OUR LADY IMMACULATE CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION POLICY
Statement of intent
1. Legal framework
2. Accepting requests for information
3. General rights of access to information held by the school
4. The appropriate limit
5. Charging fees
6. Means of communication
7. Providing access and assistance
8. Consultation with third parties
9. Internal reviews
10. Publication scheme
11. Contracts and outsourced services
12. Monitoring and review
Appendices
A. FOI Request Evidence Log
Statement of intent
As an educational provider, Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School has an obligation to
publish a freedom of information statement, outlining how we will meet our duties under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 and associated regulations. The development and effective
implementation of this policy fulfils that requirement.
More specifically, this policy outlines our school’s policy and procedures for:
• The release and publication of private data and public records.
• Providing applicants with advice and assistance throughout the duration of their requests.
It also clarifies our position regarding the appropriate limit to the costs incurred by the school in
obtaining any requested information, and on charging fees for its provision.
1. Legal framework
This policy has due regard to the following legislation:
• The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
• The Data Protection Act 2018
• The Freedom of Information Act 2000
• The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004
2. Accepting requests for information
The school will only accept a request for information which meets all of the following criteria:
• It is in writing, this includes requests sent to the school’s official social media accounts
• It states the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence
• It adequately describes the information requested
A request will be treated as made in writing if it meets all of the following requirements:
• It is transmitted by electronic means
• It is received in legible form and in English
• It is capable of being used for subsequent reference
The school will publish details of its procedures for dealing with requests for information, which
includes the following:
• A contact address and email address –
Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School, Northumberland Terrace, Everton,
Liverpool L5 3QF. Email address: m.chute@oliprimaryschool.co.uk
• A telephone number – 0151 26 8957
• A named individual to assist applicants with their requests – Miss M Chute (DPO)
3. General rights of access to information held by the school
Provided that the request meets the requirements set out in section 2 of this policy, the school
will comply with its duty to:
• Confirm or deny to any person making a request for information to the school, whether it
holds information of the description specified in the request.
• Provide the documentation, if the school confirms that it holds the requested information.
This will be completed no later than 20 school days, or 60 working days if this is shorter, from
receipt of the request. Where a fee is charged, the timeframe within which the school has to
respond to the request begins from the day the fee is received.
The school will not comply with this duty where:
• The school reasonably requires further information to meet a freedom of information
request, has informed the applicant of this requirement, but was not subsequently
supplied with that further information.
• The information is no longer readily available as it is contained in files that have been
placed in archive storage or is difficult to access for similar reasons.
• A request for information is exempt under section 2 of the Freedom of Information Act
2000.
• The cost of providing the information exceeds the appropriate limit.
• The request is vexatious.
• The request is a repeated request from the same person made within 60 consecutive
working days of the initial one.
• A fee notice was not honoured.
• The requested information is not held by the school for the purposes of the school’s
business.
Where information is, or is thought to be, exempt, the school will, within 20 school days, give
notice to the applicant which:
• States that fact.
• Specifies the exemption in question.
If information falls within scope of a qualified exemption and the school needs additional time to
consider the public interest test, the school may extend the deadline. In most cases, the
extension will exceed no more than a further 20 school days; however, the actual length of the
extension will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Where a public interest test extension is required, the school will write to the applicant to inform
them of this, stating the following information:
• Which exemption(s) the extension relies on and why
• A revised deadline for when the applicant will receive their response
Where a deadline has to be further extended, the school will write to the applicant again, stating
the information outlined above.
Requests for information that is not recorded by the school (e.g. requests for explanations,
clarification of policy and comments on the school’s business) will not be considered valid
requests. In these cases, the applicant will be provided with an explanation of why their request
will not be treated under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the school will respond to the
applicant through other channels as appropriate.
The information provided to the applicant will be in the format that they have requested, where
possible. Where it is not possible to provide the information in the requested format, the school
will assist the applicant by discussing alternative formats in which it can be provided. The
information provided will also be in the language in which it is held, or another language that is
legally required. If, under relevant disability and discrimination regulations, the school is legally
obliged to provide the information in other forms and formats, it will do so.
