Good afternoon Bob
I write you acknowledge your Freedom of Information request, dated 28
November 2023, for the following information:

 1. copies of all minutes and reports from governance and operational
meetings on the introduction of the Astrea Reads program.
 2. email correspondence to individual academy department heads/leadership
on the introduction of the program.
 3. assessments on the success of the program.
 4. any other trust wide documents on the program.
 5. a copy of Astrea Reads lesson plan if it exists.
 6. risk assessments to cover aspect of the activity where students are
being instructed to have their books flat.

Your request is being dealt with under the FOI Act 2000 and we endeavour
to respond within 20 school days, or no later than 9 January 2024.
In the meantime, governance minutes can be found published on individual
academy websites, for your information and reference.
Kind regards
Melanie Basson
DPO

[1]Astrea Academy Trust

References

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Dear Mr Henderson

I write further regarding your Freedom of Information Request received by
us on 28 November 2023, regarding Astrea Reads Program. To which we
provide the following response:

Please find attached the following documents, which were shared with
department heads/leadership on the introduction of the reading program:

Invitation to launch

The Astrea Reads Framework sets out our whole strategy which includes the
different strands and the research and evidence which sits behind the
strategy.

The Astrea Reads Conference Presentation was the presentation from the
launch of Astrea Reads with school leaders, those who attended were senior
and middle leaders from all secondary schools.

Alice in Wonderland - Teacher guide

Exemplar Short Story Anthology

Astrea Reads Strand Two-Reading intervention: this presentation formed
part of the Astrea Reads Conference.

As my previous email states, copies of all minutes and reports from
governance meetings are published on individual academy websites.

The information shared with you in this response provides the literature
by way of outcome of discussions and planning through operational meetings
on the introduction of the Astrea Reads program.
Regarding your request for assessments on the success of the program, we
are unable to provide this at this time as it is not held as there has not
been sufficient time to assess progress. However, we do intend to assess
progress of the program in due course.  
Regarding your request for risk assessments to cover aspect of the
activity where students are being instructed to have their books flat. We
do not require students to lean over their books and we do not accept the
premise that a specific risk assessment is required – students lean over
their work all the time.  We may consider amending the framework to
encourage reminders about posture. 

We thank you for your enquiry and trust that our response is satisfactory.

Your right to complain:

 If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled please
contact me at: [1][email address].

Your right to complain to the Information Commissioner:

Our complaints procedure sets out your right to complain to the
Information Commissioner. Generally, the Information Commissioner will not
entertain a complaint until you have exhausted our complaints procedure.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a
national rate number

[2]www.ico.gov.uk

Kind regards

Melanie Basson

DPO

Bob Henderson <[3][FOI #1053127 email]>

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

To:​Data Protection Officer (Astrea Central)​

Tue 28/11/2023 20:36

[CAUTION EXTERNAL EMAIL] Do not click links or attachments unless you
recognise the sender or know the content is safe, treat external links and
attachments with caution!

Dear Astrea Academy Trust,

Recently one school in your trust published a twitter video on Astrea
Reads linked here:
[4]https://twitter.com/stivoacademy/status/.... I believe
this program has been rolled out to academies across your trust.

Please provide
-copies of all minutes and reports from governance and operational
meetings on the introduction of the Astrea Reads program
-email correspondence to individual academy department heads/leadership on
the introduction of the program.
-assessments on the success of the program
-any other trust wide documents on the program.

Alongside this twitter post a photo of a supposed lesson plan for Astrea
Reads was also published, linked here
[5]https://twitter.com/_Ali_Mitchell/status....

-Please provide a copy of this lesson plan if it exists.

The lesson plan and the video clearly show students being instructed to
have their books flat leading them to adopt bad posture to hunch over
their books for long periods of time, which is inherently risky.

-Please provide the risk assessments you have to cover this aspect of the
activity.

Yours faithfully,

Bob Henderson

[6]Astrea Academy Trust

References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
3. mailto:[FOI #1053127 email]
4. https://twitter.com/stivoacademy/status/...
5. https://twitter.com/_Ali_Mitchell/status...