School capacity

Summary

A requester sought data on school capacities, mobile classroom usage, and replacement plans across the Isle of Man, resulting in a partial disclosure of mobile classroom inventories but withholding specific capacity figures and strategic planning details.

Key Facts

• The Department of Education, Sport and Culture provided a list of mobile classrooms for various primary and secondary schools.
• The Information Commissioner upheld the request partially, confirming the authority conducted a reasonable search.
• The requester challenged the data accuracy, noting missing mobile classrooms at QEII High School and Willaston Primary School.
• Specific information regarding maximum school capacities and current enrollment numbers was not fully disclosed in the provided text.
• Plans to replace aging mobile classrooms or build new schools in overcapacity areas were not detailed in the response.

Data Disclosed

• 2025-02-17
• 2025-04-04
• 2025-03-05
• 2025-03-06
• 4450637
• 9 pages
• 3 documents
• 40 years
• May-03
• Apr-02
• Sep-02
• Jan-04
• Feb-01
• Apr-02
• Jul-03
• Dec-02
• Aug-02
• Aug-04
• Feb-04
• Mar-03

Original Request

Please provide a full breakdown of the following: 1. What is the maximum capacity of every primary and secondary school on the Island, and how many students are currently enrolled in each of them? 2. How many primary and secondary schools on the Island have mobile classrooms? 3. Of those that have mobile classrooms, how old are the mobiles and what is their advised lifespan? 4. Of the mobile classrooms that are older than their advised lifespan, what plans are there to replace them? 5. What current plans there are to provide permanent alternatives to mobile classrooms at the schools that have them. 6. Are there plans to build new schools in areas that are overcapacity (eg Ballasalla amid the development of the Reyart Mie housing estate)?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Primary Schools School No S D Type Toilets Colour Date approval started Arbory 1 1 Double Classroom Yes Green May-03 Ashley Hill 1 1 Nursery Unit Yes Grey Apr-02 Ballasalla 1 0 Single Classroom No Grey - Single Classroom Yes Red Ballaugh 1 1 Single Classroom Yes Grey Sep-02 Braddan 1 1 Single Classroom Yes Green - Bunscoill, St John's 1 1 Single Classroom No Grey - Dhoon - 1 Single Classroom ? Green

Jubillee - Murray's Road site

-

-

Jurby 1 1 Nursery Unit Yes Grey Apr-02 Kewaigue 2 2 Single Classroom Yes Green Jan-04 Single Classroom ? ?

Manor Park 1 1 Double classroom Yes Green - Peel Clothworkers' 1 1 Nursery Unit Yes Green Feb-01 Rushen 1 1 Nursery Unit Yes Grey - Willaston 1 1

Nursery Unit Yes Grey Apr-02 Secondary Schools School No Type Toilets Colour Date acquired Ballakermeen High School 3 3 Double Classroom Yes Green Apr-02 Double Classroom Yes Green Apr-02 Double Classroom Yes Green ?

1 1 Single Classroom Yes Green 1 1 Single Classroom Yes Green Castle Rushen High School 3 3 Double Classroom Yes White Jul-03 Storage Unit No Grey Dec-02 Storage Unit No Grey Dec-02 Queen Elizabeth II High School 1 1 - - - Ramsey Grammar school (East) 3 Double Classroom Yes Green Aug-02 2 Single Classroom Yes Green Aug-04 Storage Unit No Biege Feb-04 Ramsey Grammar school (West) 2 2 Single Classroom Yes Green Aug-02

Single Classroom Yes Green - St Ninians High School 1 1 Double Classroom Yes Sandstone Mar-03 1 1 Double Classroom No Green ?

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: 4450637 4th April 2025

Dear ###

Information requested by: ###

Summary of Process 1. Request received: 17th February 2025 2. Response sent: 5th March 2025 2. Review requested: 6th March 2025

Review of Response

In your communication to Department of Education, Sport and Culture dated 17th February 2025, you submitted the below Freedom of Information request:

“Please provide a full breakdown of the following:

1. What is the maximum capacity of every primary and secondary school on the Island, and how many students are currently enrolled in each of them?

2. How many primary and secondary schools on the Island have mobile classrooms?

3. Of those that have mobile classrooms, how old are the mobiles and what is their advised lifespan?

4. Of the mobile classrooms that are older than their advised lifespan, what plans are there to replace them?

5. What current plans there are to provide permanent alternatives to mobile classrooms at the schools that have them.

6. Are there plans to build new schools in areas that are overcapacity (eg Ballasalla amid the development of the Reyart Mie housing estate)?”

Statutory Considerations 1. Did the public authority respond to your request within the required timescales? 2. Did the public authority provide the information requested?

1. Did the public authority conduct a reasonable search for the information?
2. If the public authority did not provide the information because of the application of a practical refusal reason, was the refusal clear?
3. If the public authority applied an exemption was it correct and was it explained?
4. Did the public authority offer appropriate advice and assistance?
5. Did the public authority advise you of the internal review process and your right of appeal to the Information Commissioner?

Outcomes 1. Yes, the public authority answered your request within the statutory time limit. 2. Yes, the public authority did provide some of the information requested and did not seek further clarification of what was required. 3. The public authority conducted a reasonable search for the information. 4. The application of a practical refusal reason was clear: N/A; no refusal was made. 5. The public authority applied an exemption correctly and they were explained. 6. The public authority did not feel it was necessary to offer appropriate advice or seek to obtain further clarification of the uncertainty of what was requested. 7. Yes, the public authority did advise the requester of the internal review process and their right of appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Specific Issues you raised

Email 1 “However, regarding points 3, 5 and 6 I'd like to request a review.

