Application for Academy Status

The request was partially successful.

Lawrence McDonald

Dear Hertfordshire County Council,

Please provide me with any documents you hold relating to applications for infants and/or junior schools in Harpenden to become academies.

Yours faithfully,

Lawrence McDonald

Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Herts Direct,

3 Attachments

Dear Enquirer,

Thank you for your email. Your message has been sent to the relevant
department and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Should you need to
make contact with us again on this matter, please quote reference number:
76891
       
Kind regards

Adele at HertsDirect
                                Hertfordshire County Council
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Council on Twitter and Facebook:
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Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Information Governance, Hertfordshire County Council

Dear Lawrence McDonald

 

Reference number: FOI/CSF/06/13/5774

 

Thank you for your correspondence of the 17th June 2013 requesting the
following information:

 

“Please provide me with any documents you hold relating to applications
for infants and/or junior schools in Harpenden to become academies.”

 

 

Your request for information is being considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond to your request as quickly as
possible, and by 15th July 2013 at the latest. This replaces any deadline
previously given.

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting
the reference number on this email.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Information Access Team

Postal Point CHN 305

Hertfordshire County Council, County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8DE

t: 01992 555848 Comnet / Internal: 25848

Fax: 01992 588117

Email: [1][email address]

show quoted sections

Information Governance, Hertfordshire County Council

Dear Lawrence McDonald

                       

Reference number: FOI/CSF/06/13/5774

                                        

On 17th June   2013 we received the following request for information from
you:

 

Please provide me with any documents you hold relating to applications for
infants and/or junior schools in Harpenden to become academies.

 

Your request for information has been considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. I can confirm that Hertfordshire County Council does
 not hold the information you have requested:

 

The process for becoming an academy is schools apply direct to the
Department for Education (DfE). The DfE approve or not and then the local
authority is informed that the application has been approved.

 

The information you are seeking would therefore be held by the schools
themselves and the Department for Education.

 

Documentation showing schools which have converted and those who have
applied is published on the DfE website at:

[1]http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/lead...

 

 Contact details can be found at the link below:

[2]https://www.education.gov.uk/help/contac...

 

Contact details for schools in Harpenden can be found in the schools
address book on Hertsdirect:

[3]http://www.hertsdirect.org/services/edle...

 

I can confirm that Hertfordshire County Council is working with Crabtree
Infant and Junior Schools following approval of their application by DfE.
The schools have published information relating to their conversion:

[4]http://www.crabtreejm.herts.sch.uk/acade...

 

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting
the reference above. To find out more about Freedom of Information, please
visit [5]www.hertsdirect.org/foi

 

If you are unhappy with the way the County Council has handled your
request for information you may request an internal review of the request.
This will be carried out by a member of the County Council Legal Services
Team, who has had no prior involvement with the request. Requests for an
internal review should be sent to the Information Governance Unit at the
address above.

 

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the internal review you are
entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to investigate your
complaint. You should write to: FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Elaine Dunnicliffe

 

 

 

Information Access Manager

Information Governance Unit

Hertfordshire County Council

Postal Point CHN 305

County Hall,

Hertford, SG13 8DQ

Telephone: 01992 555848

Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

Lawrence McDonald

Dear Hertfordshire County Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Hertfordshire County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Application for Academy Status'.

You state that you hold no information and have directed me to the DfE and schools. However you go on to confirm that Hertfordshire County Council is working with Crabtree
Infant and Junior Schools following approval of their application by DfE.

It is inconceivable that as you are working with those schools you hold no information. Presumably you hold emails, letters, other correspondence, notes, guidance, presentations etc. Please undertake a proper search and disclose the information.

Please check whether you hold information in respect of any other infant/junior school in Harpenden which is considering applying for academy status.

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,

Lawrence McDonald

Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Lawrence McDonald

Dear Herts Direct,

Please can you respond.

Yours sincerely,

Lawrence McDonald

Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Herts Direct,

6 Attachments

Dear Lawrence McDonald,

Thank you for your email. To enable us to resolve this, we require some
additional information. Please could you provide us with any reference
numbers you have from your original enquiry or forward this to us again
and we will chase this for you.

How do you rate the service we provided in this email? Please click on one
of the faces and tell us why the service was Good, Average or Poor.

[1]cid:40__=[email address][2]cid:50__=[email address][3]cid:60__=[email address]
Kind Regards
Amber at HertsDirect
Hertfordshire County Council
Access information and online services and follow Hertfordshire County
Council on Twitter and Facebook:
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Lawrence McDonald To Herts Direct
<[FOI #165245 email]> <[email address]>
cc
07/08/2013 12:02 Subject Re: Freedom of Information
request - Application for
Academy Status

Dear Herts Direct,

Please can you respond.

