SEND staffing in the LA

The request was successful.

Eleanor Bernardes

Dear Cheshire West and Chester Council,

I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please send me:
1. The number of full time equivalent members of staff employed centrally by the council with responsibility for Special Educational Needs (SEN/SEND) during each of the years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 in the following:
a. working with more than one LA school and based in a Local Authority office
b. working with more than one LA school and based elsewhere
c. working in one LA school for that school
2. The numbers of full time equivalent members of staff who are dyslexia and literacy specialists employed by the council in each of the following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 in the following:
a. working with more than one LA school and based in a Local Authority office
b. working with more than one LA school and based elsewhere
c. working in one LA school for that school
3. The amount of hours contracted to external specialists (for example but not limited to consultants/educational psychologists etc) employed by the council in each of the following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
4. The job specification for the person responsible for:
a. Managing SEN/D provision for the LA
b. Compiling the Local Offer for the LA
5. The qualifications held by the person responsible for the following role in each of the following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015:
a. Managing SEN/D provision for the LA
b. Compiling the Local Offer for the LA

I would like the above information to be provided to me electronically.
If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand that under the Act, you are required to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.
If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that information should not be treated as confidential if such an agreement has not been signed.
I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this letter. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Eleanor Bernardes

Cheshire West and Chester Council

RE: Your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Case Reference: 101003228613

Dear Ms Bernardes

Thank you for your email.

It will be treated as a request within the meaning of the Act: this means that we will send you a full response within 20 working days, either supplying you with the information which you want, or explaining to you why we cannot supply it.

If we need any further clarification or there is any problem we will be in touch.

In the meantime if you wish to discuss this further please contact FOI West. It would be helpful if you could quote the log number.

Yours sincerely

Jessica Wright
Solutions Team

Cheshire West and Chester Council

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FOI West, Cheshire West and Chester Council

Dear Ms Bernardes

Thank you for request for information ref number 3228613. This is currently being answered by our service and they have requested clarity.

Please could you confirm whether question 1 includes administrative staff.

Many Thanks

Liz Bennett

Liz Bennett
Assistant Solutions Officer
Cheshire West and Chester Council

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Eleanor Bernardes

Dear FOI West,

Thanks for your email.

Yes, question 1 does include administrative staff.

Yours sincerely,

Eleanor Bernardes

FOI West, Cheshire West and Chester Council

Dear Ms Bernardes

Further to your request for information please advise where you require information per year, if this is preferred in:

Academic - September to August
Financial- April to March
Calendar year - January to December

Thank you.

Yours sincerely

Ruth Winson
Solutions Team

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Eleanor Bernardes

Dear FOI West,

Academic year would be great.

Many thanks,

Eleanor Bernardes

FOI West, Cheshire West and Chester Council

3 Attachments

Dear Ms Bernardes

 

Thank you for your request for information dated 21 July 2015 which has
been logged as 3228613 and has been dealt with under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  I can confirm that Cheshire West and Chester hold
information relating to your request. For clarity I have reproduced your
questions and appended the answers beneath. Please accept my apologies for
the delay in responding to your request.

 

 

1.                  The number of full time equivalent members of staff
employed centrally by the council with responsibility for Special
Educational Needs (SEN/SEND) during each of the years: 2010, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2014, 2015 in the following:

 

a.            working with more than one LA school and based in a Local
Authority office

 

Please see attached document

 

b.           working with more than one LA school and based elsewhere

0

 

c.            working in one LA school for that school

0

 

 

2.            The numbers of full time equivalent members of staff who are
dyslexia and literacy specialists employed by the council in each of the
following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 in the following:

 

a.           working with more than one LA school and based in a Local
Authority office

0

b.           working with more than one LA school and based elsewhere

0

c.            working in one LA school for that school

0

 

 

3.            The amount of hours contracted to external specialists (for
example but not limited to consultants/educational psychologists etc)
employed by the council in each of the following years:  2010, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2014 & 2015

0

 

4.            The job specification for the person responsible for:

 

a.            Managing SEN/D provision for the LA

 

Please see attached document.

 

b.            Compiling the Local Offer for the LA

 

Please see attached document.