3 - I question some of the figures provided in the written answer, as having been a student at QEII High School, I know they also have mobile classrooms but aren't included in the data provided. In addition, Willaston Primary School has mobiles that have been in use for more than 40 years which also aren't included. Given that, and that a number of mobile classrooms have received planning permission in recent months, I would like to request a more recent and comprehensive list of schools with mobile classrooms than September 2024.

5 and 6 - I'm unhappy with the standard response given to these requests. If there are no plans, that should be stated, rather than suggesting the information couldn't be found.”

Email 2 “I have already submitted a review of the information provided in the original request but I'd like to submit an addition to it.

Some of the data provided doesn't seem to match up and I'd like the gaps filled in please.

In the document outlining the capacity of primary schools with and without mobiles (question 1), four schools are listed as having mobiles which aren't then included in the written answer provided as a response to question 2.

Those four schools are Ashley Hill, Jurby, Marown and Scoill yn Jubilee.

Please could you provide me with the number of mobiles at those schools and when they were installed, as well as the information submitted in the previous review.”

Response to email 1 Upon review of the data held by the Department which provides an update on mobile classrooms in August 2024:
QEII – There is one double mobile classroom which was installed in November 2024. I note that this information was not provided within the Tynwald written answer as at that time it was not installed.

Willaston - The mobile at Willaston School is now being utilised by a nursery provider. The mobile unit has been in place since 2002.

In regards to your request:

“I would like to request a more recent and comprehensive list of schools with mobile classrooms than September 2024.”

Please find enclosed Appendix One which provides the most up to date information held in relation to mobile classrooms which was captured in August 2024.

As per Section 8(3)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act2015 states “Nothing in this Act required a public authority to undertake research into, or analysis of, information that it holds.”

Questions 5-6
The review has found that the officer was correct in applying a practical refusal reason in line with Section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 which confirms 'the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that the applicant has requested'.

Please note, Section 10(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 advises, a request for information is taken to relate to information held at the time when the request is received.

Response to email 2 The document outlining the capacity of primary schools with and without mobile classrooms was created in September 2023. Since that time the mobile classrooms for the four schools you mention are either utilised for a nursery provider whose numbers are not counted within the schools’ number on roll or have been removed from site as per below:

Ashley Hill – The mobile at Ashley Hill School is now being utilised by a nursery provider. The mobile unit has been in place since 2002.

Jurby - The mobile at Jurby School is now being utilised by a nursery provider. The mobile unit has been in place since 2002.

Scoill yn Jubilee – The mobile classroom was transferred to Ballasalla Primary School.

Marown – Mobile classroom is no longer on site.

Upon review the Department recognise that the original response should have highlighted that the data held in relation to Primary School capacity was from September 2023.

For question 1, upon doing a reasonable search the officer was only able to locate the Primary School capacity numbers from a document produced in September 2023 as the most up to date information held which was provided to you.

The table provided in response to question 1 did also include a column on capacity (including mobiles) however this column was out of scope for the purposes of this question and was included as the officer considered this information may have been of interest to you as it relates to mobile classrooms.

Decision

The final decision of this review is that it partially upholds your complaint and accordingly, further information has been included in this response.

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.

Yours sincerely,

Legislation, Policy and Research Manager

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: 4450637 5 March 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 17 February 2025, which states:

"Please provide a full breakdown of the following:

1. What is the maximum capacity of every primary and secondary school on the Island, and how many students are currently enrolled in each of them?

2. How many primary and secondary schools on the Island have mobile classrooms?

3. Of those that have mobile classrooms, how old are the mobiles and what is their advised lifespan?

4. Of the mobile classrooms that are older than their advised lifespan, what plans are there to replace them?

5. What current plans there are to provide permanent alternatives to mobile classrooms at the schools that have them.

6. Are there plans to build new schools in areas that are overcapacity (eg Ballasalla amid the development of the Reyart Mie housing estate)?"

Our response to your request is as follows:
1. What is the maximum capacity of every primary and secondary school on the Island, and how many students are currently enrolled in each of them?
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 the information that you have requested is available to view via the following weblinks:

Primary School permanent school capacity and capacity including mobile classrooms:
https://iom.icasework.com/servlet/servlets.getImg?ref=2059650&bin=Y&auth=0& db=ZVD1ZPdIGvo%3D&access_token=WeFrzsDnaQqY4kq_KHgQzR12XKmErvR- pVz7oSq26cifx8f922KS0DAbWcKUdEGB.QpotFfpd3UtnKNbJLffX8Q%3D%3D
Permanent Secondary School Capacity:

School Roll Data – September 2024 : www.gov.im/media/1386790/school-roll-data- september-2024.pdf
2. How many primary and secondary schools on the Island have mobile classrooms? 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 the information that you have requested is available to view via the following weblink: Microsoft Word - DRAFT W-202401-1146 - No of Mobile classrooms.docx

1. Of those that have mobile classrooms, how old are the mobiles and what is their advised lifespan? 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 information relating to when the mobile classrooms have been in place from is available to view via the following weblink:
   Microsoft Word - DRAFT W-202401-1146 - No of Mobile classrooms.docx In respect of the advised lifespan, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested.

2. Of the mobile classrooms that are older than their advised lifespan, what plans are there to replace them?

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested.

1. What current plans there are to provide permanent alternatives to mobile classrooms at the schools that have them. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested.

2. Are there plans to build new schools in areas that are overcapacity (eg Ballasalla amid the development of the Reyart Mie housing estate)?" While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested.

Further advice and assistance:

There is currently a planning permission request in place for a new mobile classroom containing two classrooms and toilet facilities to be located at Ballasalla Primary School.

You may be interested in the below Tynwald written an

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