In some cases, a request may be dealt with under more than one access regime, e.g. if the
request involves both information about the school and personal information, it will be dealt with
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Staff are made aware that it is a criminal offence to alter, deface, block, erase, destroy or conceal
any information held by the school with the intention of preventing disclosure following a request.
4. The appropriate limit
The school will not comply with any freedom of information request that exceeds the statutorily
imposed appropriate limit of £450.
When determining whether the cost of complying with a freedom of information request is within
the appropriate limit, the school will take account only of the costs we reasonably expect to incur
in relation to:
• Determining whether it holds the information.
• Locating the information, or a document which may contain the information.
• Retrieving the information, or a document which may contain the information.
• Extracting the information from a document containing it.
• Costs related to the time spent by any person undertaking any of the activities outlined in
this policy on behalf of the school, are to be estimated at a rate of £25 per person per
hour.
The school is not required to search for information in scope of a request until it is within the cost
limit. If responding to one part of a request would exceed the cost limit, the school does not have
to respond to any other parts of the request.
Where multiple requests for information are made to the school within 60 consecutive working
days of each other, either by a single person or by different persons who appear to be acting in
concert, the estimated cost of complying with any of the requests is to be taken to be the total
costs to the school of complying with all of them.
5. Charging fees
The school may, within 20 school days, give an applicant who has requested information from
the school, a written notice stating that a fee is to be charged for the school’s compliance.
Charges may be made for disbursements, such as the following:
• Production expenses, e.g. printing and photocopying
• Transmission costs, e.g. postage
• Complying with the applicant’s preferences about the format in which they would like to
receive the information, e.g. scanning to a CD
Fees charged will not exceed the total cost to the school of:
• Informing the person making the request whether we hold the information.
• Communicating the information to the person making the request.
Where a fee is to be charged, the school will not comply with the General rights of access to
information held by the school section of this policy unless the requested fee is paid within a
period of three months, beginning with the day on which the fees notice is given to the applicant.
Where a fee is paid by cheque, the school has the right to wait until the cheque is cleared before
commencing work. Once a fee is received, the school will inform the applicant of the revised
response deadline, i.e. an additional 20 school days (or 60 working days).
Where the school has underestimated the cost to be charged to an applicant, a second fees
notice will not be issued; instead, the school will bear the additional costs. The school will not
take into account any costs which are attributable to the time spent by persons undertaking any
of the activities mentioned in the Charging fees section of this policy.
When calculating the 20th school day in which to respond to a freedom of information request, the
period beginning the day on which the fee notice is given to the applicant and ending with the
day on which the fee is received will be disregarded.
6. Means of communication
Where, on making a request for information, the applicant expresses a preference for
communication by any one of the following means, the school will, as far as is practicable, give
effect to that preference:
• The provision to the applicant of a copy of the information in permanent form or in
another form acceptable to the applicant.
• The provision to the applicant of a reasonable opportunity to inspect a record containing
the information.
• The provision to the applicant of a digest, or summary of the information, in permanent
form or in another form acceptable to the applicant.
Where a preference is not stated by the applicant, the school will communicate by any means
which are reasonable under the circumstances. For example, where an applicant uses Twitter to
make a request, the school may respond via an alternative medium as Twitter restricts the length
of a response.
7. Providing advice and assistance
The school will meet its duty to provide advice and assistance, as far as is reasonable, to any
person who proposes to make, or has made, requests for information to the school.
The school may offer advice and assistance in the following circumstances:
• If an individual requests to know what types of information the school holds and the
format in which it is available, as well as information on the fees regulations and charging
procedures.
• If a request has been made, but the school is unable to regard it as a valid request due to
insufficient information, leading to an inability to identify and locate the information.
• If a request has been refused, e.g. due to an excessive cost, and it is necessary for the
school to assist the individual who has submitted the request.
