Number of staff working in the Dept

Summary

The request sought the number of administrative staff, the latest Ofsted report, and teacher salary scales for the Department of Education, Sport and Culture. The authority disclosed the staff count but directed the requester to public websites for the report and salary scales, citing that the information was already reasonably accessible.

Key Facts

• There are 211 administrative staff employed by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture.
• The latest Ofsted report is available online via a provided government link.
• Teacher salary scales were previously disclosed in an FOI response regarding Ballakermeen High School Budget.
• The request was received on 5 March 2020 and closed on 9 April 2020.
• The authority invoked Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 to avoid duplicating publicly available information.

Data Disclosed

• 211
• 2020-03-05
• 2020-04-09
• 1215183
• June 2002
• 2122019
• 1 Sept 2019

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Information reasonably accessible)

Original Request

Can you please advise the number of staff employed in the Dept Can I have a copy of the latest ofsted report into the Dept. A copy of the salary scales

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Corporate Services Division Department of Education, Sport and Culture Hamilton House Peel Road, Douglas IM1 5EZ Telephone: (01624) 685808 Website: www.gov.im/dec Email: dec@foi.gov.im Our ref: 1215183 9 April 2020

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 5 March 2020 and which states:

"Can you please advise: 1. the number of staff employed in the Department 2. Can I have a copy of the latest Ofsted report into the Department 3. A copy of the salary scales"

In order to identify and locate the information that you asked for, we needed to clarify what areas of the Department you would like the number of staff for and which roles the salary scales are being requested for. You advised: All the administrative staff deployed in the Department The scales for all teachers Our response to your request is as follows: Administrative staff employed by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture

The number of Administrative staff employed by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture is 211. The latest Ofsted report
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee. By way of advice and assistance all of the information that you have requested is available from the following web link: https://www.gov.im/media/1364441/ofsted-inspection-report-on-doe-june-2002- 2122019.pdf

Teacher’s salary scales While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee. All of the information that you have requested is available from a previous Freedom of Information response which details Teachers salary scales. By way of advice and assistance the response can be found on the Freedom of Information disclosure log using the following web link, searching for “Ballakermeen High School Budget” and viewing the document titled “Teachers Pay Scales 1 Sept 2019”: https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/search Please quote the reference number 1215183 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Coordinator