Contact between Varndean School Brighton & BHCC (education department and councillors) 1 Sept 2024 to 3 April 2025 - 2nd attempt due to email issue
Dear Varndean School, Brighton,
I am submitting this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
On Friday 31 January 2025, a letter was jointly signed by all six local authority maintained schools, stating they all disagreed with the open admissions priority (but agreed with other aspects eg the FSM policy), and was shared with the press.
Yet on Wednesday 26 February 2025, less than four weeks later, a letter was published by the press, revealing that a second letter had been signed by the headteachers of eight of the ten city schools (Varndean and Blatchington Mill did not sign this letter).
This letter was in stark contrast to the first letter, as it now endorsed the proposals rather than criticising them. This is a very dramatic and unexpected change of viewpoint for such a large number of headteachers to make.
I have already contacted the council regarding the four community schools and 2 academies who signed it. However, I note that there now seem to be significant and repeated delays with BHCC processing requests, which is breaking the freedom of information act (which requires a response within 20 working days). This is wholly unacceptable; the cynical side of me thinks they are perhaps hiding something.....
I therefore thought I would approach yourselves instead, with the hope you are a bit more responsive and stick to the law. I am aware that Varndean chose NOT to sign that letter and am interested in understanding the reasons why.
However, as a result of this stance (not signing the letter of support towards the council), I am aware of rumours circulating that Varndean may choose to convert to an academy. My husband Derek and I are staunch supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, and as a result, if I am being honest, academies don't really align with our political principles.
So in order to try to capture both issues, I would like to request copies of all contact between Varndean school (including the governors), and the council (both elected members and staff members in the education department) about any issue. This should include all information held (agendas, dates, minutes, notes) regarding any meetings (face to face or virtual, formal or informal), telephone calls, plus all emails, and letters sent (by post, electronic or other means). I would like these for the time period between 1 September 2024 and 3 April 2025 inclusive, on any issue.
Should any part of this request be refused, I would like to request that you give a full explanation of the specific exemption(s) applied and, if applicable, details of any public interest test conducted to justify any refusal.
I look forward to your prompt response within the mandatory 20 day working days.
Yours faithfully,
Mr M Turner
Dear Mr Turner
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Upon reviewing
the details of your request, we have noted that the wording is quite
wide-ranging and encompasses a broad spectrum of correspondence and
issues.
We regret to inform you that fulfilling the request in its current form to
supply all correspondence between school staff and governors with the
council representatives both staff and elected personnel over the period
you requested would be impractical. Collation of the information is likely
to take in excess of the 18 hours set out in section 12 of the guidance.
Additionally as much of the correspondence would be extensive with a
significant amount of it containing sensitive personal data. We are
committed to protecting the privacy of individuals and adhering to data
protection regulations whilst providing you with sufficient information to
cover off your specific areas of interest outlined in your email.
As an alternative, you might find it helpful to limit the scope of your
request. We suggest focusing on the correspondence between Varndean School
Governors (including the Headteacher) and the council regarding matters
related to the school admissions consultation and the subsequent
discussions with the council. This more specific focus would enable us to
provide you with relevant information while ensuring compliance with data
protection requirements.
Please let us know if this revised scope meets your needs, or if you have
any further questions or clarifications. We are here to assist you in any
way we can.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Kind regards,
Teresa Dee
Clerk to Governors
Varndean School
[1]www.varndean.co.uk
twitter: @VarndeanSchool
instagram: @varndeanschoolbrighton
References
Visible links
1. http://www.varndean.co.uk/
Dear Mrs Dee
Thank you for your prompt response; many apologies for not coming back to you sooner, Derek and I enjoyed a much needed break in France over Easter.
Having read this, plus my original request, I can see how my request is somewhat ambiguous and as you say, would involve excessive amounts of work and would take in excess of the maximum permitted 18 hours, which would not be my intention, nor to request sensitive information of a personal nature, particularly around school children.
