Department of Education, Sport and Culture
56 FOI requests | Full disclosure rate: 419.6%
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
| Date | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-07-03 | Co-location of St Thomas school to Vallajeelt | Information not held |
| A Freedom of Information request sought details on the co-location of St Thomas's school to Scooil Vallajeelt, including pupil postcodes, enrollment projections, and traffic analysis. The Department of Education disclosed the first four digits of pupil postcodes but refused to provide future enrollment projections or traffic analysis data, citing that the information was not held. | ||
| 2017-07-02 | Students attending university in the UK | Information not held |
| The request sought data on UK university students funded by the Isle of Man government for 2010-2013 and their subsequent return to full-time employment. The Department of Education provided the student attendance figures but refused the employment return data, citing that the information was not held and was subject to exemptions regarding future publication and policy formulation. | ||
| 2017-07-01 | Has a study been made by DEC on Homeschooling | Information not held |
| A request was made to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture for any studies conducted on homeschooling in the Isle of Man. The authority responded that no such study exists and therefore refused the request as the information is not held. | ||
| 2017-04-03 | Copy of spec and contract with financial info redacted out as it relates to Ballacottier School | Information not held |
| A request was made for the name of the contractor responsible for cleaning Ballacottier School and other schools, but the Department of Education refused the request stating they do not hold the information. | ||
| 2017-04-03 | Name of contractor responsible for cleanng of Ballacottier and any other schools with same contractor | Information not held |
| The Department of Education, Sport and Culture refused a request for cleaning contract specifications for Ballacottier School, stating they do not hold the information and that the request lacked substance. The authority advised the applicant to direct the inquiry to the Department of Infrastructure, which manages estates and cleaning services. | ||
| 2017-02-23 | Primary school SAT results - last 3 years | Information not held |