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HINCHINGBROOKE
SCHOOL
Policy Statement
on
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Drawn up by: KN
Date: December 2007
Date adopted by Governing Body: 27 February 2008
Revised:
Hinchingbrooke School Freedom of Information Policy
| 1. | Statutory Duties |
| 1.1 | The Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies to the governing bodies of schools. |
| 1.2 | Schools are required to a) make information available proactively through a Publication Scheme; b) from January 2005 to deal with specific requests for information. |
| 2. | Publication Scheme |
| 2.1 | Hinchingbrooke School has adopted the Model Publication Scheme for secondary schools outlining information that the school publishes proactively. |
| 2.2 | The scheme sets out categories of information that the school publishes, the form in which the information is published and whether or not charges apply. |
| 3. | The right to request information
|
| 3.1 | From 1 January 2005 the public have a right to request any information held by a public authority, ie the school, which has not already been made available through the Publication Scheme.
|
| 3.2 | A link for general guidance on exemptions is given below. |
| 3.3 | The school will review this policy in the light of future guidance from the Information Commissioner. |
A checklist for Action on receipt of a request for information can be found at:
http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eorderingdownload/FOIchecklist.doc
Guidelines on record management can be found at:
http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eorderingdownload/FOIRecord.doc
Guidance on exemptions and other aspects of the Freedom of Information Act can be found at:
http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
PUBLICATION SCHEME
This is Hinchingbrooke School’s Publication Scheme on information available under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
The governing body is responsible for maintenance of this scheme.
1. Introduction: what a publication scheme is and why it has been developed
One of the aims of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (which is referred to as FOIA in the rest of this document) is that public authorities, including all maintained schools, should be clear and proactive about the information they will make public.
To do this we must produce a publication scheme, setting out:
- the classes of information which we publish or intend to publish;
- the manner in which the information will be published; and
- whether the information is available free of charge or on payment.
The scheme covers information already published and information which is to be published in the future. All information in our publication scheme is either available for you on our website to download and print off or available in paper form. Some information which we hold may not be made public, for example personal information. This publication scheme conforms to the model scheme for schools approved by the Information Commissioner.
2. Aims and Objectives
It is our ambition that all Hinchingbrooke students achieve, at each stage, the highest possible step on their learning journey. They will have self-confidence, founded in their learning achievements and social skills, to become good citizens. Their physical and spiritual well being will give them energy and enthusiasm for the challenges before them. We expect that they will have pride in their success and find their school life a lasting inspiration. For our students, we seek to be the best.
Our values
We are committed to:
- Building a community where there is mutual respect and each individual is valued
- Recognise and respect religious and cultural diversity
- Respect freedom to express beliefs and values
- Securing a safe environment for the school community
Our staff
We are committed to:
- Developing the quality of teaching and learning as our central task
- Provide a well resourced educational environment
- Support staff in innovating new and more effective practices and take pride in our achievements
- Promote staff welfare
Our partnerships
We are committed to:
- Building a strong partnership with parents in support of their children’s learning journey
- Forging links with other schools and colleges to enrich educational opportunities for our students
- Working with local businesses and organisations to develop pathways to employment
- Seeking opportunities for our students to make a contribution to their local community and to supporting partner schools in other countries
Our future
We are committed to:
- Be at the forefront of educational change
- Ensure that all change benefits our students
- Acquire a positive local, national and international profile
- Value our heritage
3. Categories of information published
The publication scheme guides you to information which we currently publish (or have recently published) or which we will publish in the future. This is split into categories of information known as ‘classes’. These are contained in section 6 of this scheme. The classes of information that we undertake to make available are organised into four broad
School Prospectus information published in the school prospectus.
Governors’ Documents information published in governing body documents.
Pupils & Curriculum information about policies that relate to pupils and the school
School Policies/School Profile { information about policies
and other information { that relate to the school
related to the school { in general
4. How to request information
If you require a paper version of any of the documents within the scheme, please contact the school by telephone, email, fax or letter. Contact details are set out below or you can visit our website at www.hinchingbrookeschool.net
Email: jm@hinchbk.cambs.sch.uk
Tel: 01480 375700 ext 5791
Fax: 01480 375699
Contact Address: Hinchingbrooke School, Brampton Road, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 3BN
To help us process your request quickly, please clearly mark any correspondence “PUBLICATION SCHEME REQUEST” (in CAPITALS please). If the information you are looking for is not available via the scheme and is not on our website, you can still contact the school to ask if we have it.
5. Paying for information
Information published on our website is free, although you may incur costs from your Internet service provider. If you do not have Internet access, you can access our website using a local library or an Internet café.
Single copies of information covered by this publication are provided free unless stated otherwise in section 6. If your request means that we have to do a lot of photocopying or printing, or pay a large postage charge, or is for a priced item such as some printed publications or videos we will let you know the cost before fulfilling your request. Where there is a charge this will be indicated by a £ sign in the description box.
