This guidance gives examples of the kinds of information that we would expect schools to provide in order to meet their commitments under the model publication scheme. It will be of most use to schools developing their own guide to information. Nursery and primary schools may alternatively use the model guides to information which will be provided for this sector.
We would expect schools to make the information in this definition document available unless:
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they do not hold the information;
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the information is exempt under one of the FOI exemptions or Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) exceptions, or its release is prohibited under another statute;
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the information is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible; or,
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it would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare the material for routine release.
The guidance is not meant to give a definitive list. The legal commitment is to the model publication scheme, and authorities should look to provide as much information as possible on a routine basis.
Who we are and what we do
Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts.
We would expect information in this class to be current information only.
The Instrument of Government is the document which records the name and category of the school and the name and constitution of its governing body.
The statutory contents of the school prospectus, as follows:
- information about the implementation of the governing body’s policy on pupils with special educational needs (SEN).
- a description of the policies relating to disabled pupils, including facilities to improve access and the accessibility plan.
Once the prospectus has been published and made available to parents, access to it should be available to anyone.
Only maintained nursery schools are required to produce a Governor’s Annual Report to Parents.
The names, and contact details of the governors should be available and the basis on which they have been appointed.
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School session times and term dates
Details of school session times and dates of school terms and holidays.
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Location and contact information
The address, telephone number and website for the school together with the names of key personnel.
What we spend and how we spend it
Financial information about projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit.
The minimum we would expect is that financial information for the current and previous two financial years should be available.
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Annual budget plan and financial statements
Details of the Individual Schools Budget distributed by the Local Authority and the school’s annual income and expenditure returns.
Details of the capital funding allocated to the school together with information on related building projects and other capital projects.
Income generation schemes and other sources of funding. (Specialist secondary schools may have additional government funding and arrangements with private sector sponsors.)
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Procurement and contracts
Details of procedures used for the acquisition of goods and services. Details of contracts that have gone through a formal tendering process.
The statement of the school’s policy and procedures regarding teachers’ pay.
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Staffing and grading structure
Details of allowances and expenses that can be claimed or incurred.
What our priorities are and how we are doing
Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews.
The minimum we would expect in this class is current information.
Below is a list of the type of information that we would expect schools to have readily available for publication. Any other reports or recorded information showing the school’s planned or actual performance should normally be included.
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Government-supplied performance data
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Summary of latest Ofsted report*
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The required narrative sections covering areas such as: successes during the year; areas of improvement; efforts to meet the individual needs of every child; pupil’s health, safety and support; post-Ofsted action plan; and links with parents and the community
(* the full Ofsted report should also be available.)
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Performance management information
Performance management policy and procedures adopted by the governing body.
Any major proposals for the future of the school involving, for example, consultation or a change in school status.
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Every Child Matters / child protection
The contribution of the school to the five Every Child Matters outcomes. The policies and procedures that are in place to ensure that functions are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in compliance with any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
How we make decisions
Decision-making processes and records of decisions.
We would expect information in this class to be available at least for the current and previous three years.
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Admissions policy / decisions
The school’s admission arrangements and procedures, together with information about the right of appeal. Individual admission decisions would not be expected to be published, but information on application numbers/patterns of successful applicants (including criteria on which applications were successful) should be if this information is held by the school.
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Minutes of meetings of the Governing body and its sub-committees
Minutes, agendas and papers considered at such meetings should be published as soon as practicable, with the exception of information that is properly considered to be private to the meeting.
Our policies and procedures
Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities.
We would expect information in this class to be current only.
This will include school policies and procedures together with other information related to the school such as charging and remissions policy, health and safety and risk assessment, complaints procedure, staff conduct policy, discipline and grievance policies, pay policy, staffing structure implementation plan. It will also include policies and procedures for handling information requests.
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Pupil and Curriculum policies
This will include such policies as home-school agreement, curriculum, sex education, special educational needs, accessibility, race equality, collective worship, careers education (Key Stage 4 pupils) and pupil discipline.
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Records management and personal data policies
This will include information security policies, records retention, destruction and archive policies, and data protection (including data sharing) policies.
This will also include policies, schemes, statements, procedures and guidelines relating to equal opportunities.
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Policies and procedures for the re
cruitment of staff
If vacancies are advertised as part of recruitment policies, details of current vacancies will be readily available.
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Charging regimes and policies
Details of any statutory charging regimes should be provided. Charging policies should include charges made for information routinely published. They should clearly state what costs are to be recovered, the basis on which they are made, and how they are calculated.
Lists and registers
We expect this to be information in currently maintained list and registers only.
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Curriculum circulars and statutory instruments
Statutory Instruments (for example Regulations), departmental circulars and administrative memoranda sent to the Head Teacher/Governing Body concerning the curriculum.
If a school produces a disclosure log indicating the information provided in response to requests, it should be readily available. Disclosure logs are recommended as good practice.
We would expect some information from capital asset registers to be available, if such registers are held.
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Any information the school is currently legally required to hold in publicly available registers
The services we offer
Information about the services the school provides including leaflets, guidance and newsletters.
Generally this is an extension of part of the first class of information
and may also relate to information covered in other classes. Examples of services that could be included here are:
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Extra-curricular activities
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Out of school clubs
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School publications
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Services for which the school is entitled to recover a fee, together with those fees
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Leaflets, booklets and newsletters
Version 2
23 October 2008
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