Hi Saleha

Re: Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Thank you for your request for information.

I can confirm your request has been passed to the relevant department who will endeavour to search for any information held and provide you with a response as soon as is possible. This will be within 20 working days and in any case by the 19th February 2024

Yours sincerely,
Sophie

Sophie Ormshaw

Information Governance Officer
Information Governance Team
Corporate Resources
City of Doncaster Council
Civic Office (Floor 2)
Waterdale
Doncaster
DN1 3BU

Phone: 01302 735326
E-mail: [email address]
Web: http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/

Please treat the content of this e-mail as confidential. If you have received this e-mail and it is not addressed to you please accept my apologies and inform me as soon as possible.

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Dear Saleha,

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 22 January 2024
for information about funding for tutoring. Please find below City of
Doncaster Council’s responses to the questions you have raised.

 

Request

1.            Does your local authority provide funding for young people’s
tutoring? (please indicate all options that apply)

 

Option a) Yes, we operate our own statutory virtual school that also
provides tutoring.

•             If yes, what was the total funding for your virtual school
for FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23?

•             How much did the virtual school spend on tutoring for
FY2021-22 and FY2022-23?

•             What was the total number of young people enrolled
into/served by the virtual school for FY2021-22 and FY2022-23?

•             What is the budget for FY2023-24.

 

Option b) Yes, we fund enrolment into one or more external statutory
virtual schools, where pupils from our local authority have been moved to
a virtual school associated with another local authority, and these
school(s) also provide tutoring.

•             If yes, which virtual school(s) for FY2022-23?

•             What was the total funding provided for FY2021-22 and
FY2022-23?

•             What was the total number of young people enrolled
into/served by the virtual school?

•             What is the budget for FY2023-24?

 

Option c) Yes, we provide additional funding for mainstream schools that
is targeted to tutoring or individual catch-up.

•             What was the total funding provided for FY2021-2022 and
FY2022-23?

•             What is the budget for FY2023-24?

 

Option d) Yes, we pay one or more tutoring providers directly.

•             If yes, what was the total funding provided for FY2021-22
and FY2022-23?

•             What was the total number of young people supported for
FY2021-2022 and FY2022-23?

•             What is the budget for FY2023-24?

•             How do you procure support from tutoring providers? Please
indicate all options that apply.

o             We use our own framework/tender.

o             We use another public framework. (please name the framework)

o             We procure without a framework/tender.

o             Other (please explain…)

•             Which tutoring providers were used in FY2022-23?

 

Option e) Yes, we provide funding to parents for them to buy tutoring or
other learning support.

•             What was the total funding provided for FY2021-22 and
FY2022-23?

•             How many young people did this relate to in FY2021-22 and
FY2022-23

•             What is the budget for FY2023-24?

•             Do the parents/learners have to use the funding on tutoring
providers?

 

Option f) Yes, we provide funding for tutoring but in a different FY.

•             If yes, please specify how?

•             What was the total funding provided in FY2021-22 and
FY2022-23?

 

Option h) No, we do not provide funding for tutoring.

 

2.            What is the total amount spent buy the local authority on
tutoring (excluding normal spend from schools / the Delegated Schools
Grant) for the years FY2021-22 and FY2022-23?

•             How many young people did this relate to in FY2021-22 and
FY2022-23?

 

3.            Where you provide tutoring directly to young people (Options
d or e in Question 1), which categories of young people are eligible to
receive this support?

•             Young people enrolled in Statutory Virtual Schools

•             Looked-after children.

•             Children excluded from mainstream education.

•             Elective home educated children.

•             Learners eligible for pupil premium

•             Children in alternative provision settings

•             Children with English as an additional language (EAL)

•             Asylum seekers

•             Youth offenders after release

•             Young people aged 16-25 years.

•             Whoever applies for support?

•             Young people identified by their school as needing catch up
support.

•             Other (please state)

 

Response

Notice under Section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
- REFUSAL TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION

 

Decision:

After carefully considering your request for information the Council has
decided that to respond to your request would exceed the appropriate limit
as defined in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

Basis for decision:

Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act allows for a request for
information to be refused where the cost of supplying this information
exceeds the appropriate limit. After carefully considering your request
for information the Council has decided that to respond to your request
would exceed the appropriate limit as defined in the [1]Freedom of
Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. The regulations
allow a request for information to be refused where the cost of supplying
this information exceeds £450 (or 18 hours of officer time). 

 

Why does the exemption apply in this case?

The cost limit applies in this case because the City of Doncaster Council
does not hold a central record of young people enrolled into/served by the
virtual school for FY2021-22, therefore in order to determine this
information and the funding provided for these young people, all plans for
looked after chidren which is approximately 1350 cases will need to be
reviewed. It is estimated that each case will require a 5 minute
investigation totaling a time of approximately 112 hours which would
exceed the time limit.  

 

Please be advised that we are able to answer all other questions and
provide this information for FY2022-23, therefore could reconsider your
request if the years were amended for these questions.

 

Reviewing any decisions made:

If you are not happy with this reply you can ask us to review our
response. To do this write to us within 40 working days of receiving your
response at the address below or email [2][email address] 

 

If you do not agree with the review decision you can apply to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a decision about our
compliance or otherwise with the Freedom of Information legislation.
Contact details for the ICO are: Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF. [3]www.ico.org.uk Telephone 0303 123 1113. 

 

Many thanks

Ellen Dook

 

Information Governance Officer

Corporate Resources

City of Doncaster Council

 

Phone     01302 736745

Address  Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster, DN1 3BU

Website   [4]www.doncaster.gov.uk

 

[5]Cyber Essentials logo

 

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