Bullying and Harassment in Island's schools 2012/2017

Summary

The requester asked for a breakdown of formal bullying and harassment complaints in Isle of Man schools from 2012 to 2017, but the Department of Education refused the request citing practical refusal grounds due to the lack of central logs and the substantial effort required to compile the data.

Key Facts

• The Department of Education refused the request under sections 11(3)(a), 11(3)(b), and 8(3) of the Freedom of Information Act.
• The requested information on formal complaints is not centrally held in up-to-date logs.
• Compiling the data would require searching individual case records across 32 primary schools, 5 secondary schools, and the Department's Head Office.
• The Department provided a link to a separate report on pupil suspensions which includes some data on bullying-related suspensions.
• The requester was informed of their right to an internal review and a subsequent appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Data Disclosed

• 2012-2017
• 32 Primary schools
• 5 Secondary schools
• Reference Number IM107508I
• Reference Number I90771I
• 15 November 2017
• 2017-10-19
• 2017-11-15

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3)(a) of the Act
• Section 11(3)(b) of the Act
• Section 8(3) of the Act

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

15 November 2017

Re: Your Freedom of Information Request 3 of 3 – Reference Number IM107508I

Your Request:-

I would like to request that the total volume of formal complaints made to the Department of Education over the past 5 years relating to Bullying and Harassment within the Island's schools is made public.

I would ask that this covers complaints made to schools themselves, as well as head office.
Anything that formally logs an expression of dissatisfaction relating to the above genre. I would like to request that this covers primary and secondary schools.

If possible please can this be broken down school by school, i.e:

"Bullying & Harassment Complaints 2012 - 2017" "QE2 - XX" "Manor Park - XX"

If, and only if, this is not possible, please can this be broken down into two figures in accordance with the total primary school figure, and the total secondary school figure.

Department Response

Whilst our aim is to provide information whenever possible, on this occasion we are unable to provide the requested information and are refusing your request on the grounds that practical refusal reasons apply under sections 11(3)(a), 11(3)(b) and 8(3) of the Act.

This is because the information you have requested on categories of formal complaints is not centrally held in any up to date logs and to answer your request would require us to do something which we are not required to do. In order to answer your request the Department would need to seek and then undertake substantial compilation or collation of the requested information held in individual case records across all 32 Primary schools, 5 Secondary schools and the Department’s Head Office records to determine the number, nature and category of complaints within the 5 year period.

Department of Education and Children

Rheynn Ynsee as Paitchyn

Chief Executive Officer Prof Ronald Barr

Department of Education and Children Hamilton House Peel Road Douglas IM1 5EZ

However in order to be of assistance, you may be interested to note the table below which was produced in response to an FoI request about pupil suspensions earlier in July this year. The table breaks down a number of reasons for suspensions at Secondary schools, which includes some information on suspensions due to bullying.

The full response to FoI I90771I can be found via the following link:- https://www.gov.im/media/1357789/pupil-suspension.pdf

The information provided within this response letter will also be published on the Government website in due course should you wish to revisit the information.

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 Review/Complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post to:

Mr Andrew Shipley, Legal and Administration Manager, Hamilton House, Peel Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 5EZ.

An electronic version of our Review/Complaint form can be found by going to https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/

Your Review/Complaint 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 conducted.

Appeal Process

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; 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 rights to review is on the Information Commissioner’s website at https://www.inforights.im/contact-us/

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

Yours sincerely