 

5.            The qualifications held by the person responsible for the
following role in each of the following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,
2014, 2015:

 

a.            Managing SEN/D provision for the LA

b.            Compiling the Local Offer for the LA

 

The Council holds information relating to your request but considers this
exempt under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

Section 40

 

The Council considers that the information is exempt from disclosure under
subsection 40 (2) which states that personal information of third parties
attracts an absolute exemption from disclosure and that such requests must
be dealt with under the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “DPA”).

 

 1. The requested information is the personal data of a third party. The
definition of personal data is taken from Section 1 of the DPA and is
information which  relates to a living individual. The Council
believes that even if the Council does not disclose to you for the
purpose of this request, the names of the individuals, as the
individuals are limited in number and have a public facing role, it
will be possible to identify them. This would then lead to the
disclosure of personal information which those individuals would
expect to be kept confidential.The DPA states that disclosure of
personal information must be fair and lawful and must not breach the
Data Protection principles.

 

2.    The Data Protection Act Principles - the Council considers that
disclosure will contravene the first data protection principle, which
states that “ personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully,
    and in particular, shall not be processed unless –

 

(a)  At least one of the conditions in schedule 2 is met, and

(b)  In the case of sensitive personal data, at least one of the
conditions in Schedule 3 is also met.”

 

No condition in schedule 2 is met. Schedule 3 does not apply as there is
no sensitive data.

 

The information requested is held on employee records which are kept
confidential. All employees have a reasonable expectation, and the right,
for this information to be kept private and confidential and for the
information not to be put into the public domain.  The Council takes its
role as data controller seriously and a disclosure in these circumstances
would be unwarranted as it could represent an adverse affect on the
legitimate interests of the individuals concerned. 

The Council considers that disclosure will be unfair and unreasonable as
the requested information held in relation to the individuals was not
intended for wider public disclosure. 

 

o The information requested relates to the personal data of the
Council’s employees, who would not expect their personal data to be
disclosed to the public at large;
o Disclosure would lead to the identification of the individuals
concerned;
o Disclosure would place personal information relating to the
individuals into the public domain in circumstances where the
individual has had no opportunity to comment on this disclosure;
o The information held was not intended for wider disclosure;
o The individuals would have a reasonable expectation that the
information would be confidential and
o Disclosure would breach the implied duty of trust and confidence that
the Council has towards its employees.

 

As the disclosure would be unfair and unreasonable, the Council does not
have to consider any conditions in Schedule 2 DPA and the request for
disclosure of personal information related to qualifications held is
exempted.

 

I trust this answers your enquiry.

 

The Council considers that your request has been answered in full by
either confirming that information is not held, providing you with the
information requested, or explaining why any information has been withheld
and the reasons for any redaction.    Where applicable, the Council has
also told you the reasons for the delay in responding to your request.

 

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled you can request a review by writing to the Solutions Team within

40 working days from the date of the Council’s response.  You are entitled
to a review by the Council if:

•             You are dissatisfied with the Council’s explanation of why
the application was not dealt with within the 20 working day time limit.

•             All the information requested is not being disclosed and you
have not received an explanation why some information is not being
disclosed.

•             A reason for the disclosures under the request being refused
is not received.

•             You consider that exemptions have been wrongly applied,
and/or

•             You consider that a fee has been wrongly applied.

Please set out your grounds for seeking a review together with what
specific part of your request those grounds apply to and the outcome you
are seeking.  The Council reserves the right to ask you for clarification
of the grounds for your review request if the grounds are not clear, and
to delay commencing the review if such grounds are not provided.

 

The Solutions Team can be contacted by email via: 
[1][Cheshire West and Chester Council request email] or at the following address:

 

Solutions Team

Cheshire West and Chester Council

HQ

58 Nicholas Street

Chester

CH1 2NP

 

The Solutions Team will acknowledge a request for an internal review
within 5 working days and complete the review as soon as possible and no
later than 40 working days from receipt of the request.

 

More information about the Council’s internal review process can be found
via:
[2]http://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk...

 

If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your review, you have
a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

 

The Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45

Website: [3]www.ico.gov.uk

 

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Liz Bennett

Solutions Team

Cheshire West and Chester Council

 

 

 

 

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