Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education

The request was partially successful.

Dear Stockton on Tees Council,
Please make available a copy of your current agreed syllabus for Religious Education.
As you should be aware, it is a statutory document and, as such, has crown copyright and should be in the public domain.
Can you also advise when it will be available to view or download from your website?

Yours faithfully,
Christine Crosby

Dear Stockton on Tees Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Stockton on Tees Council's handling of my FOI request 'Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education'

The council has failed to respond within the legal time frame.
If you fail to provide the requested information within a week I will forward this matter to the Information Commissioner's Office.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

Yours faithfully,

Christine Crosby

FOI and Complaints, Stockton on Tees Council

This document was classified as: OFFICIAL

Dear Christine Crosby

We cannot find a record of the request you have referred to. All requests are acknowledged – can you please forward the acknowledgement to us so we can search by the reference number you will have been allocated.

Kind regards
Stockton Borough Council

Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD
(01642) 527521
[Stockton on Tees Council request email]
www.stockton.gov.uk

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Dear FOI and Complaints,
You will see the correspondence above if you follow this link.
Please copy and paste this into your browser: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

The original request was marked as received by this website. The fact that it was not allocated a reference number would suggest that there may be an issue with the way requests for information are being handled.

Yours sincerely,

Christine Crosby

FOI and Complaints, Stockton on Tees Council

This document was classified as: OFFICIAL

Dear Christine Crosby

If you do not have a reference number then I'm afraid we did not receive your original request we acknowledge all requests we receive, sometimes our system can be a little over zealous. Apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.

Would you like me to log your FOI from today? If so please can you re-send the questions..

Kind regards,

Hannah Young
Information Governance Officer (Information & Improvement Services)
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD
01642 52 7521

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Dear Hannah,
Here is the original request:

Dear Stockton on Tees Council,
Please make available a copy of your current agreed syllabus for Religious Education.
As you should be aware, it is a statutory document and, as such, has crown copyright and should be in the public domain.
Can you also advise when it will be available to view or download from your website?

Yours sincerely,
Christine Crosby

FOI and Complaints, Stockton on Tees Council

This document was classified as: OFFICIAL

Thanks Christine.

I'll log the request now.

Kind regards,

Hannah Young
Information Governance Officer (Information & Improvement Services)
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD
01642 52 7521

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FOI and Complaints, Stockton on Tees Council

This document was classified as: OFFICIAL

 

Dear Christine Crosby

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Ref: 2213/1920

Thank you for your correspondence received on 29 January 2020. In response
to your request I can now provide the following information. 

Q1. Please make available a copy of your current agreed syllabus for
Religious Education. Can you also advise when it will be available to view
or download from your website?

A1. Our syllabus is an online resource; no physical copies exist. It is
available to all Stockton schools who must access our syllabus and
Stockton academies who wish to use our syllabus. It is password protected
and only available to our schools, not the public. If there is specific
information you wish to glean from the syllabus, we are able to answer
such questions.

 

If you have any queries or concerns please contact me in the first
instance.

 

However, if you are unhappy with the way your request for information has
been handled, you can submit a complaint to
[1][email address

 

If, after your complaint has been determined, you remain dissatisfied with
the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to
the Information Commissioner at:

 

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.  Telephone: 0303 123 1113  Website:
[2]www.ico.org.uk

 

The ICO does not make a charge for an appeal.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Hannah Young

Information Governance Team

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD

(01642) 527455

[3][email address]

[4]www.stockton.gov.uk

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.stockton.gov.uk/

Dear Hannah,

There is a serious issue with withholding public information about what is taught in schools. An Agreed Syllabus is a statutory document and, as such, has crown copyright. It belongs in the public domain.

There is an intellectual copyright that remains with the writers but no legal ability or mechanism to withold a document that has been agreed by a local authority body.

I am requesting an internal review of your processes and, if unsatisfied with the response, will be complaining to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Yours sincerely,
Christine Crosby

Stockton on Tees Council

1 Attachment

Dear Christine Crosby

 

Internal Review Ref: 2213/1920

 

Thank you for your email below. We acknowledge your request for an
internal review. You should expect to receive a response to your internal
review within 20 working days.

 

Yours Sincerely,

 

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD

(01642) 527521

[1][email address]

[2]www.stockton.gov.uk

 

[3]CSE Logo small

 

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.stockton.gov.uk/

FOI and Complaints, Stockton on Tees Council

1 Attachment

This document was classified as: OFFICIAL

 

Dear Christine Crosby

 
Internal Review - Ref: 2031/1920

A review has been undertaken of the Council's initial response which was
sent to you on 31^st January 2020. The response below provides you with
the outcome of that review. 

You requested information about the Local Authority’s Religious Education
Syllabus.  However the Council did not provide a copy of the syllabus due
to it being a password protected document intended for the use of Stockton
schools and academies.

 

The Council have since considered their response and after reviewing the
syllabus and considering the Public Interest Test we have now decided to
provide you with a copy of the syllabus. Please note the information
supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright. You are free to
use it for your own purposes, including for private study and
non-commercial research, and for any other purpose authorised by an
exception in current copyright law. Documents (except photographs) can be
also used in the UK without requiring permission for the purposes of news
reporting. Any other reuse, for example commercial publication, would
require the permission of the copyright holder. Most documents supplied by
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council will have been produced within the
Council and will be subject to copyright.

Please accept the Council’s apology that the initial response wasn’t more
helpful to you. I hope that the information provided resolves this matter
for you. 

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of this review please contact the
Information Commissioner’s Office;

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), 
Wycliffe House, 
Water Lane, 
Wilmslow, 
Cheshire, 
SK9 5AF. 
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 Website: [1]www.ico.gov.uk 

The ICO does not make a charge for an appeal. 

Yours sincerely,

Hannah Young
Information Governance Team 
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD
(01642) 527521
[2][email address
[3]www.stockton.gov.uk 

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.stockton.gov.uk/