Copies of committee minutes from 2014

The request was successful.

Dear Cotham School, Bristol,

Please provide minutes from all meetings of (a) the Learning & WellBeing Committee and (b) the Finance, Property and General Purposes Committee, in each case for the calendar year Jan-Dec 2014, including the PE options paper that was produced and discussed in relation to ways of reducing the loss of 50% of PE teaching time and the significant transport costs involved with travelling off-site for PE provision.

Yours faithfully,
Helen Powell

Cotham School Info, Cotham School, Bristol

Dear Ms Powell
Thank you for your email and your request under the freedom of information
act.
Unfortunately under the current inactive operational status of the school,
due to coronavirus, we are unable to respond to Freedom of Information Act
requests. This is due to only essential staff operating on the school site
and these staff are fully engaged in their responsibilities to the
students who are currently attending.
Please remake your request when school is fully operational. The earliest
that school will be fully operational is September but of course this is
subject to change by the government. 
Regards
Allison Crossland
Business Manager
On Sun, 31 May 2020 at 21:53, Helen Powell
<[1][FOI #667939 email]> wrote:

Dear Cotham School, Bristol,

Please provide minutes from all meetings of (a) the Learning & WellBeing
Committee and (b) the Finance, Property and General Purposes Committee,
in each case for the calendar year Jan-Dec  2014, including the PE
options paper that was produced and discussed in relation to ways of
reducing the loss of 50% of PE teaching time and the significant
transport costs involved with travelling off-site for PE provision.

Yours faithfully,
Helen Powell

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PARKING - May we remind visitors there is no on site parking at the
school. Parking is available offsite in accordance with the Cotham
Residents Parking Scheme.
[7]https://www.bristol.gov.uk/parking/cotham

The contents of all e-mail and any attachments are strictly private and
confidential and may contain information which is subject to legal
privilege. Such e-mail may not be used or disclosed under any
circumstances by anyone who is not a named recipient. Please return the
e-mail if you are not the intended or named recipient. Unauthorised use of
the email or its contents is prohibited and may be unlawful. Incoming and
outgoing e-mail is subject to continuous and ad hoc filtering, scrutiny
and reporting. The school accepts no liability whatsoever for any damage,
loss or expense arising from this e-mail and/or from the accessing of any
files attached to this email. This e-mail may not necessarily reflect the
views or intentions of Cotham School or its governing body, which
therefore does not accept any liability whatsoever for any claims, loss or
damages of whatsoever nature, arising directly or indirectly, as a result
of the reliance on such information by anyone. Unless the intention to
contract has been expressly manifested in this message by a duly
authorised representative of the school, this message shall not be
construed as a solicitation to contract nor an offer or acceptance of any
contractual obligations. The addressee's address will not be disclosed to
others for commercial intent. Please notify the school should you not wish
to receive e-mail from the school.

Cotham School: a company limited by guarantee
Registered in England: Company Number: 07732888
Registered Office: Cotham School, Cotham Lawn Road, Cotham, Bristol, BS6
6DT 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #667939 email]
2. mailto:[FOI #667939 email]
3. mailto:[Cotham School, Bristol request email]
4. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
5. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
6. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
7. https://www.bristol.gov.uk/parking/cotham

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Dear Cotham School Info,

Thank you for your response dated 1 June 2020. The Information Commissioner has made clear that, while it takes a pragmatic approach to enforcement during the coronavirus crisis, and understands that some delays may be inevitable where organisations are under-resourced, statutory duties are not suspended and statutory timescales for FOI compliance are not extended during this period.

The ICO has stated that 'When we conduct investigations, we will act knowing there is a public health emergency and seek to understand the individual challenges faced by organisations. We will take into account the particular impact of the crisis on that organisation. This may mean less use of formal powers that require organisations to provide us with evidence, and allowing longer periods to respond. We also expect to conduct fewer investigations, focussing our attention on those circumstances which suggest serious non-compliance.
We will take a strong regulatory approach against any organisation breaching data protection laws to take advantage of the current crisis.'

It is clear that the school cannot simply ignore my FOI request or to ask me to make it again at a later date, although I understand that it may take longer than the statutory 20 working days to reply to it. However, in the event of a later complaint, the ICO will take into account the impact of the health crisis on the school's resources. I understand that the school remains fully-resourced in terms of staffing, with access (including remote access) to computer systems, and a limited number of students on site. These are factors that I assume the ICO would take into account when considering the impact of the crisis on the school's resources.

