Department of Education, Sport and Culture
116 FOI requests | Full disclosure rate: 202.6%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-01 | External Moderation of Primary School Teacher Assessments | Some information sent but part exempt |
| The requester sought details on external moderation of primary school teacher assessments, including policies, visit numbers, and specific grading results over three years. The authority provided sample moderation letters for Science and Maths but withheld specific statistical data and results, citing partial exemptions. | ||
| 2018-12-12 | Potential Changes to GCSE Maths Exam Board & iGCSE Maths Results | Some information sent but part exempt |
| The requester sought documentation regarding concerns over iGCSE mathematics and data supporting a Minister's statement on exam results. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture released some information after a final decision on the exam board was made, but redacted personal names under FOI exemptions. | ||
| 2018-10-04 | Sick Leave, Early Retirement & Application Numbers - Teaching Staff | Some information sent but part exempt |
| The request sought year-on-year data on teaching staff sick leave, early retirement, and recruitment applications for the Isle of Man Department of Education. The authority provided detailed statistics for sick leave days by reason, staff leavers by category, and recruitment figures, though some specific data points were withheld or aggregated. | ||
| 2018-09-11 | IOM Arts Council Funding Decisions | Some information sent but part exempt |
| The request sought IOM Arts Council funding decisions for performing arts from 2015-2018, resulting in partial disclosure where some data was already public and individual names were redacted. | ||
| 2018-05-14 | Use of Santon school monies for new Diocesan C of E school | Some information sent but part exempt |
| The request sought confirmation of discussions regarding relocating St Thomas' school to the Santon site or using Diocesan funds for Scooil Vallajeelt. The Department confirmed meetings took place but withheld minutes and correspondence due to practical refusal, legal privilege, and public business exemptions. | ||
| 2018-05-02 | Works And Cost Castletown Youth Club | Some information sent but part exempt |
| The request sought details on internal works and costs at Castletown Youth Club between June 2017 and May 2018. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed that the Department of Infrastructure performed the works but refused to provide specific details or costs as they do not hold that information. | ||
| 2018-04-17 | Student Award System | Some information sent but part exempt |
| A request for data on the Isle of Man Student Award System was partially fulfilled, disclosing statistics on student numbers, costs, and rejections for the 2017/18 year, while withholding a policy review document led by Mr L Hooper. | ||
| 2018-04-09 | NSC - Grounds Maintenance Contract | Some information sent but part exempt |
| A request was made for the NSC Grounds Maintenance Contract details, including costs and the awarded company. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed the contract agreement identifying Douglas Borough Council as the contractor, though some information was withheld under exemptions. | ||
| 2018-03-27 | Unpublished FOI requests | Some information sent but part exempt |
| The request sought statistics on Freedom of Information requests received, refused, answered, and published by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture over the previous 12 months. The department disclosed that 93 requests were received and 88 were answered, while refusing to provide data on published requests. | ||
| 2018-03-19 | Arts Council Funding Awards | Some information sent but part exempt |
| The requester asked for a list of Arts Council funding awards and board members from the last 10 years. The Department provided full financial amounts and board tenure details but redacted individual recipient names due to data protection exemptions. | ||
| 2017-10-05 | Rushen school - incidents of bullying & exclusions/meaures | Some information sent but part exempt |
| A request for bullying statistics and exclusion data at Rushen Primary School was partially fulfilled, with specific incident counts withheld to protect personal data, while general figures and internal procedures were disclosed. | ||
| 2017-09-09 | Child complaints re physical/sexual abuse by teachers | Some information sent but part exempt |
| A request was made for statistics on child complaints against teachers regarding physical, sexual, and emotional abuse since 1996, including investigation and prosecution outcomes. The Department of Education disclosed that the number of complaints in each category over the past six years is five or fewer, confirmed all were investigated, and stated that disciplinary or prosecution outcomes were also five or fewer, while withholding specific historical data due to legal exemptions. | ||
| 2017-06-30 | How many written notices have been served on educated otherwise | Some information sent but part exempt |
| A request was made to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture for statistics on written notices, examinations, and convictions regarding children educated otherwise. The authority disclosed that less than five notices were served in the last two academic years, while confirming zero instances for examinations, attendance orders, revocations, and convictions. | ||
| 2017-06-25 | Copy of survey/costs etc Fairfield/Ballacloan within past 3 years | Some information sent but part exempt |
| 2017-06-18 | Home Education Registration | Some information sent but part exempt |
| The requester sought documents referencing home education policies between January 2016 and June 2017, but the Department of Education partially refused the request citing exemptions related to government policy formulation and data protection. | ||
| 2017-02-13 | Pupil information - Secondary Schools | Some information sent but part exempt |
| A request for detailed pupil statistics and exam results for Isle of Man secondary schools from 2011 to 2016 was partially fulfilled, with data on roll numbers, absences, and demographics provided, while exam results and club details were refused as publicly available elsewhere. | ||