Department of Education, Sport and Culture

Overview

Outcome Breakdown

Requests by Year

Top Topics

• Education (494 requests)
• Healthcare & Public Health (41 requests)
• Finance & Tax (26 requests)
• Transport & Roads (15 requests)
• Government & Administration (14 requests)

Notable Cases (220)

[~] Financial Support for Post Graduate Study

2026-02-11 | Information not held

The requester asked for the rationale behind granting postgraduate financial support to students with degree classifications below 2:1, citing potential discrimination. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded that the information is not held and the request constitutes a question rather than a request for existing records.

• The authority stated it does not hold the specific information requested regarding the grounds for decisions.
• The request was characterized as a question requiring new work rather than a request for existing information.
• The response references ICO Decision Notice DN 2025-02 to justify the refusal.

Data: 2026-02-11, 2026-03-10, 5300321, 5181521, 2020

Exemptions: Information not held; Request constitutes a question rather than a request for information

[+] School suspension & neurodivergent students

2026-02-04 | All information sent

A request was made to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture for data on school suspensions and neurodivergent students in the Isle of Man over the last three academic years. The authority responded by providing a detailed list of suspension counts and session durations for individual students at Ballakermeen, Castle Rushen, and Queen Elizabeth II High Schools.

• The request covered suspension data for primary and secondary schools in the Isle of Man for the last three academic years.
• The response included specific suspension records for Ballakermeen High School, Castle Rushen High School, and Queen Elizabeth II High School.
• Data provided includes the number of suspensions per student and the total sessions missed for each suspension instance.

Data: 2026-02-04, 2026-03-04, 66 pages, 7 documents, Ballakermeen High School

[+] Suspension Rates

2026-01-29 | All information sent

A request was made for suspension statistics across Isle of Man state secondary schools for academic years 2022-23 through 2025-26, including counts of suspensions, pupils affected, and days lost. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed all requested information, providing a detailed breakdown of suspension sessions for Ballakermeen High School for the 2024-25 academic year.

• The request covered suspension data for four academic years: 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26.
• The authority responded with the outcome 'All information sent' on 2026-02-26.
• The provided data specifically details suspension sessions for Ballakermeen High School between 02 Sep 2024 and 25 Jul 2025.

Data: 2026-01-29, 2026-02-26, 22 pages, 3 documents, 02 Sep 2024

[-] Year 6 Maths Lesson Planning - Selected Primary Schools

2026-01-23 | Some information sent but part exempt

The request sought Year 6 maths lesson planning documents for four specific Isle of Man primary schools for the week commencing 19 January 2026. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded with a comprehensive term-by-term curriculum plan and sample worksheets, noting that some information was exempt.

• The request covered schools: Arbory, Laxey, Victoria Road, and Willaston.
• The response included a full academic year curriculum plan divided into Autumn, Spring, and Summer terms.
• Sample worksheets provided were sourced from White Rose Education (2024).

Data: 2026-01-23, 2026-02-19, 19th January 2026, 29th January, 37

[~] NSC pool tiles

2026-01-12 | Some information sent but not all held

A request was made for details regarding the unresolved broken tiles at the National Sports Centre swimming pool, including repair timelines and insurance status. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded that the request consisted of questions rather than a request for held information, resulting in a partial disclosure where some information was not held.

• The broken tiles at the NSC swimming pool were first identified in November 2023.
• The Department stated that repairs cannot proceed until the root cause is identified.
• The authority clarified that the request contained questions rather than a request for existing information.

Data: November 2023, 2026-01-12, 2026-01-15, 2026-02-09, section 8 (3)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015

Exemptions: Section 8 (3)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (substantial compilation and collation); Information not held or cannot be found after reasonable steps

[+] School canteen profit

2026-01-09 | All information sent

The requester asked for annual profit figures for St Ninians High School and Bemahague canteens over the last five academic years. The Department of Education disclosed that no profit was made, providing specific net loss figures for the combined 'St Ninians School Meals' cost centre.

• The Department does not hold separate data for St Ninians High School and Bemahague; figures are combined under 'St Ninians School Meals'.
• The provided figures represent income and expenses allocated to school meals but exclude centrally held overheads like building maintenance and electricity.
• No profit was made in any of the five academic years requested; all years recorded a net loss.

Data: 2020-21: -£139,910, 2021-22: -£106,600, 2022-23: -£145,941, 2023-24: -£210,918, 2024-25: -£150,575

[~] Tribal / Etio External Validation Reports

2025-12-19 | Upheld - partial

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.

• 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.

Data: 1 January 2024, 2025-12-19, 2026-03-20, 20 January 2026, 5 pages

Exemptions: Section 20 (Information already reasonably accessible); Section 35(b)(c) (Conduct of public business)

[+] Post Graduate Study Financial Support

2025-12-18 | All information sent

The requester asked for statistics on postgraduate students with 2.2 or lower undergraduate degrees receiving tuition fee support since 2020. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture withheld the specific data because the number of individuals is less than five, making them identifiable.

• The request covered postgraduate financial support for tuition fees excluding student loans.
• The data was requested for individuals with an undergraduate degree classification of 2.2 or lower.
• The time period specified was from 2020 onwards.

Data: 2020, 2.2, less than five, 2025-12-18, 2026-01-19

Exemptions: s25(b)(i)&(ii) – Absolutely exempt personal information; Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018 Article 5; Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018 Article 6

[+] Cost of school meals

2025-12-01 | All information sent

The requester asked for the average cost per child per day for primary school meals in the Isle of Man for the 2024/25 school year and the period from September 2025 to the most recent records. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture confirmed that all information was sent, providing provisional cost data for the specified periods while noting caveats regarding incomplete financial records and variable school days.

