Off Island School Trips on Steam Packet Crossings

Summary

The request sought details on off-island school trips affected by revised Steam Packet Company adult-to-child ratios, including planned trips, cancellations, risk assessments, and correspondence. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed data on planned and cancelled trips for primary and secondary schools but withheld risk assessments and correspondence, citing partial exemptions.

Key Facts

• The Steam Packet Company revised its children's group travel safety policy effective 19th February 2025.
• Ballakermeen High School cancelled a Barcelona trip and four Liverpool day trips due to the new ratio requirements.
• Ramsey Grammar School cannot run a planned day trip for 150 students as it would require 31 staff members, impacting on-island staffing.
• St Ninian's High School reported that no records of cancelled trips are held because the policy change made them unviable to book.
• Information regarding risk assessments and correspondence between the Department and schools/unions was not fully disclosed.

Data Disclosed

• 40 students (Ballakermeen Barcelona trip)
• 100 students (Ballakermeen Liverpool trips)
• 150 students (Ramsey Grammar day trip)
• 16 staff (Ramsey Grammar planned trip)
• 31 staff (Ramsey Grammar required)
• 50 students (Ramsey Grammar History trip)
• 6 staff (Ramsey Grammar History trip)
• 3rd February 2025 (Request received date)
• 19th February 2025 (Policy effective date)
• 28th February 2025 (Response date)

Exemptions Cited

• Part exempt (specific exemption clauses not detailed in the provided text)

Original Request

Further to recent media reports/comments and the responses made by the DESC Minister in Tynwald/House of Keys following questions regarding the potential impact on educational trips etc given the revised Steam Packet Company ("SPCo") adult to young person ratio policy, I seek specific information for each Island school where such is held namely: a) The number of off Island trips planned using the SPCo for the remainder of the current academic year, including destination port, purpose of the trip, the number of anticipated pupils travelling and the date that bookings securing the passage were made; and b) The number and details (destination, trip purpose) of envisaged or previously planned off Island trips which would have used the SPCo which have been cancelled and/or not booked directly as a result of the new ratio policy; and c) For each trip scheduled/undertaken using the SPCo since the introduction of the ratio policy, a copy of the relevant risk assessment as it relates travel to/from destination and adult to child ratios; and d) All correspondence between the DESC and individual schools and/or teaching Unions regarding any aspect of the ratio policy.

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: 4417585 28th February 2025

Dear ###,

We write further to your request, received 3 February 2025, which states:

"Further to recent media reports/comments and the responses made by the DESC Minister in Tynwald/House of Keys following questions regarding the potential impact on educational trips etc given the revised Steam Packet Company ("SPCo") adult to young person ratio policy, I seek specific information for each Island school where such is held namely:

a) The number of off Island trips planned using the SPCo for the remainder of the current academic year, including destination port, purpose of the trip, the number of anticipated pupils travelling and the date that bookings securing the passage were made; and

b) The number and details (destination, trip purpose) of envisaged or previously planned off Island trips which would have used the SPCo which have been cancelled and/or not booked directly as a result of the new ratio policy; and

c) For each trip scheduled/undertaken using the SPCo since the introduction of the ratio policy, a copy of the relevant risk assessment as it relates travel to/from destination and adult to child ratios; and

d) All correspondence between the DESC and individual schools and/or teaching Unions regarding any aspect of the ratio policy."

Our response to your request is as follows:

a) The number of off Island trips planned using the SPCo for the remainder of the current academic year, including destination port, purpose of the trip, the number of anticipated pupils travelling and the date that bookings securing the passage were made;

Please see appendix one for information held relating to Primary Schools and Appendix two for information relating to Secondary Schools.

b) The number and details (destination, trip purpose) of envisaged or previously planned off Island trips which would have used the SPCo which have been cancelled and/or not booked directly as a result of the new ratio policy;

Please see appendix one for information held relating to Primary Schools. Information held relating to the secondary schools is provided below:

Ballakermeen High School (Previously planned but cancelled due to new ratios)

Trip
Destination No of Students
Barcelona Trip – Trip to Barcelona as part of Enrichment Week IOM to Liverpool Return 40 Day Trip to Liverpool as part of Enrichment Week IOM to Liverpool 100 Day Trip to Liverpool as part of Enrichment Week IOM to Liverpool 100 Day Trip to Liverpool as part of Enrichment Week IOM to Liverpool 100 Day Trip to Liverpool as part of Enrichment Week IOM to Liverpool 100

Castle Rushen High School
Nil.

Ramsey Grammar School

The school planned to run a day trip. This would have been for 150 students and 16 staff. It is not possible for the school to run the trip and provide safe staffing numbers on other trips on island or in the school if 31 staff members were required to go on SPCo.

It is also unlikely that the History Trip will be able to run. This is a four-day trip which covers part of the curriculum. There is usually 50 students and 6 staff that go.

St Ninian’s High School
Nil. Information not held. By way of assistance, the policy change made a number of trips not viable, as they were not feasible to book no records are held.

Queen Elizabeth II High School Nil.

Please note:

The information provided by schools included within this response is accurate as at the date the request was received 3rd February 2025.

By way of advice and assistance the Steam Packet Company recently revised their policy on children’s group travel safety, with effect from 19th February 2025. For information relating to this update please see the following link -
https://www.steam-packet.com/news/revised-childrens-group-travel-policies

c) For each trip scheduled/undertaken using the SPCo since the introduction of the ratio policy, a copy of the relevant risk assessment as it relates travel to/from destination and adult to child ratios;

Please see appendix three.

d) All correspondence between the DESC and individual schools and/or teaching Unions regarding any aspect of the ratio policy.

Please see appendix four.

Redacted Content
s25(b)(i)&(ii) While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information included within appendix four because it is absolutely exempt under section 25 of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information). The reasons why that exemption applies are that: • The Department of Education, Sport and Culture is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • The Department of Education, Sport and Culture is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Department of Education, Sport and Culture can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article 6 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met.
Section 35 (c) – Conduct of Public Business

In this instance some of the information included within appendix four is exempt under section 35 of the Act, as disclosure would be likely to otherwise prejudice the effective conduct of public business.

As section 35 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.

Factors in favour of disclosure
• Disclosure of the information would support transparency and promote openness and accountability to the general public.

Factors in favour of withholding • Disclosure would be likely to inhibit the ability of public authority staff and others to express themselves openly, honestly and completely when providing

advice or giving their views as part of the process of deliberation. Disclosure may impair the subsequent record keeping of advice (the “chilling effect”).

• The authority needs a “safe space” in which to develop ideas or make decisions and disclosure may prejudice this and/or interfere with or distract from the processing any other way, or would prejudice or undermine the decision itself, rather that the frankness of the discussions specifically.

• It is not in the public interest for the Department’s working relationships with private providers to be prejudiced by the disclosure of the requested information.

Out of Scope Information
Some of the information included within the enclosed documentation is out of scope of the request. By way of advice and assistance this information has been marked in grey.
Please quote the reference number 4417585 in any future communications.

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I will now close your request as of this date.