The school will provide assistance for each individual on a case-by-case basis; examples of how
the school will provide assistance include the following:
• Informing an applicant of their rights under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
• Assisting an individual in the focus of their request, e.g. by advising of the types of
information available within the requested category
• Advising an applicant if information is available elsewhere and how to access this
information
• Keeping an applicant informed on the progress of their request
Where the school wishes to ask a different public authority to deal with a request by transferring
it to them, this will only be done with the agreement of the applicant.
In order to provide assistance as outlined above, the school will engage in the following good
practice procedures:
• Make early contact with an individual and keep them informed of the process of their
request
• Adhere to the school’s Customer Services Policy which outlines the steps included within
the code
• Accurately record and document all correspondence concerning the clarification and
handling of any request
• Consider the most appropriate means of contacting the applicant, considering their
individual circumstances
• Discuss with the applicant whether they would prefer to receive the information in an
alternative format, in cases where it is not possible to provide the information requested
in the manner originally specified
• Remain prepared to assist an applicant who has had their request denied due to an
exemption
The school will consider level of assistance is required for an applicant who has difficulty
submitting a written request.
In circumstances where an applicant has difficulty submitting a written request, the school will:
• Make a note of the application over the telephone and then send the note to the applicant
to confirm and return – the statutory time limit for a reply would begin here.
• Direct the individual to a different agency that may be able to assist with framing their
request.
Please note: This list is not exhaustive, and the school may decide to take additional assistance
measures that are appropriate to the case.
Where an applicant’s request has been refused either because the information is accessible by
other means, or the information is intended for future publication or research, the school, as a
matter of good practice, will provide advice and assistance.
The school will advise the applicant how and where information can be obtained, if it is
accessible by other means.
Where there is an intention to publish the information in the future, the school will advise the
applicant of when this publication is expected. If the request is not clear, the school will ask for
more detail from the applicant in order to identify and locate the relevant information, before
providing further advice and assistance.
If the school believes the applicant has not provided their real name, the school will inform the
applicant that the request will not be responded to until further information is received from the
applicant.
If the school is able to clearly identify the elements of a request, it will respond following usual
procedures and will provide advice and assistance for the remainder of the request. If any
additional clarification is needed for the remainder of a request, the school will ensure there is no
delay in asking for further information.
Applicants are given one month to provide any requested clarification. If an applicant decides not
to follow the school’s advice and assistance and fails to provide clarification, the school is under
no obligation to contact the applicant again.
If the school is under any doubt that the applicant did not receive the advice and assistance, the
school will re-issue it. The school is not required to provide assistance where an applicant’s
request is vexatious or repeated, as defined under section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act
2000.
Where the school has already sent a refusal request in relation to a previous vexatious request,
the school is not obliged to send another notice for future vexatious requests.
An ongoing evidence log is kept, recording relevant correspondence or behaviour that has been
taken into account when a request has been classed as vexatious.
The school is not required to provide information where the cost of complying with a request
exceeds the limit outlined in the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In such cases, the school will
firstly provide the applicant with advice and assistance to help them reframe or refocus their
request with a view of brining it within the cost limit. Then the school will consider whether any
information can be provided free of charge if the applicant refuses to pay the fee.
If a request is refined, it will be treated as a new request.
A record will be kept by the headteacher of all the advice and assistance provided.
8. Consultation with third parties
The school may need to consult third parties about information held in scope of a request to
consider whether it would be suitable to disclose the information. Situations where third parties
may need to be consulted include the following:
• When requests relate to persons or bodies who are not the applicant and/or the school
• When the disclosure of information is likely to affect the interests of persons or bodies
who are not the applicant or the school
The school will consider if a third party needs to be directly consulted about a request,
particularly, if there are contractual obligations that require consultation before information is
disclosed.
Third parties will also be consulted where the school is proposing to disclose information relating
to them or information that is likely to affect their business or private interests.