• The 2025/26 financial records are provisional due to outstanding invoices and the period not being concluded.
• The 2025/26 data covers only 58 school days compared to the typical 188 days in a full academic year.
• Schools closed on 24 January 2025 due to Storm Eowyn, affecting the 2024/25 school year data.

Data: September 2024 – July 2025, September 2025 – November 2025, 58 school days, 188 days, 24 January 2025

[~] Secondary School Deployment of Cover Supervisors (KS4: 2024-25)

2025-11-19 | Some information sent but not all held

The request sought detailed statistics on Cover Supervisor deployment and policies for Isle of Man secondary schools for the 2024-25 academic year. The Department of Education provided partial data for Castle Rushen and Ramsey Grammar schools, while other schools cited lack of data or excessive workload to withhold information, and confirmed no central policy exists.

• No central policy exists for the use and deployment of Cover Supervisors across secondary schools.
• Ramsey Grammar School employed 3 Cover Supervisors and provided detailed lesson coverage statistics by subject for Years 10 and 11.
• Castle Rushen High School employed 7 Cover Supervisors and reported 470 Year 10 and 269 Year 11 lessons covered.

Data: 2024-25, 8 Full time cover supervisors, 4 part time Cover Supervisors, 7 cover supervisors, 470 Y10 lessons

Exemptions: Information not held or cannot be found after reasonable steps; Substantial compilation or collation of information required (excessive cost/workload)

[-] Home-schooling

2025-11-13 | Some information sent but part exempt

The request sought home-schooling statistics for the past 10 years and details on safeguarding measures following the Sara Sharif review. The authority provided data from 2018 onwards, citing record retention limits for earlier years and Section 20 exemptions for data already publicly available, while outlining proposed legislative changes to improve safeguarding.

• Home-schooling records prior to 2018 are not held due to a 6-year retention period.
• The number of home-schooled pupils rose from 47 in 2018-2019 to 244 in 2025-2026.
• The Education (Amendment) Bill proposes sharing the home school register with the Department of Health and Social Care.

Data: 2015-2025, 2018-2019 = 47, 2019-2020 = 57, 2020-2021 = 82, 2021-2022 = 100

Exemptions: Information not held (prior to 2018); Section 20 (Information accessible to applicant by other means)

[+] Plastic water bottle in high schools - update of FOI 662466

2025-11-07 | All information sent

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded to a request regarding single-use plastic policies and water bottle sales in Isle of Man secondary schools, disclosing specific sales figures and infrastructure details for five schools while stating individual green policies were not held.

• The Department does not have a separate single-use plastics policy but follows the DESC Climate Change Plan 2024-25.
• St Ninians High School reported the highest weekly sales of plastic water bottles with 1,996 flavoured and 628 still bottles.
• Ramsey Grammar School does not sell plastic water bottles, offering only cartons.

Data: 1307, 608, 1350, 642, 451

Exemptions: Information not held or cannot be found after taking reasonable steps

[~] Request for information regarding the use of supply teachers

2025-10-22 | Some information sent but not all held

The requester asked for the number of lessons delivered by supply teachers in Isle of Man secondary schools for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 academic years, offering to accept raw data if compilation was too substantial. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture responded that some information was sent but not all was held, citing the substantial effort required to collate the data.

• The request covers supply teacher lesson counts for all secondary schools on the Isle of Man.
• The timeframe requested is the academic years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.
• The Department previously refused a similar request (Ref. 4995706) due to the substantial compilation required.

Data: 2023/2024, 2024/2025, 22 October 2025, 18 November 2025, Ref. 4995706

Exemptions: Section 8(3) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (substantial compilation or collation); Section 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (practical refusal reason)

[~] IOM Secondary Schools' Teacher Sickness Absence 2024-25 Academic Year

2025-10-20 | Some information sent but not all held

A request for 2024-25 teacher sickness absence data across Isle of Man secondary schools was partially fulfilled, with statistical metrics provided for five schools but specific evaluation reports withheld.

• The Department of Education, Sport and Culture provided sickness absence statistics for five secondary schools for the 2024-25 academic year.
• Ballakermeen High School recorded the highest total days lost (1307) and the highest percentage of teachers with absence (78.95%).
• Castle Rushen High School had the lowest average days lost per teacher (2.47) among the schools listed.

Data: 1307.00, 589.50, 702.50, 541.50, 727.25

Exemptions: Section 11(3)a of the Act (Information not held or cannot be found after reasonable steps)

[~] Primary schools - Teaching assistant to class size rules

2025-10-06 | Some information sent but not all held

The requester asked for Isle of Man government policy on primary school class sizes and teaching assistant support, along with specific Year 2 teacher and teaching assistant to pupil ratios for all schools. The Department of Education disclosed that staffing is managed by individual head teachers under the Education Act 2001 and provided a detailed breakdown of ratios for each school, noting that some classes have no teaching assistants.

• Head teachers control internal organization and staff management under Article 4(1) of the Articles of Government made under the Education Act 2001.
• There is significant variation in teaching assistant support across Year 2 classes, with some schools having zero assistants.
• The response explicitly excluded additional needs assistants from the teaching assistant counts as requested.

Data: 2025-10-06, 2025-10-16, 4978924, 14:1, 29

Most Cited Exemptions

See Also

• Transparency Scorecard
• Outcome Trends