Tribal / Etio External Validation Reports

Summary

The requester sought inspection dates, report publication dates, and page counts for Tribal/Etio external validations of Isle of Man schools from 2024, along with scheduled dates for unassessed schools. The authority partially upheld the request by directing the user to a public website for inspection and summary publication dates but withheld full report details and page counts citing the need to protect the integrity of the validation process and staff wellbeing.

Key Facts

• The request covers external validation inspections conducted by Tribal/Etio from 1 January 2024.
• Information regarding inspection dates and parent summary publication dates is available on the DESC website.
• Full reports provided to schools were withheld to maintain a 'safe space' for honest evaluation.
• Disclosure of internal reports was deemed likely to cause reputational damage and impact staff recruitment.
• The outcome of the request was 'Upheld - partial' on 20 March 2026.

Data Disclosed

• 1 January 2024
• 2025-12-19
• 2026-03-20
• 20 January 2026
• 5 pages
• 1 document
• 5183545
• section 20
• Section 35(b)(c)

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 (Information already reasonably accessible)
• Section 35(b)(c) (Conduct of public business)

Original Request

I seek the following information in relation to on Island school quality assurance external validation and assessment as conducted by Tribal / Etio or such other organisations that have been engaged to conduct such from 1 January 2024: For each IOM Primary and Secondary School and any other area of the DESC that has to date been subject to such external validation inspection and assessment the dates of inspection/assessment, the date of subsequent report publication and size (number of pages) of the report; and For those schools and other areas of the DESC yet to be assessed the dates (where known) currently scheduled for such a process.

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: 5183545 20 January 2026

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 19 December 2025, which states:

"I seek the following information in relation to on Island school quality assurance external validation and assessment as conducted by Tribal / Etio or such other organisations that have been engaged to conduct such from 1 January 2024:

For each IOM Primary and Secondary School and any other area of the DESC that has to date been subject to such external validation inspection and assessment the dates of inspection/assessment, the date of subsequent report publication and size (number of pages) of the report; and

For those schools and other areas of the DESC yet to be assessed the dates (where known) currently scheduled for such a process."

Our response to your request is as follows:

Request
“For each IOM Primary and Secondary School and any other area of the DESC that has to date been subject to such external validation inspection and assessment the dates of inspection/assessment, the date of subsequent report publication and size (number of pages) of the report”

Response “Dates of the inspection/assessment”:
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.
All of the information that you have requested is available from:
https://desc.gov.im/education/education/quality-assurance-of-schools-and- educational-services/external-validation-cycle-2024-to-2026/

“Date of subsequent report publication” 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.
The publication date of the parent/carer summary information is available from:
https://desc.gov.im/education/education/quality-assurance-of-schools-and- educational-services/external-validation-cycle-2024-to-2026/

Section 35(b)(c) ‘Conduct of public business’ – Report Factors in favour of disclosure
• School transparency and accountability
• Parents / carers and pupils have a key stake in the education in their school. Releasing the information provided to schools / services will allow a clear picture about their school in relation to the framework, to be identified.
Factors in favour of withholding
• From the outset those involved in developing the external validation process designed a process whereby the outcome would include a public facing document, and a school / services facing document. To change this now would fundamentally undermine the whole process.
• Disclosure of information provided to schools and services is likely to inhibit the ability of headteachers / heads of service, members of the senior leadership teams and staff generally to express themselves openly, honestly and completely, in giving their views as part of the external validation process. Disclosing such information could therefore impair the quality of decision making by the public authority.
• The authority needs a ‘safe space’ in which to evaluate key aspects of the school / service in line with the quality assurance framework to identify areas for growth and development to subsequently inform future school / service improvement plans.
• School / service leaders and staff are already facing abuse, disrespect and derogatory comments through social media, the press etc. It is inevitable that details in the information provided to schools/services will be taken out of context, mis-interpreted or amplified negatively. This could then lead to comparisons being made between schools / services which will not only be unfair comparisons but could lead to reputational damage to some school / services which could then impact on staffing and school budgets, together with significant wellbeing and health impact upon staff, and potentially pupils of certain schools. • There is a high probability that the likely outcome of releasing the information will lead to negative, unfair and biased reporting of aspects within the

information provided to schools / services, coupled with the likely vitriol in comments on social media could make recruitment and retention of staff in island schools even more challenging. • The pressure, constant scrutiny and emphasis on achieving high ratings and measurable outcomes creates a ‘high stakes’ approach, with the impact on school / service leaders likely to be acute with the information provided to schools and services being published will mean the pressure of such a system on school / service leaders in a small island community like ours could be immense.
• The external validation process has been implemented via a pilot approach, which has very much been an ongoing iterative process, with changes being made to the documentation and the process throughout. Therefore the publication of the detailed information provided to a school or service is therefore not appropriate as the schools / services were externally validated on different sections of the Framework. (For example, pilot 1 was on the first section of the framework, and therefore the rest of the pilot was on all sections of the framework).
• Priority areas identified in the information provided to the schools / services will be used to inform the preparation of subsequent school / service improvement/development plans, with a focus genuine school / service improvement which will benefit all pupils. School / service improvement is complex and multi-faceted, and the Department needs to allow school / service leaders the space to use the information provided to schools / services to help inform and drive their school /service improvement plan and development priorities.
• Whilst the information provided to schools / services following an external validation visit will provide valuable insight into the quality of education, their public release does not always serve the best interests of schools, services, teachers, pupils or parents. A more balanced approach has been implemented, with information published which will include key findings, themes and detail as with the information provided to the school / service but exclude personal data and is provided in such a way to provide clarity in a language that is appropriate and accessible so not to be misinterpreted. This approach continues to encourage accountability, whilst supporting schools / services in their efforts with continuous improvement to achieve the desired outcomes without causing significant harm or distress to specific areas within the school / service or members of staff.

“size (number of pages) of the report”
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance, complying with the request for information would require the public authority to do one or more of the matters mentioned in section 8(3) (things a public authority is not required to do by the Act). The request it its current form would require the Department to undertake research into, or analysis of, information that it holds. Which the Department of Education, Sport and Culture is not required to do under the Act. For

these reasons the Department of Education, Sport and Culture is not obliged to comply with your request

“For those schools and other areas of the DESC yet to be assessed the dates (where known) currently scheduled for such a process." The remainder of the schools and educational services who have not yet been through this current cycle of the external validation process, will have gone through the process by the end of July 2026

Please quote the reference number 5183545 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.