The views of third parties will be given appropriate weighting when deciding how to respond to a
request. For example, if the third party created or provided the information, they may have a
better understanding of its sensitivity.
It is ultimately the school’s decision as to whether information in scope of a request will be
released following any relevant consultation.
Where the school decides to release information following consultation with a third party, the third
party will be informed in advance that the information is going to be disclosed.
Where the school intends to release information that relates to a large number of third parties,
the school will consider whether it would be more appropriate to contact a representative
organisation who can express views on behalf of the third parties, rather than contacting each
party individually. If no representative organisation exists, the school may also consider only
notifying or consulting a sample of the third parties relating to the disclosure. Decisions will be
made on a case-by-case basis.
9. Internal reviews
When responding to requests for information, the details of the school’s internal review process
will be set out, including information about how applicants can request an internal review.
Applicants will also be informed of their right to complain to the ICO if they are still dissatisfied
following the outcome of the school’s internal review.
Requests for an internal review should be made in writing to the school.
For a request for an internal review to be accepted, it must be made within 40 school days from
the date the school issued an initial response to the request.
Upon receipt of an application, the school will acknowledge an application and inform the
applicant of the intended response date. Responses will usually be delivered within 20 school
days of receipt of the application.
If an internal review is complex, requires consultation with third parties or the relevant information
is of high volume, the school may need to extend the usual response timeframe. In these cases,
the school will inform the applicant and provide an alternative response date. In most cases, the
extension will exceed no more than a further 20 school days; however, the actual length of the
extension will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Where clarification is needed from an applicant regarding the review, the normal response period
will not begin until clarification is received. Wherever possible, the review will be undertaken by a
different member of staff than the person who took the original decision. During a review, the
school will evaluate the handling of the request; particular attention will be paid to concerns
raised by the applicant.
The applicant will be informed of the outcome of the review and a record will be kept of such
reviews and the final decision that is made. If the outcome of the review is to disclose information
that was previously withheld, the information will be provided to the applicant at the same time
they are informed of the response to the review, where possible. If this is not possible, the
applicant will be informed of when the information will be provided.
Within the response to a review, the applicant will be informed again of their right to complain to
the ICO.
10. Publication scheme
The school will meet its duty to adopt and maintain a publication scheme which specifies the
information which it will publish on the school’s website, and whether the information will be
available free of charge or on payment.
The publication scheme will be reviewed and, where necessary, updated on a regular basis.
11. Contracts and outsourced services
The school will make clear what information is held by third party contractors on behalf of the
school.
Where a contractor holds information relating to a contract held with the school on behalf of the
school, this information is considered in the same way as information held by a public authority
and so is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
When entering into a contract, the school and contractor will agree what information the school
will consider to be held by the contractor on behalf of the school, this will be indicated in the
contract.
Appropriate arrangements will be put in place for the school to gain access to information held by
the contractor on the school’s behalf, in the event that a freedom of information request is made.
These arrangements will be set out in a contract, and will cover areas including, but not limited
to, the following:
• How and when the contractor should be approached for information and who the points
of contact are
• How quickly information should be provided to the school
• How any disagreement about disclosure between the school and contractor will be
addressed
• How requests for internal reviews and appeals to the ICO will be managed
• The contractor’s responsibility for maintaining record keeping systems in relation to the
information they hold on behalf of the school
• The circumstances under which the school must consult with the contractor about
disclosure and the process for doing so
• The types of information which should not be disclosed and the reasons for this
confidentiality, where appropriate
In some situations, the school may offer or accept confidentiality arrangements that are not set
out within a contract with a third party. The school and the third party will both be aware of the
legal limits placed on the enforceability of expectations of confidentiality and the public interest in
transparency. Such expectations will only be created where it is appropriate to do so.
Contractors must comply with requests from the school for access to information they hold on
behalf of the school. Requests for information held by a contractor on behalf of the school will be
responded to by the school. If a contractor receives a request, this will be passed onto the school
for consideration.
12. Monitoring and review
This policy will be reviewed every 2 years.