Department of Education, Sport and Culture
235 FOI requests | Full disclosure rate: 100.0%
The Freedom of Information requests to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture reveal an authority deeply entangled in the controversy of the St Thomas' Primary School co-location proposal. A significant portion of the casework (over 14 related cases) focuses on this issue, where the Department frequently employed a 'practical refusal' or 'already public' defense to withhold decision-making correspondence (e.g., 354839, 354847), while simultaneously disclosing granular data on pupil catchments (354959) and the fact that the school paid no rent (467435). This pattern suggests a strategy of transparency on operational metrics but obstruction on political and strategic deliberations. The data also exposes a complex relationship between the state and religious groups; while the Department confirmed regular visits by the Child Evangelism Fellowship (354861), it actively blocked access for the abortion reform group HEAR (354831), highlighting a selective gatekeeping of external influences in schools.
Key Cases
Case 354861 — Reveals the systematic presence of the Child Evangelism Fellowship in Isle of Man schools, providing a detailed breakdown of visit frequencies, which raises questions about the separation of church and state in public education.
Case 354831 — Discloses a specific incident where the abortion reform group HEAR attempted to access pupils at St Mary's School and was declined, offering a rare glimpse into the Department's vetting of controversial external groups.
Case 361143 — Highlights a significant administrative error and subsequent correction regarding public objections to the St Thomas' co-location (initially 403 signatures, corrected to 413), demonstrating the volatility of the consultation process.
Case 467435 — Confirms that St Thomas' School paid zero rent to the Department for the building, parking, and playgrounds over three years, a crucial financial fact in the debate over the school's viability and the co-location proposal.
Case 354883 — Discloses that eight unqualified teachers were employed in training roles across four secondary schools, raising concerns about the quality of education and staffing standards during the 2016/17 academic year.
Related FOI Stories
The St Thomas' Co-location Saga — #354839, #354847, #354849, #358135, #354867
Home Education and Legal Enforcement — #354833, #354857, #354875, #358137, #354911
School Performance Data and Statistical Gaps — #354791, #354801, #354809, #354815, #354925
Religious Influence and External Visits — #354851, #354831, #354861, #354877, #512133
Staffing, Employment, and Discipline — #354805, #354813, #354883, #354945, #354947
All (235)
All information sent (235) ·
Some information sent but part exempt (116) ·
Some information sent but not all held (110) ·
Information not held (56) ·
No information sent - all held but exempt (48) ·
Upheld - partial (17) ·
Not upheld (15) ·
Upheld - full (8) ·
Not required to fulfill request (8) ·
Request lapsed - requested information not provided (1) ·
Repeated request (1) ·
Neither confirm or deny information held (1) ·
Information Notice (1) ·
| Date | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-04 | School suspension & neurodivergent students | All information sent |
| A request was made to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture for data on school suspensions and neurodivergent students in the Isle of Man over the last three academic years. The authority responded by providing a detailed list of suspension counts and session durations for individual students at Ballakermeen, Castle Rushen, and Queen Elizabeth II High Schools. | ||
| 2026-01-29 | Suspension Rates | All information sent |
| A request was made for suspension statistics across Isle of Man state secondary schools for academic years 2022-23 through 2025-26, including counts of suspensions, pupils affected, and days lost. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed all requested information, providing a detailed breakdown of suspension sessions for Ballakermeen High School for the 2024-25 academic year. | ||
| 2026-01-20 | Estrangement | All information sent |
| The requester asked for a 10-year breakdown of students receiving independent finance awards due to estrangement from parents. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture confirmed that all requested information was sent, providing figures for students granted independent status per academic year with a note on potential data overlap. | ||
| 2026-01-09 | School canteen profit | All information sent |
| The requester asked for annual profit figures for St Ninians High School and Bemahague canteens over the last five academic years. The Department of Education disclosed that no profit was made, providing specific net loss figures for the combined 'St Ninians School Meals' cost centre. | ||
| 2025-12-30 | Meals | All information sent |
| The Department of Education, Sport and Culture provided approximate data on school meal and packed lunch choices for primary schools in November and December 2025. The response included a detailed table of figures while noting that packed lunch numbers are estimates due to varying recording methods across schools. | ||
| 2025-12-18 | Post Graduate Study Financial Support | All information sent |
| The requester asked for statistics on postgraduate students with 2.2 or lower undergraduate degrees receiving tuition fee support since 2020. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture withheld the specific data because the number of individuals is less than five, making them identifiable. | ||
| 2025-12-11 | Government funding for IOM team sports | All information sent |
