Department of Education, Sport and Culture
110 FOI requests | Full disclosure rate: 213.6%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-06-21 | Religious visits in schools | Some information sent but not all held |
| A request was made for data on religious group visits to schools and parental exclusions over three years, but the authority only provided information for the 2017/18 academic year due to record retention policies. | ||
| 2018-05-30 | Nursery Places | Some information sent but not all held |
| The requester asked for the total number of nursery places and their occupancy rates for the 2017-2018 academic year. The Department of Education disclosed the total number of available places but stated it does not hold data on specific vacancies as nurseries are privately operated and regulated by the Department of Health and Social Care. | ||
| 2018-02-28 | Results of the Autumn 2017 Have Your Say Survey for all schools on the Isle of Man | Some information sent but not all held |
| The request sought the Autumn 2017 'Have Your Say' survey results for all Isle of Man schools, which were partially disclosed via the Department's website. Individual reports were withheld for nine primary schools because their survey response groups contained fewer than 10 people, violating external market research codes. | ||
| 2017-10-15 | Age 16/18 school leavers data | Some information sent but not all held |
| The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded to a request for 2017 school leaver data by age 16 and 18, stating that most information was not held or required substantial compilation to retrieve. | ||
| 2017-08-29 | How many out of Catchment Requests requests have been made and approved (14/6/17 to date (St Thomas/Vall | Some information sent but not all held |
| The request sought details on out-of-catchment school applications for Scoill Vallajeelt linked to the St Thomas' relocation proposal between June 2017 and August 2017. The Department of Education partially disclosed that fewer than 5 applications were received and approved, all citing the relocation, but withheld specific dates and individual details due to privacy exemptions. | ||
| 2017-06-25 | Information and Correspondence of Henry Bloom Noble in relation to co-locate to HBN over past 5 years | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2017-06-25 | Details of works proposed to be carried out in refurb for Vallajeelt School over next 24 months | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2017-06-25 | Information re co-location of St Thomas to Vallajeelt | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2017-03-22 | Further English Baccalaureate data (performance measures) | Some information sent but not all held |
| The request sought English Baccalaureate attainment data and Year 11 completion numbers for Isle of Man secondary schools in 2015-16. The Department of Education refused the EBacc data as it was not held and would require substantial compilation, but provided the requested Year 11 completion figures. | ||
| 2017-03-04 | Y4 schemes of work & curricula - Anagh Coar & Ashley Hill | Some information sent but not all held |
| The requester asked for Year 4 schemes of work and curricula for Anagh Coar and Ashley Hill Primary Schools, but the Department of Education refused to provide specific school documents as they are not held centrally or formally created. Instead, the authority provided online links to general Isle of Man curriculum resources and offered direct contact with the schools for further assistance. | ||