Freshford House
T 0300 123 1231
Redcliffe Way
Textphone 0161 618 8524
Bristol
xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
Direct T 03000 131 294
BS1 6NL
www.ofsted.gov.uk
xxxxx.xxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx
2 July 2013
Mr M Beedles
Our Reference: CAS-259574-VBVR66
By email:
Request-163769-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Mr Beedles
Your request for information
Thank you for your email dated 18 September 2012 in which you requested the
following information:
“lists of all establishments, open and closed, that Ofsted has on its database
for the following regions:
North West; East Midlands; London; West Midlands; Yorkshire and the
humber”
You requested the following columns of information be provided for the above
regions in an excel spreadsheet:
“Establishment name, URN, LAestab (number), Region (GOR) Local Authority,
Type of establishment and Phase of education for open and closed settings.”
In our telephone conversation on 7th June 2013, we discussed your request and you
confirmed that you did not require details of childcare providers on domestic
premises such as childminders or home childcarers but did require information about
childcare providers on non-domestic premises. You also confirmed that you would
like the information for all schools and further education colleges for the regions
specified but did not require social care providers.
Summary of response
We hold all of the information you have requested, and are able to disclose the
majority of it to you. We are not able to disclose information about registered
childcare providers based in women’s refuges.
This is explained in full below.
The Freedom of Information Act
We have dealt with your request in accordance with the Freedom of Information
(FOI) Act 2000. The first requirement of the Act is that we should confirm whether or
not we hold information of the description set out in your request.
In this case I can confirm that, where applicable, we hold the names, Unique
Reference Numbers (URNs), Local Authority establishment number, Government
Office Region, Local Authority, Type of Establishment and Phase of Education for all
establishments that are required to be registered with Ofsted; both open and closed,
in the North West, East Midlands, London, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber
areas.
Under the FOI Act, we are under a duty to provide you with all the information we
hold which falls within the scope of your request, provided it is not ‘exempt’
information.
Exempt Information
Section 38
Section 38 applies to information that, if disclosed, would or would likely endanger
the physical or mental health of any individual or endanger the safety of any
individual. Women’s refuges house vulnerable women and their children, many of
whom have moved there to escape domestic violence and other abuse. Very often,
the location of the refuges is not widely publicised to prevent the residents being
located by their abusers and subjected to threats and further violence. Consequently,
the release of information about childcare based in the refuges would be likely to
endanger the physical or mental health or the safety of the women and children who
use these centres.
Again, section 38 is a qualified exemption, so we are required to apply the public
interest test. We believe that the public interest is clearly in maintaining the
exemption. The women and children that use these centres are vulnerable and the
fact that their locations are not known to the public affords them greater protection
and reduces the risk that they would suffer further harm. If we were to disclose the
location of these refuges then it would make them ineffectual and would prompt
many women who need the safety and anonymity offered by the refuge to not use
this valuable service.
Details relating to provisions in all women’s refuges have therefore not been
provided to you.
Disclosed Information
Please find in the attached spreadsheets the information that we are able to disclose
to you. With regard to the list of childcare providers on non-domestic premises we
hold information as to whether the registration is active with Ofsted or not.
Therefore a setting marked as “closed” for the purposes of your request may still be
operating but are no longer required to be registered with Ofsted.
Please note that the copyright and database rights of the information we are
disclosing belong to the crown. Disclosure under the FOI Act does not entitle you to
use the document in breach of the crown’s copyright and database rights. The terms
of re-use are that in any use of the material you must comply with the requirements
of the Data Protection Act 1998. Subject to this, material may be reproduced in part
or in whole free of charge in any format or medium for any non-commercial
educational purposes, such as research, private study or for internal circulation
within an organisation. This is subject to the material being reproduced accurately
and not used in a misleading context. Where crown copyright/database right material
is being republished or copied to others, the source of the material must be identified
and the copyright status acknowledged. You should not present out of date material
as if it is current. You are not entitled to use material subject to crown copyright or
database rights for the principal purpose of advertising or promoting a particular
product or service.
I trust that this letter clearly explains our decision. If you have any queries about our
response, please contact me on 0300 013 1294 and I will do my best to address
them.
Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with our response or the handling of your
request, you may request a formal internal review. In order to do this, please write
to the following address, setting out which areas of the response you are unhappy
with:
Email: xxxxxxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx or write to:
Head of Information Rights
Commercial Services Division
Ofsted
Aviation House
125 Kingsway
London
WC2B 6SE
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you also have the
right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether or not
we have complied with our obligations under the FOI Act with respect to your
request. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
FOI Case Reception Unit
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely,
Karon Crew
Information Delivery Officer
Information Management Team