Update regarding response to FOI Request from Mr Maloney

I have suggested answers for each of the questions as raised below. In some cases there is an exemption the school could apply if it is valid.

Dear Mr Maloney

The school did not refuse your request, we simply asked you to supply a valid correspondence address, to allow us to respond, which you have now done. Therefore we have reconsidered your request and responded to each question accordingly, see below:

1. Does your school have a policy which ensures separated parents are treated equally? If so, what issues does it cover?
   • Letters Home (Pupil Post) and emails are sent to both parents
   • Provision for both parents to attend parents evening separately if requested
   • Consent for school trips
   • Consent for Medical Treatment
   • Requests to change a child's surname
   • Involvement in meetings about a child's exclusion etc.
   • Information Sharing
   • Parent Governor Elections
   • Requirement for a court order to accompany any request to restrict another parent's PR
   • Seeking permission for applications to change a child's school
   • Other areas

   Answer: Yes or No as appropriate, but you may wish to add some context to indicate that the school does have guidance in place to cover these issues.

2. The number of pupils currently registered at the school.

   Answer: Provide the information.

3. The number of pupils where both natural parents details are on record

   Answer: If this information is recorded on the schools SIMS and is easily extractable then provide this information.

   However the likelihood is that information would be recorded in each of the pupil files and depending on the number of pupils on roll this may take in excess of 18 hours to locate, extract and collate. In that circumstance you can refuse to deal with this element of the request by applying the section 12 exemption - see paragraph below.

   Without looking at each individual pupil file I am afraid that we cannot answer this question within the appropriate limit of £450 (equivalent to 18 hours at £25 per hour) and are relying on section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to refuse to comply with this element of your request.

4. The number of pupils registered at your school where you only have details for the mother.

   Answer: If this information is recorded on the schools SIMS and is easily extractable then provide this information.

   However the likelihood is that information would be recorded in each of the pupil files and depending on the number of pupils on roll this may take in excess of 18 hours to locate, extract and collate. In that circumstance you can refuse to deal with this element of the request by applying the section 12 exemption - see paragraph below.

   Without looking at each individual pupil file I am afraid that we cannot answer this question within the appropriate limit of £450 (equivalent to 18 hours at £25 per hour) and are relying on section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to refuse to comply with this element of your request.

5. The number of pupils registered at your school where you only have details for the father.

   Answer: If this information is recorded on the schools SIMS and is easily extractable then provide this information.

   However the likelihood is that information would be recorded in each of the pupil files and depending on the number of pupils on roll this may take in excess of 18 hours to locate, extract and collate. In that circumstance you can refuse to deal with this element of the request by applying the section 12 exemption - see paragraph below.

   Without looking at each individual pupil file I am afraid that we cannot answer this question within the appropriate limit of £450 (equivalent to 18 hours at £25 per hour) and are relying on section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to refuse to comply with this element of your request.

6. What do you do to obtain details of all parents?
   • There is no policy in place to obtain a missing parents details
   • Request details of all parents in registration form
   • Ask the registered parent(s), verbally or in writing.
   • Ask parents to fill in a data collection sheet each year.
   • Request a copy of the child's birth certificate
   • Wait for the “absent” parent to contact the school
   • Keep an "Absent Parent Register" (missing parents can receive information if they provide SAEs)

   Answer: Any or all of the above as applicable.

7. What is the gender of your Headteacher?

   Answer: Provide the information.

8. The number of male teachers at your school.

   Answer: Provide the information.

9. The number of female teachers at your school.

   Answer: Provide the information.

10. The number of male teaching assistants at your school.

    Answer: Provide the information.

11. The number of female teaching assistants at your school.

    Answer: Provide the information.

12. The number of male ancillary staff at your school.

    Answer: Provide the information.

13. The number of female ancillary staff at your school.

Answer: Provide the information.

If you are unhappy with this response, and believe the school has not complied with legislation, please ask for a review by following our complaints process; details can be found at this link xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on our website.

If you still remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should you wish to pursue this course of action, are available from the Information Commissioner’s website

If the school has already provided the above response, try this one next:

Thank you for your email. I have reviewed the schools handling of your request for information.

With regard to our refusal on cost grounds to some elements of your request, we have xxx pupils and we would have to manually look at the records of each one to ascertain what information we held about their parents/guardians. Even allowing just 5 minutes per pupil record, it would take at least xx hours to confirm, extract and collate the statistics you require. I therefore maintain that our stance was correct.

With regard to our refusal to complete your online questionnaire, we are aware that you have a right to specify your preferred format for receiving information, in this case completion of an online questionnaire. However, we did not believe that this method of communication was reasonable for the reasons we stated in our initial response to your original request. Not only was your questionnaire not conducive to a legally compliant response, but would potentially breach our network security protocols.

Nevertheless, we did provide you with some of the information you requested, albeit in another format. Therefore, I consider that as a result, we have fulfilled our obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If you disagree with this stance and remain unhappy, you should now appeal to the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should you wish to pursue this course of action, are available from the Information Commissioner’s website or you can phone the ICO Helpline on 0303 123 1113.

To ascertain the number of hours it would take, you take the number of pupils on roll, multiply by 5 and divide by 60. If the school has less than 200 pupils, you may need to say it would take 10 minutes per pupil record to look at each file and extract and collate the contact information if you want to maintain it would take too long to deal.

Contact Details

Michelle Hunt, Information Governance Specialist
Telephone: 03000 41 62 86
Email: InformationGovernance@kent.gov.uk