| The request sought government grant funding for five specific team sports in the Isle of Man for the tax years 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed the full financial figures for all requested sports and years. | ||
| 2025-12-02 | Willaston pupils with additional needs | All information sent |
| A Freedom of Information request was made to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture regarding pupil statistics at Willaston Primary School, specifically focusing on additional needs, transfers, and catchment area status. The authority disclosed all requested information, providing specific counts for pupils with additional needs, recent transfers, reasons for moving, and approved out-of-catchment requests. | ||
| 2025-12-01 | Cost of school meals | All information sent |
| The requester asked for the average cost per child per day for primary school meals in the Isle of Man for the 2024/25 school year and the period from September 2025 to the most recent records. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture confirmed that all information was sent, providing provisional cost data for the specified periods while noting caveats regarding incomplete financial records and variable school days. | ||
| 2025-11-14 | Level 2&3 External Examination Attainment Metrics 24-25 Academic Year | All information sent |
| 2025-11-07 | Plastic water bottle in high schools - update of FOI 662466 | All information sent |
| The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded to a request regarding single-use plastic policies and water bottle sales in Isle of Man secondary schools, disclosing specific sales figures and infrastructure details for five schools while stating individual green policies were not held. | ||
| 2025-11-03 | University destination data | All information sent |
| The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded to a request for data on Manx students studying at universities outside the Isle of Man, disclosing a detailed breakdown of institutions, courses, and study years. | ||
| 2025-11-03 | Music GCSE registrations and results | All information sent |
| The requester asked for the number of students registered for Level 1 and Level 2 Music GCSEs in the Isle of Man and a breakdown of their 2024 results. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed the total summer entries and the specific grade distribution for 2024, along with links to individual school results. | ||
| 2025-10-21 | School dinner- cancellations | All information sent |
| The request sought data on the number of children on school dinners at three primary schools comparing the start of the year to the end of the first half term. The Department of Education disclosed ParentPay figures showing a decrease in recorded meals for all three schools, while noting that data accuracy is affected by varying school policies and unrecorded meals. | ||
| 2025-09-11 | NSC Financial Accounts s and Attendance Data for 'Swing and Things' | All information sent |
| The requester sought audited financial accounts for the National Sports Centre and attendance data for 'Swing and Things' sessions over the past 48 months. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed attendance figures for 2021-2025 and a detailed budget variance report for the 2022/23 financial year. | ||
| 2025-09-03 | Cost of primary school meals | All information sent |
| The request sought the financial impact of recent school menu changes and the average cost per meal. The Department of Education disclosed actual costs for 2024/25, projected costs for 2025/26, and the split between government and parent contributions per meal. | ||
| 2025-08-20 | Tynwald Question W-202501-1704: Derivation of Costs | All information sent |
| The requester sought the derivation of four specific cost-per-pupil figures for primary and secondary education sectors, including variations for Specialist Provision Centres. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded by disclosing all requested information, providing detailed budget breakdowns and calculation notes for the 2025-26 financial year. | ||
| 2025-07-16 | Education Support Staff | All information sent |
| A request was made to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture for statistics on education support staff employment types and payment schedules for both staff and teachers. The authority disclosed specific headcounts for full-time and part-time support staff and confirmed that all salaries are paid in 12 equal monthly instalments. | ||
| 2025-07-11 | Class sizes to teacher allocation | All information sent |
| The requester asked for Year 5 and 6 class sizes and teacher allocations for primary schools for the 2024-25 academic year. The Department of Education provided data for the upcoming 2025-26 year but noted that some 2024-25 figures could not be obtained until September 2025 due to the summer holidays. | ||
| 2025-07-08 | The number of students taking both English literature and language | All information sent |
| The Department of Education, Sport and Culture provided data on the number of students at Castle Rushen High School taking English Literature and Language GCSEs from 2023 to 2025, along with the percentage of students taking both subjects. The response also detailed the percentage of GCSE English lessons covered by supply staff or non-specialists over the same period. | ||
| 2025-06-27 | catchment areas | All information sent |
| The requester asked for the number of children accepted into Henry Bloom Noble School outside their catchment area for the September 2025 intake. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture confirmed that two such requests were approved. | ||
