Sky. He is also an avid Grimsby Town supporter.

Daniella Draper is a famous local jewellery designer and maker who has supplied pieces to The Duchess of Cambridge and singer songwriter Ed Sheeran.

Sara Beasley is an actress and has appeared on Coronation Street

Ella Henderson is an internationally famous pop star.

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Some of the celebrities have visited or joined remotely. The children have enjoyed writing to their class namesake and receiving contact back.

DELTA NEWS Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

The Vale: Students help The Doctor

Doctor Who is encouraging children to take up computer coding – thanks in part to the work of The Vale Academy students and their teacher.

The iconic BBC star, played by Jodie Whitaker, is promoting the HiFive Inventor Coding Kit, which went on sale after development involving the Brigg Academy.

Faculty Lead for Computer Science Damian Burrin (pictured) was approached in December, 2019, by Kara Iaconis, the Global Head of BBC Learning, and her team.

They wanted help in the development of a new coding platform device.

It allows users to interact with their physical world, like the

Micro:bit, and with software and devices through the internet.

The device contains a controllable RGB screen, and a range of sensors similar to the Micro:bit but adds additional features such as IR Sensing, wi-fi Capabilities, Bluetooth 5 and web access, all accessible via the Block and MicroPython programming environments.

Doing this through the storytelling of Doctor Who is developing and engaging the next generation of young coders.

Mr Burrin worked with teams in

the United States and across Europe in e-meetings, with the development process interrupted by the pandemic.

Tom, Jack (both Year 7), Ruby, Codi (Year 8), Theo (Year 9), Sam, James, Matthew, and Esaias (Year 11) were involved in the BETA testing phases of the product.

They were supplied with prerelease versions from the BBC and provided with early access to the Tynker Learning platform to help gauge usability and identify issues with the product and the lessons that had been developed.

Doctor Who Jodie Whitaker and publicity from www.hifiveinventor.com

Mr Burrin said the feedback from the students was invaluable.

They saw a little about how new products come to market and the processes involved in ensuring a successful release.

Some of the resources created are being used in the BBC/ HifiveInventor social media marketing for the product.

It can be bought at www.hifiveinventor.com

Oasis inspire Fiona’s fundraising!

Music has helped inspire Director of Primary Learning Fiona Evans to run several marathon distances to raise funds for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

An advert for a 90s-themed retro run caught her eye after turning 39 in June and deciding to be more active in her 40th year.

Fiona jumped at the chance to complete a marathon in a month, powered by tunes from the likes of Oasis, Blur, Nirvana and DJ Jazzy Jeff, and choosing the distance of each run herself.

It was the motivation needed to get into running again following a previous injury.

“Music is so important to me,” Fiona said.

“We associate specific bands or songs to times in our lives - one song can bring back so many emotions and memories.

“I was 19 when the world watched the dawn of a new century in the year 2000, so you can imagine how many fun memories I have of the preceding 10 years.

“The soundtrack to my teenage life is all 90s music – it’s absolutely my favourite decade!”

The next run was 80s themed.

It did not take Fiona long to sign up and be pounding the streets again, this time listening to classics from Madonna, Black Box and T’Pau. When the charity announced the Retro Runs were to be transformed into a series, Fiona signed up without hesitation.

“I am not a natural runner, nor am I fast!

“I do find it hard to motivate myself to lace up my trainers, especially when it’s freezing outside, or after a long day, but I understand the massive benefits getting out into the fresh air has to my mental wellbeing.

“I am lucky enough to live in a village surrounded by gorgeous countryside, and I love finding new routes.

“When doubts creep in and the sofa looks too inviting, I try to remind myself that I have never regretted a run.”

Fiona completed her 70s run in

November to the sounds of T.Rex, Thin Lizzy and Blondie, and the 60s run even motivated her to run on Boxing Day, a previously unheard of event for her.

“Exercising at Christmas time?

Who knew that was even a thing?”

Fiona completed the 00s run – the last of the decade runs in the series and taking her to 200km - during half term.

Her routes for this run had been filled with nostalgic memories of her time at university – songs from Outkast, Kelis, The Killers, Daft Punk, Arctic Monkeys, Stereophonics and many more.

“For some reason, my Spotify player likes Eminem and 50 Cent more than others, so I often find myself rapping along in my head!”

To date, Fiona has raised more than £200 for the charity.

She has decided to increase the total to 400km before the end of June, the month she turns 40, because the charity has announced

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a special ‘best-of’ event to finish the series.

As for the music? It’s got to be from the 90s.

To support Fiona’s effort, please go to www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/fionaevans80s

DELTA NEWS Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Delta designated Teaching School Hub

The Department for Education has designated Grange Lane Infant Academy as Teaching School Hub for Barnsley and Doncaster, and Selby and Wakefield.

