Fire Risk Assessments in Schools

Summary

The requester asked for fire risk assessment reports and fire extinguisher discharge statistics for all island schools. The Department of Education withheld the risk assessments citing safety exemptions but provided discharge data for secondary schools only.

Key Facts

• Fire risk assessments and safety policies were withheld under Section 36 of the Act to prevent endangering individuals.
• The Department only provided data for secondary schools due to the substantial compilation required for the full request.
• St Ninians High School reported one accidental or deliberate fire extinguisher discharge in the 2024/25 academic year.
• Four other secondary schools reported zero discharges for the same period.
• The public interest test determined that safeguarding children and staff outweighed the interest in transparency.

Data Disclosed

• 2025-02-20
• 2025-03-24
• 2024/25
• 0
• 1
• 4461833

Exemptions Cited

• Section 36 of the Act (Prejudice to safety of individuals)

Original Request

Are you kindly able to provide copies of fire risk assessment reports for island schools? Could you also provide details on the number of accidental/deliberate discharge of fire extinguishers in schools? (If available)

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: 4461833 24th March 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 20 February 2025, which states:

“Are you kindly able to provide copies of fire risk assessment reports for island schools?

Could you also provide details on the number of accidental/deliberate discharge of fire extinguishers in schools? (If available)”

On 26th February 2025 the Department sought clarification on your request. You kindly responded on 26th February 2025 to advise the information you are seeking is copies of fire risk assessments and the fire safety policies/procedures of education premises.

Following further consideration of the request, on the 3rd March 2025 the Department emailed you to advise the request in its current form would require the Department to undertake substantial compilation and collation of information. By way of advice and assistance the Department offered three options that could be processed within the processing period.

Unfortunately, we did not receive a response to our email and as such have sought the information from the Secondary schools only. Upon receipt of this request, you may wish to submit a new Freedom of Information request for any further information.

Our response to your request is as follows:

1. Are you kindly able to provide copies of fire risk assessment reports for
   island schools? And Copies of the fire safety policies/procedures of education premises?

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt under section 36 of the Act, as disclosure would be likely to endanger the safety of an individual/s.

As section 36 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 • To promote transparency and openness.

Factors in favour of withholding • The safeguarding and well-being of our children, young people and staff is the Department’s priority.
• The schools Fire Safety Policies/Procedures and risk assessments are highly detailed and provide specific instructions, including evacuation and assembly points and detailed procedure for staff and children to follow in the event of a fire. The Department determines there is a risk to the security and safety of staff and pupils should this information be disclosed.
• It is never in the public interest to endanger the health and safety of any individual/s. To outweigh a risk to health and safety that was sufficient to engage the exemption, there would have to be very weighty countervailing considerations.

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.

1. Could you also provide details on the number of accidental/deliberate discharge of fire extinguishers in schools? (If available)

School
Number of accidental/deliberate discharge (Academic Year 2024/25) Ballakermeen High School
0 Castle Rushen High School
0 Queen Elizabeth II High School 0 Ramsey Grammar High School
0 St Ninians High School
1

Please quote the reference number 4461833 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.