| 2025-04-25 | School Self Reviews and Evalutions | All information sent |
| The requester asked for School Self Review Evaluations (SSRE) and anti-bullying policies for four specific schools. The Department of Education provided the SSRE for one school directly, directed the requester to public websites for the other three schools citing Section 20 of the Act, and shared links to both the overarching departmental anti-bullying policy and individual school policies. | ||
| 2025-04-01 | St Ninians Upper School | All information sent |
| The request sought confirmation of asbestos presence and inspection frequency at St Ninian's Upper School. The Department of Education confirmed asbestos-containing materials exist and are managed, with full surveys conducted every ten years and annual visual inspections now in place. | ||
| 2025-03-19 | Henry Bloom Noble School- numbers of EAL and SEN pupils | All information sent |
| The request sought detailed statistics on EAL and SEN pupils, staffing, and budgets at Henry Bloom Noble School for September 2024 and early 2025. The Department of Education provided pupil counts, new joiner data, and native language breakdowns, but withheld nationality data due to lack of records and redacted specific language counts for small groups to protect privacy. | ||
| 2025-03-11 | Kewaigue Primary School capacity | All information sent |
| A request was made for current and projected student numbers and capacity details for Kewaigue Primary School. The Department of Education disclosed specific enrollment figures and overall capacity but refused to provide year group capacity data, citing that it is already reasonably accessible via published guidance. | ||
| 2025-03-07 | School pupil intake | All information sent |
| The request sought pupil intake and out-of-catchment acceptance figures for Onchan and Ashley Hill Primary Schools, as well as island-wide out-of-catchment data for the past three years. The Department of Education provided specific reception intake numbers for the two schools but did not include the requested out-of-catchment statistics in the response. | ||
| 2025-03-03 | Pupil characteristics 2024/25 | All information sent |
| The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded to a request for pupil characteristics across Isle of Man schools for the 2024/25 academic year, disclosing data on Free School Meals, Additional Educational Needs (AEN), and English as an Additional Language (EAL). The response provided detailed breakdowns by school and support category, though some specific classifications like neurodivergence were not explicitly detailed in the provided tables. | ||
| 2025-02-27 | Dress down days | All information sent |
| The request sought financial details on funds raised by Isle of Man high schools during dress-down days over the last two years, including spending breakdowns and holding accounts. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed specific fundraising totals, charity donations, and student support allocations for five high schools, confirming funds are held in school accounts pending distribution. | ||
| 2025-02-21 | Year 7 Baseline Assessment Tests 2024-25 | All information sent |
| The request sought Year 7 baseline assessment data for Island secondary schools for the 2024-25 academic year, including reading ages and cognitive ability test results. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed all requested information, providing a detailed dataset of individual student scores across verbal, quantitative, non-verbal, and spatial domains. | ||
| 2025-02-11 | Spending per pupil in both primary and secondary phases | All information sent |
| The requester asked for the formula and precise figures used to calculate the reported £8,700 per-pupil spending in secondary education and equivalent data for primary education. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded by sending all requested information held. | ||
| 2025-01-27 | Equality Act 2017 - Complaints to DESC/Schools | All information sent |
| The request sought statistics on Equality Act 2017 complaints against the Department of Education, Sport and Culture and its schools. The Department disclosed that Primary Schools had no such complaints, Secondary Schools could not provide data without creating new records, and the Department itself received specific complaints between 2022 and 2024. | ||
| 2025-01-16 | Numbers of year 5 pupils in Primary Schools | All information sent |
| A request was made for the number of Year 5 pupils at four specific primary schools on the Isle of Man, and the Department of Education provided the current enrollment figures for all requested schools. | ||
| 2025-01-15 | Gubay Bursary | All information sent |
| The request sought details on the timeline, fund size, and grant numbers for the Gubay Bursary for Top 10 Universities. The Department of Education confirmed the fund was established in 2006 with £500,000, provided 261 grants totaling £579,000, and is now effectively exhausted with only £10,183.22 remaining. | ||
| 2024-12-17 | University destination data | All information sent |
| The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed a list of university destinations and course types for Isle of Man students receiving financial support for the 2024-2025 academic year. The response provided full details across 24 pages, covering institutions ranging from local colleges to international universities. | ||
| 2024-12-05 | School On Roll Data | All information sent |
| The request sought combined school on-roll data and SEN-specific information for all schools on the Isle of Man. The Department of Education provided the combined on-roll data and primary school SEN data, while secondary school SEN data was deemed reasonably accessible via a previous FOI response. | ||