Yours sincerely,

Lawrence McDonald

show quoted sections

Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Lawrence McDonald

Dear Herts Direct,

The reference is FOI/CSF/06/13/5774

Yours sincerely,

Lawrence McDonald

Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Herts Direct,

6 Attachments

Dear Lawrence McDonald,

Thank you for your email. Please can you let us know what the reference is
referring to I.E is to chase up a previous email?

How do you rate the service we provided in this email? Please click on one
of the faces and tell us why the service was Good, Average or Poor.

[1]cid:40__=[email address][2]cid:50__=[email address][3]cid:60__=[email address]
Kind Regards
Zoe at HertsDirect
Hertfordshire County Council
Access information and online services and follow Hertfordshire County
Council on Twitter and Facebook:
[4]herts-county-council logo  [5]twitter icon  [6]facebook icon

Lawrence McDonald To Herts Direct
<[FOI #165245 email]> <[email address]>
cc
24/08/2013 13:50 Subject Re: Freedom of Information
request - Application for
Academy Status

Dear Herts Direct,

The reference is FOI/CSF/06/13/5774

Yours sincerely,

Lawrence McDonald

show quoted sections

Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

P Martyn left an annotation ()

As HCC seem unwilling to respond to your request, I would suggest you contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). They will advise that 20 working days is an appropriate time span for an internal review to be processed. If still no response from the authority you can make a formal complaint to them and they have the jurisdiction to take the matter further on your behalf. Hope this helps.

Information Governance, Hertfordshire County Council

Dear Mr. McDonald,

 I apologise that you haven't had the internal review requested.  Your
request wasn't forwarded on to my unit, despite your attempts to chase
 and I apologise unreservedly on behalf of the County Council.

I became aware of the correspondence yesterday  when looking at the
Hertfordshire County Council pages on What do they know.

 

I have contacted our Legal Services department to set up the review and it
will be carried out as soon as possible.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Elaine Dunnicliffe

 

 

Information Access Manager

Information Governance Unit

Hertfordshire County Council

Postal Point CHN 305

County Hall,

Hertford, SG13 8DQ

Telephone: 01992 555848

Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

Information Governance, Hertfordshire County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr. McDonald,

 Please find attached the internal review requested by you. I apologise
again for the delay in providing this.

I expect to be able to provide the revised response by end of Friday 6th
December at the latest.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Elaine Dunnicliffe

 

 

Information Access Manager

Information Governance Unit

Hertfordshire County Council

Postal Point CHN 305

County Hall,

Hertford, SG13 8DQ

Telephone: 01992 555848

Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

Lawrence McDonald

Dear Elaine,

Despite your promise of a revised response by 6th December "at the latest", I have yet to receive it.

I will be pursuing this with the ICO.

Yours sincerely,

Lawrence McDonald

Information Governance, Hertfordshire County Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr. Macdonald,
My apologies that I did not send your response by 6th as indicated and intended.

Reference number: FOI/CSF/06/13/5774

On 17th June 2013 we received the following request for information from you:

Please provide me with any documents you hold relating to applications for infants and/or junior schools in Harpenden to become academies.

Your request for information has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I can confirm that Hertfordshire County Council does hold the information you have requested, and can respond as follows:

As previously described in my response of 3rd July and at internal review applications to become an academy are submitted to the Department for communities and local Government and there is no requirement for the local authority to be involved however on further investigation I can confirm we do hold a small amount of correspondence in connection with Crabtree Infant and Juniors which relates to the period before their academy status was approved.

Please see the attached documents.
Please note, names of members of staff who are not considered to be decision makers in this matter have been redacted in line with Hertfordshire County Council practice. The County Council has decided that names of junior members of staff should be withheld under the exemption contained in Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, relating to third party personal data.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting the reference above. To find out more about Freedom of Information, please visit www.hertsdirect.org/foi

If you are unhappy with the way the County Council has handled your request for information you may request an internal review of the request. This will be carried out by a member of the County Council Legal Services Team, who has had no prior involvement with the request. Requests for an internal review should be sent to the Information Governance Unit at the address above.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the internal review you are entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to investigate your complaint. You should write to: FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Elaine Dunnicliffe

Information Access Manager
Information Governance Unit
Hertfordshire County Council
Postal Point CHN 305
County Hall,
Hertford, SG13 8DQ
Telephone: 01992 555848
Email: [email address]
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