As part of a consortia of prominent partners, the high-performing academy submitted a bid in October, with news of its multiple designation at the end of January.

CEO Paul Tarn said: “The news is a real vote of confidence by ministers in our consortia.

“The most rewarding part of the process has been meeting with like-minded individuals and using the bid to bring together the collective talent we have in the region.”

The DfE’s new Hub programme has created a national infrastructure of 87 centres of excellence for teacher training and professional development, replacing the previous network of more than 750 Teaching Schools.

The Hubs are responsible for the delivery of the DfE’s golden thread for recruiting and retaining teachers.

They will provide the very best in initial teacher training, newly-qualified teacher induction, early career teacher support and CPD pathways to retain and develop expertise for the entire workforce, including new national professional qualifications for school leaders, headteachers and executive leaders in multi-academy trusts.

Jo Twiby, Executive Director of Delta Teaching School, said: “We are excited by the immense possibilities this opens up to schools across Yorkshire.

“We look forward to working with our partners, and together with other new Hubs, to achieve great things for all children in our region.

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“A key first step in developing this new way of working will be meeting with partners to share and shape our plans together.”

Louise Chappell, Headteacher of Grange Lane Infant Academy, is delighted with the news.

“We strive to achieve the very best for our children and we relish the opportunity to work with an even wider community through this new role as a Teaching School Hub,” she said.”

DELTA NEWS Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Education Exchange to nurture talent

Delta Academies Trust is making a significant investment in a new professional development and conferencing centre, based in Knottingley.

An artist’s impression of the new Education Exchange.

The Education Exchange will be home to the Teaching School Hubs designated to Delta and our consortia.

It will be a place where experts will offer high quality professional development for all those working in education, at every stage of their careers, in our Trust and beyond.

The extension to De Lacy Academy will feature a conferencing room for up to 240 participants with state-of-theart technology, several training rooms, a cafeteria, dedicated car parking and a separate entrance.

The plans exemplify the Trust’s commitment to its published aim of transforming outcomes for communities in the North of England.

The concept is based on a pooling of expertise across our region, placing collaboration before competition, and developing teachers and school leaders through creating the opportunity to share good practice.

The Education Exchange will also house the work of the EdEx Strategic Alliance, an alliance of friends focussed entirely on rapid school improvement.

It includes multi-academy trusts and standalone academies uniting under a common call to raise standards across Yorkshire and the Humber.

CEO Paul Tarn commented: “The northern communities we serve have been at the bottom of educational measures since the start of the state education system.

“However, we are not bereft of talent and ability. Collectively, we have the capacity, expertise, and talent in our academies and trusts to transform our region.”

The Education Exchange aims to unite this collective talent and establish Yorkshire and the Humber as the highest performing education region in the country.

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DELTA NEWS Delta Academies Trust Newsletter

Dallowgill transformed

Mexborough Academy (now The Laurel Academy) joined the Trust in November, 2018.

The school had previously been gifted a small outdoor centre in the 1970s in the Yorkshire Dales in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The building had not been used as an outdoor pursuits centre for some time and had fallen into a state of disrepair.

Delta took the decision to redevelop the centre and, when complete, reopen once again to be used as originally designed, but better! The centre has been extended and significantly remodelled.

The Trust intends that this will provide all children with a residential experience at our bespoke environmental and activity centre.

The local farmers have offered to support us and have agreed access to the farms and Yorkshire Water has agreed to allow us use of land adjacent to the centre for parking and camping.

The project is fully funded by Delta and the remodelling and extension represents a £1.5m investment for the benefit of some of the most disadvantaged children and communities within the Trust.

The centre will open in May.

Children to benefit from amazing asset The environmental and outdoor centre will be fully staffed and equipped to provide a residential experience for all children in the Trust.

It will provide a centre for a wide range of activities that will include, but not be limited to: • Residential experience for all primary-aged children • Wood Craft • Farm visits • Exploration – walking, mountain biking and orienteering • A purpose-built campfire amphitheatre for campfire stories • Junior Duke of Edinburgh Activity (Delta version for primary) and full DofE for secondary students.

Dallowgill and our campsite will provide an expedition training centre • Residential workshops with guest lecturers for the Trust’s gifted writers, physicists, and mathematicians • An astronomy centre and observatory will also be developed on site to take advantage of the dark skies of the National Park and infrared cameras may capture the bats and wildlife within the grounds of the centre.

We cannot wait for our children and young adults to benefit from this amazing project.

This newsletter is produced by Delta Academies Trust.

Contact it at Education House, Spawd Bone Lane, Knottingley, WF 11 0EP. Telephone: 0345 1960033; email: info@deltatrust.org.uk

The remarkable transformation of Dallowgill, from the disused and rundown building the Trust inherited to what is going to be a fabulous residential and learning facility.