| 2024-11-27 | Teacher Pay Scales | All information sent |
| The request sought the Isle of Man teacher pay scales for the 2024-25 academic year and details on remuneration for additional responsibilities. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed all information, providing full pay scales including London Fringe and IOM weighting, as well as specific criteria and amounts for Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments. | ||
| 2024-11-11 | Costs associated with Soundcheck - DESC | All information sent |
| The request sought the average monthly staff costs and under-18 attendance figures for Soundcheck sessions at Kensington Arts for the 2023-2024 school year. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed both figures, noting that the programme is currently under review. | ||
| 2024-11-05 | New CRHS plans | All information sent |
| The request sought a total breakdown of costs for the new Castle Rushen High School plans since 2016, including design and consultancy fees. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture provided year-by-year totals for feasibility, pre-contract, and post-contract stages but withheld a detailed cost breakdown citing commercial interests. | ||
| 2024-10-23 | Query of current numbers | All information sent |
| A request was made to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture for the current number of home-educated children on the Isle of Man. The authority responded by disclosing that 193 children were registered as home-educated as of October 24, 2024. | ||
| 2024-10-17 | KS2 and KS4 attainment by gender | All information sent |
| The request sought KS2 and KS4 attainment data by gender for the last five years, including subject-specific breakdowns and trend analysis. The authority provided KS2 expected attainment statistics for 2020-2024 and some KS4 data for Ramsey Grammar School, but withheld KS4 data for other schools and all requested commentary due to lack of records or the burden of creating new analysis. | ||
| 2024-10-01 | NSC Swimming Pool | All information sent |
| The request sought details regarding damage to the NSC Swimming Pool, including the cause, repair timeline, and funding source. The authority disclosed the date and nature of the damage but withheld information on who is paying for repairs citing commercial interests, while directing the requester to Hansard for other details. | ||
| 2024-09-05 | Cost of supply teachers | All information sent |
| A request was made to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture regarding the number, pay rates, and total costs of supply teachers in the Isle of Man. The authority disclosed the number of registered teachers and pay structures but stated it does not hold the requested data on total taxpayer costs for the last five academic years. | ||
| 2024-09-04 | Special Educational Needs numbers | All information sent |
| A request was made for Special Educational Needs (SEN) pupil numbers at Isle of Man high schools from 2018 to the present, and the Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed the data for all four high schools. | ||
| 2024-08-29 | NSC Gym memberships | All information sent |
| The requester asked for the number of active NSC Gym memberships and single visit purchases for July 2024. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed that there were 751 active memberships as of September 2024 and 690 single visit purchases in July 2024. | ||
| 2024-07-12 | QEII School Budget 2024/2025 | All information sent |
| A request was made for the full budget breakdown of QEII High School for the 2024/2025 academic year, and the Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed all information including detailed expenditure by department and cost centre. | ||
| 2024-07-03 | Staff turnover at Rushen School | All information sent |
| A request was made for staff turnover data at Rushen Primary School between 2017 and 2024, but the Department of Education, Sport and Culture could not provide data for the 2017-2018 period due to storage format issues and withheld specific details on small numbers of staff to protect personal privacy. | ||
| 2024-07-02 | dyslexia | All information sent |
| The requester asked for details on Dyslexia courses funded by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC) and their associated costs. While the department identified one specific course, it stated it could not provide the cost information as it was not held or could not be found. | ||
| 2024-06-19 | Minutes from an RGS School Governors meeting | All information sent |
| The requester sought minutes from RGS School Governors meetings regarding the shortening of the school day. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture provided the minutes from the 26th March 2024 meeting but redacted specific information under Section 35 to protect the free and frank exchange of views. | ||
| 2024-05-29 | List of courses | All information sent |
| The requester asked for a list of specific courses for which the Department of Education, Sport and Culture paid grants during the most recent available financial year. The authority responded by disclosing a comprehensive list of over 100 approved course titles that received funding. | ||
| 2024-05-21 | recruitment benefits | All information sent |
| The request asked for the total number of unique individuals who received recruitment benefits from the Department of Education, Sport and Culture since the 2017-2018 financial year, and how many remain employed. The authority disclosed that 172 individuals benefited and 124 are still employed. | ||
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