6. Classes of Information Currently Published
|
|
Class |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
School Prospectus |
|
|
School Profile |
|
Governing Body information – this section sets out information published in governing body documents.
|
Class |
Description |
|
Instrument of Government
|
|
|
Minutes of meeting of the Governing body and its committees |
Agreed minutes of meetings of the governing body and its committees [current and last full academic school year] |
Pupils & Curriculum Policies - This section gives access to information about policies that relate to pupils and the school curriculum.
|
Class |
Description |
|
Home–school agreement
|
Statement of the school’s aims and values, the school’s responsibilities, the parental responsibilities and the school’s expectations of its pupils for example homework arrangements |
|
Curriculum Policy
|
Statement on following the policy for the secular curriculum subjects and religious education and schemes of work and syllabuses currently used by the school |
|
Sex Education Policy |
Statement of policy with regard to sex and relationship education |
|
Special Education Needs Policy |
Information about the school's policy on providing for pupils with special educational needs |
|
Accessibility Plans |
Plan for increasing participation of disabled pupils in the school’s curriculum, improving the accessibility of the physical environment and improving delivery of information to disabled pupils. |
|
Race Equality Policy |
Statement of policy for promoting race equality |
|
Collective Worship |
Statement of arrangements for the required daily act of collective worship. |
|
Careers Education Policy |
Statement of the programmes of careers education provided for Key 4.
|
|
Child Protection Policy |
Statement of policy for safeguarding and promoting welfare of pupils at the school (from March 2004). |
|
Pupil Discipline |
Statement of general principles on behaviour and discipline and of measures taken by the head teacher to prevent bullying. |
School Policies and other information related to the school - This section gives access to information about policies that relate to the school in general.
|
Class |
Description |
|
Published reports of Ofsted referring expressly to the school |
Published report of the last inspection of the school and the summary of the report. |
|
Class |
Description |
|
Post-Ofsted inspection action plan |
A plan setting out the actions required following the last Ofsted inspection |
|
Charging and Remissions Policies |
A statement of the school’s policy with respect to charges and remissions for any optional extra or board and lodging for which charges are permitted, for example school publications, music tuition, trips |
|
School session times and term dates |
Details of school session and dates of school terms and holidays
|
|
Health and Safety Policy and risk assessment |
Statement of general policy with respect to health and safety at work of employees (and others) and the organisation and arrangements for carrying out the policy |
|
Complaints procedure |
Statement of procedures for dealing with complaints |
|
Performance Management of Staff |
Statement of procedures adopted by the governing body relating to the performance management of staff and the annual report of the head teacher on the effectiveness of appraisal procedures |
|
Staff Conduct, Discipline and Grievance |
Statement of procedure for regulating conduct and discipline of school staff and procedures by which staff may seek redress for grievance |
|
Curriculum circulars and statutory instruments |
Any statutory instruments, departmental circulars and administrative memoranda sent by the Department of Education and Skills to the head teacher or governing body relating to the curriculum
|
|
Annex A - Other documents |
Annex A provides a list of other documents that are held by the school and are available on request
|
School Policies are available on our website at www.hinchingbrookeschool.net
7. Charges
We will charge as follows:
- the first 18 hours of collating information is free;
- we will charge 10 pence per sheet for anything copied plus postage;
- we will charge £25 per hour if someone wants to come in and look at records, in a supervised environment;
- the School will not proceed with any Freedom of Information request beyond 18 hours.
8. Feedback and Complaints
We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have about the scheme. If you want to make any comments about this publication scheme or if you require further assistance or wish to make a complaint then initially this should be addressed to the Headteacher.
If you are not satisfied with the assistance that you get or if we have not been able to resolve your complaint and you feel that a formal complaint needs to be made then this should be addressed to the Information Commissioner’s Office. This is the organisation that ensures compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and that deals with formal complaints.
They can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF; or
Enquiry/Information Line: 01625 545 700
E Mail: publications@ic-foi.demon.co.uk.
Website : www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
Annex A – Further documents held by the school
School Documents
Curriculum Booklets
Curriculum Newsletters
Examinations Booklet
Introductory Information
Options Booklet
Post-16 Recruitment Pack
School Development Plan
School Self-Evaluation Form
| School Policy Documents | |
Able, Gifted & Talented Accessibility Assessment Attendance Behaviour Bullying Careers Charging & Remissions Child Protection Community Drug Policy Complaints Procedure Cover for Teacher Absence Curriculum Data Protection Disability Educational Visits Health & Safety |
Homework Policy ICT Inclusion & Equality Internet Acceptable Use Learning & Teaching Library and Resources Marking Medical Needs Mobile Phones, Personal Music Players & Games Devices Monitoring & Evaluation No Smoking Persistent Complaints/Harassment Physical Intervention Post-16 Admissions Sex & Relationships SEN |
| Personnel Policies | |
Absence Abuse of Trust Code of Conduct Criminal Record Bureau Checks Grievance Procedure Discipline & Capability Emergency Closure Employment Equality & Diversity Ex-Offenders Grievance Handling Age Retirement |
Handling Redundancy Harassment in Employment Induction Pay Performance Management Personnel Information Recruitment Selection Stress Management Trade Unions Volunteer Helpers Whistleblowing |