I understand that the school is therefore required to continue to treat my 1 June request as being live, in accordance with the law, and to respond to it in line with the law and ICO guidance.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Powell

Cotham School Info, Cotham School, Bristol

Dear Helen Powell
My email was quite clear. We are not in a position to respond to your
enquiry and we will not be responding to this until the school opens fully
in September 2020 when staff are able to return to site to undertake the
work required to respond to your enquiry. We are more than happy to advise
this to the ICO should we need to, we have already in another case and
they have accepted that response in these current circumstances.
Regards
Allison Crossland
Business Manager

PARKING - May we remind visitors there is no on site parking at the
school. Parking is available offsite in accordance with the Cotham
Residents Parking Scheme.
[1]https://www.bristol.gov.uk/parking/cotham

The contents of all e-mail and any attachments are strictly private and
confidential and may contain information which is subject to legal
privilege. Such e-mail may not be used or disclosed under any
circumstances by anyone who is not a named recipient. Please return the
e-mail if you are not the intended or named recipient. Unauthorised use of
the email or its contents is prohibited and may be unlawful. Incoming and
outgoing e-mail is subject to continuous and ad hoc filtering, scrutiny
and reporting. The school accepts no liability whatsoever for any damage,
loss or expense arising from this e-mail and/or from the accessing of any
files attached to this email. This e-mail may not necessarily reflect the
views or intentions of Cotham School or its governing body, which
therefore does not accept any liability whatsoever for any claims, loss or
damages of whatsoever nature, arising directly or indirectly, as a result
of the reliance on such information by anyone. Unless the intention to
contract has been expressly manifested in this message by a duly
authorised representative of the school, this message shall not be
construed as a solicitation to contract nor an offer or acceptance of any
contractual obligations. The addressee's address will not be disclosed to
others for commercial intent. Please notify the school should you not wish
to receive e-mail from the school.

Cotham School: a company limited by guarantee
Registered in England: Company Number: 07732888
Registered Office: Cotham School, Cotham Lawn Road, Cotham, Bristol, BS6
6DT 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.bristol.gov.uk/parking/cotham

Dear Cotham School Info,

Thanks for your reply Allison. Your 1 June email stated clearly that you required me to remake my FOI request at a future date. I understand from your email today that you accept that this is not correct and that my request dated 1 June remains outstanding for response by the school.

Many thanks.
Yours sincerely,

Helen Powell

Paul Woodstock left an annotation ()

Body refusing to comply with FOI for three months! Thus is unacceptable

Dear Cotham School, Bristol,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Cotham School, Bristol's handling of my FOI request 'Copies of committee minutes from 2014'.

Following our previous correspondence on this matter, I wrote to the ICO to clarify its position with regard to this request. The ICO has responded today as follows:

'Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) organisations have an obligation under to provide responses to FOI requests within 20 working days.

If you haven't already you should write to the school asking them for an internal review.

If you have received a final response that they will not be dealing with the request at all until September. You have a right to bring a complaint to us regarding your request. Since the pandemic, we have adapted our complaints approach slightly. However we would expect organisations to keep their position under review. Ultimately we would consider this as part of investigating the complaint if made to the ICO.'

I therefore request an internal review, as recommended by the ICO.

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

Yours faithfully,

Helen Powell

Leanne Sowersby, Cotham School, Bristol

Dear Ms Powell
I have been asked to review your freedom of information request and the
timescales for responding to it.
As you are aware, the school has been working with fewer staff in school
and accommodating as many staff as possible working from home, which has
made it difficult to respond to requests as promptly as we would
wish, especially when dealing with more historical documents.  However, we
have been investigating your request and I am hopeful that the documents
you have requested can be made available by the end of this week, but
certainly by the end of term.
Kind Regards
--
Leanne Sowersby
Clerk to Governors
Cotham School | Cotham Lawn Road | Bristol | BS6 6DT
* Email: Sowersbyl[1]@cotham.bristol.sch.uk 

PARKING - May we remind visitors there is no on site parking at the
school. Parking is available offsite in accordance with the Cotham
Residents Parking Scheme.
[2]https://www.bristol.gov.uk/parking/cotham

The contents of all e-mail and any attachments are strictly private and
confidential and may contain information which is subject to legal
privilege. Such e-mail may not be used or disclosed under any
circumstances by anyone who is not a named recipient. Please return the
e-mail if you are not the intended or named recipient. Unauthorised use of
the email or its contents is prohibited and may be unlawful. Incoming and
outgoing e-mail is subject to continuous and ad hoc filtering, scrutiny
and reporting. The school accepts no liability whatsoever for any damage,
loss or expense arising from this e-mail and/or from the accessing of any
files attached to this email. This e-mail may not necessarily reflect the
views or intentions of Cotham School or its governing body, which
therefore does not accept any liability whatsoever for any claims, loss or
damages of whatsoever nature, arising directly or indirectly, as a result
of the reliance on such information by anyone. Unless the intention to
contract has been expressly manifested in this message by a duly
authorised representative of the school, this message shall not be
construed as a solicitation to contract nor an offer or acceptance of any
contractual obligations. The addressee's address will not be disclosed to
others for commercial intent. Please notify the school should you not wish
to receive e-mail from the school.

Cotham School: a company limited by guarantee
Registered in England: Company Number: 07732888
Registered Office: Cotham School, Cotham Lawn Road, Cotham, Bristol, BS6
6DT 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.bristol.gov.uk/parking/cotham

Dear Leanne,

Thank you for your reply and for dealing with this matter - I appreciate your help.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Powell

Paul Woodstock left an annotation ()

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