Walsall MBC and support for schools post OFSTED
Dear Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council,
I would like to formally request a copy of any documents that relate to how schools are supported / dealt with when “OFSTED state a school requires improvement” or are “causing concern” or “pre warning procedures need to be put in place” or any further documentation that state how schools are supported that are in this position.
Clarification.
These documents were mentioned by Local Authority officers (if you wish to know names of Local Authority officers I can supply this) at a Meeting at Leighswood School on 28:02:18 and were told that they were on the Local Authority Website (which they are not) and so was promised copies of documents to be distributed to governors, no copies have been distributed and this was chased up by many phone calls to the Local Authority Officers in question with promises to send out copies (02:03:18.). But then this decision to distribute copies to governors was declined / rescinded (09:03:18.) on the grounds that these documents are for internal LA purposes only.
Clearly Governors and schools need to have all the information at hand to appropriately support schools in need and these documents surely should not be confidential to partners all working together for schools positive progression. As surely we are supposed to be all working for the same results / goals.
Background.
As a Local Authority Governor at Leighswood School I am requesting the above documents to support / assist me in my execution of duties as Local Authority Governor.
I look forward to a response to the request above. Preferably electronic copies would be best, but if not paper copies will suffice .
Yours Faithfully,
Dean Hadley.
Dear Mr Hadley,
Thank you for your request for information about Walsall MBC and support
for schools post OFSTED, which was received on 18 April 2018.
In accordance with provisions within Freedom of Information Act 2000, the
council will respond to your request within 20 working days, saying
whether we have the information that you want, and if there will be any
charges.
If, for any reason, we cannot provide you with the information, we will
tell you why. If we need to clarify your request, we will contact you
again.
In the meantime, if you need to contact me about your request, please do
so quoting the above reference number.
Yours sincerely
Julie Noble
Dear Mr Hadley,
Freedom of Information Request
Further to your request for clarification on the information about Walsall MBC and support for schools post OFSTED.
Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. I must apologise that I inadvertently misled you and believed that the documents were available on the Council website.
The documents are presently being updated and will be published to all schools later this term.
Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 requests will be subject to copyright protection. In most cases the copyright will be owned by Walsall Council. The copyright in respect of other information may be owned by another person or organisation, as indicated.
You are free to use any information supplied to you in response to this request for your own non-commercial research or private study purposes. The information may also be used for any other purpose allowed by a limitation or exception in copyright law, such as news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for example by publishing the information in analogue or digital form, including on the internet, will require the permission of the copyright owner.
I hope that the information provided is useful to you. However, if you are dissatisfied, you should set out in writing your grounds for complaint and send to: Information Risk & Governance Manager, Business Change, Civic Centre, Darwall Street, Walsall WS1 1TP.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a decision. Please remember that, generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have first exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely
Dear Yvonne Tarring,
Thankyou for responding to this request and I look forward to seeing the reviewed document.
However I do feel misled and feel that I have not been given accurate information (which surely the level of LA officers we have been advised by, should have known this information and been open enough to share accurate information with colleagues, which is what governors should be classed as). Perhaps this is a training issue for some of your LA officers as this clearly hasn't happened and I would hope would in the future for the improvement of all Walsall schools.
Could you please send me a copy of the current document (pre draft) .
Finally I would also like copies of any documentation that will support me in my role as a governor in a school that requires improvement in Ofsteds view.
I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Dean Hadley
In response to your email of 17th May 2018, please see the following
response:
As documents are presently being updated, it will not be possible to
release them to you in draft form. As soon as the documents have been
published to schools, I will ensure a copy is sent to you.
With regard to supporting your role as a governor, I have asked our
Governance Manager Duncan Whitehouse to make contact with you providing
documentation that is shared with governors in terms of Ofsted inspections
and moving back to a GOOD judgement.
Yvonne Tarring
Business Support Coordinator - Children's Services
Zone 2F
2nd Floor
Walsall
WS1 1TP
Tel: 653452
E Mail: [1][email address]
[2]www.walsall.gov.uk
P Save a tree...please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Walsall Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware that emails
sent to or received from Walsall Council may be intercepted and read by
the Council to ensure compliance with Council policies or regulatory
obligations, or for the purposes of essential maintenance or support of
the email system. You should also be aware that any email may be the
subject of a request under Data Protection, Freedom of Information or
Environmental Information legislation and therefore could be disclosed to
third parties
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.walsall.gov.uk/
Dear Yvonne Tarring,
Thankyou for your response I eagerly await a copy of the new version.
However in the mean time could you please send me a copy of the old document. Which I'm sure could be turned around quite fast in an email.
I also look forward to communication from Duncan Whitehouse to support us further.
Many thanx.
Yours sincerely,
Dean Hadley
As previously stated (9/3/18) by Lynda Poole, the original documents are
for internal LA purposes only. Therefore, it will not be possible to send
you a copy of the old document.
Yvonne Tarring
Business Support Coordinator - Children's Services
Zone 2F
2nd Floor
Walsall
WS1 1TP
Tel: 653452
E Mail: [1][email address]
[2]www.walsall.gov.uk
P Save a tree...please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Walsall Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware that emails
sent to or received from Walsall Council may be intercepted and read by
the Council to ensure compliance with Council policies or regulatory
obligations, or for the purposes of essential maintenance or support of
the email system. You should also be aware that any email may be the
subject of a request under Data Protection, Freedom of Information or
Environmental Information legislation and therefore could be disclosed to
third parties
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.walsall.gov.uk/
Dear Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council,
Can I please request an independent review of this request.
Yours faithfully,
Dean Hadley
Dear Mr Hadley,
Thank you for your request for an Internal Review. In order for us to respond appropriately to your request, could you clarify what you would like to be reviewed from the original response sent on 16/5/18?
Yours faithfully
Julie Noble
Dear InformationRights,
I have requested a copy of documents that are used to judge school competence and haven’t received them.
I don’t feel that the education department at Walsall MBC are being very cooperative.
It’s a bit competitive and secretive for some reason.
I look forward to your response in mediating this situation.
Yours sincerely,
Dean Hadley
Dear Mr Hadley
Request for Internal Review / complaint
Thank you for your correspondence received by us on 16 July 2018.
In accordance with provisions within Freedom of Information Act 2000 and
the Environmental Information Regulations, the council will review the
handling of your request and provide you with a response within 20 working
days or 40 working days if the case is particularly complex.
I have attached a copy of the Complaints procedure for your information.
In the meantime, if you need to contact me about your request, please do
so quoting the above reference number and using the contact details below.
Yours sincerely
Mark Halliwell
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