I therefore agree with your suggestion to limit this to a focus on correspondence between Varndean Governors (Mrs Alison Ali, Mrs Shelley Baker - headteacher, Mr Julian Benkel, Mr Jon Dee, Mr Alan Gunn, Mr Sam Harvey, Mrs Dulani Kulasinghe, Mrs Alex Marsh, Mrs Emma McCrea, Mr Ian Rodgers, Mrs Angela Simmonds and Mrs Teresa Dee) and the council, regarding matters related to the school admissions consultation and subsequent discussions with the council.
Many thanks for your assistance in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Mr M Turner
Dear Mr Turner
Thank you for confirming agreement to the suggested scope for your freedom
of information request.
We are in the process of compiling the information and I hope to be
able to forward it to you shortly.
Kind regards
Teresa Dee
Clerk to Governors
Varndean School
[1]www.varndean.co.uk
twitter: @VarndeanSchool
instagram: @varndeanschoolbrighton
On Mon, 21 Apr 2025 at 17:17, Mr M Turner <[2][FOI #1264956 email]> wrote:
Dear Mrs Dee
Thank you for your prompt response; many apologies for not coming back
to you sooner, Derek and I enjoyed a much needed break in France over
Easter.
Having read this, plus my original request, I can see how my request is
somewhat ambiguous and as you say, would involve excessive amounts of
work and would take in excess of the maximum permitted 18 hours, which
would not be my intention, nor to request sensitive information of a
personal nature, particularly around school children.
I therefore agree with your suggestion to limit this to a focus on
correspondence between Varndean Governors (Mrs Alison Ali, Mrs Shelley
Baker - headteacher, Mr Julian Benkel, Mr Jon Dee, Mr Alan Gunn, Mr Sam
Harvey, Mrs Dulani Kulasinghe, Mrs Alex Marsh, Mrs Emma McCrea, Mr Ian
Rodgers, Mrs Angela Simmonds and Mrs Teresa Dee) and the council,
regarding matters related to the school admissions consultation and
subsequent discussions with the council.
Many thanks for your assistance in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Mr M Turner
Dear Mr Turner
Please find attached documents in relation to your freedom of information
request.
Kind regards
Teresa Dee
Clerk to Governors
Varndean School
[1]www.varndean.co.uk
twitter: @VarndeanSchool
instagram: @varndeanschoolbrighton
On Tue, 22 Apr 2025 at 09:40, Teresa Dee [Staff] <[2][email address]>
wrote:
Dear Mr Turner
Thank you for confirming agreement to the suggested scope for your
freedom of information request.
We are in the process of compiling the information and I hope to be
able to forward it to you shortly.
Kind regards
Teresa Dee
Clerk to Governors
Varndean School
[3]www.varndean.co.uk
twitter: @VarndeanSchool
instagram: @varndeanschoolbrighton
On Mon, 21 Apr 2025 at 17:17, Mr M Turner <[4][FOI #1264956 email]>
wrote:
Dear Mrs Dee
Thank you for your prompt response; many apologies for not coming back
to you sooner, Derek and I enjoyed a much needed break in France over
Easter.
Having read this, plus my original request, I can see how my request
is somewhat ambiguous and as you say, would involve excessive amounts
of work and would take in excess of the maximum permitted 18 hours,
which would not be my intention, nor to request sensitive information
of a personal nature, particularly around school children.
I therefore agree with your suggestion to limit this to a focus on
correspondence between Varndean Governors (Mrs Alison Ali, Mrs Shelley
Baker - headteacher, Mr Julian Benkel, Mr Jon Dee, Mr Alan Gunn, Mr
Sam Harvey, Mrs Dulani Kulasinghe, Mrs Alex Marsh, Mrs Emma McCrea, Mr
Ian Rodgers, Mrs Angela Simmonds and Mrs Teresa Dee) and the council,
regarding matters related to the school admissions consultation and
subsequent discussions with the council.
Many thanks for your assistance in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Mr M Turner
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