Staff turnover at Rushen School

Summary

A request was made for staff turnover data at Rushen Primary School between 2017 and 2024, but the Department of Education, Sport and Culture could not provide data for the 2017-2018 period due to storage format issues and withheld specific details on small numbers of staff to protect personal privacy.

Key Facts

• The request covered staff departures from September 1, 2017, to June 1, 2024.
• Information for the period between September 1, 2017, and September 2018 was not provided because it is stored on a previous system and not readily accessible.
• Specific data regarding five or fewer staff members was redacted to prevent individual identification.
• The Department determined that the public interest in maintaining privacy outweighed the interest in disclosure for the redacted data.
• The response was issued on July 31, 2024, following a request received on July 3, 2024.

Data Disclosed

• September 1, 2017
• June 1, 2024
• September 2018
• 31 July 2024
• 3 July 2024
• five staff members
• 3955129
• 3 pages
• 1 document

Exemptions Cited

• Section 39 Qualified Exempt Personal Information
• Section 8 of the Data Protection Act 2002
• Information not held in a readily accessible format

Original Request

Could you please tell me how many staff, including teachers, teaching assistants, administrators and support staff, have left Rushen Primary School, voluntarily or otherwise, between September 1, 2017 and June 1, 2024? Could you break that down in to those who have resigned, been sacked, retired or were on temporary contracts?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Policy, Strategy and Governance Division Department of Education, Sport and Culture Thie Slieau Whallian Foxdale Road St Johns IM4 3AS

Telephone: (01624) 685808
Website: www.gov.im/dec Email: dec@foi.gov.im

Our ref: 3955129

31 July 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 3 July 2024, which states:

"Could you please tell me how many staff, including teachers, teaching assistants, administrators and support staff, have left Rushen Primary School, voluntarily or otherwise, between September 1, 2017 and June 1, 2024?

Could you break that down in to those who have resigned, been sacked, retired or were on temporary contracts?"

Our response to your request is as follows: Please find attached a copy of the information held.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information that you have requested, specifically information relating to 1st September 2017- September 2018. The reason for this is the information is not held in a readily accessible format as it is stored on the previous system. As such to comply with this part of your request would require the Department to undertake substantial compilation or collation of information that it holds, which the Department is not required to do under the Act.

Redacted Content

S39 Qualified Exempt Personal Information
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance some of the information is exempt as it constitutes personal data of a person other than you and under section 8 of the Data Protection Act 2002 the data subject would be entitled to prevent disclosure of the information to a member of the public otherwise than under that Act.
As section 39 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at

large. The matters which were considered in applying the public interest test are as follows: Factors in favour of disclosure
• To promote transparency and accountability.

Factors in favour of withholding • In the instances where information relates to five staff members and less the Department has determined individuals may be identifiable. • An employee has the expectation that information regarding their employment will remain private. Disclosure of information would contravene that expectation and cause an intrusion into the privacy of the data subject which would likely lead to some distress.

In taking these factors into account the Department of Education, Sport and Culture determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 3955129 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,