Inspection reports for St Columba's School: FOI release

Information requested

A) Can we have copies of any School Inspection reports for St Columba’s for the period in which our daughter was a pupil [August 2015-August 2020]?

B) Why have Inspection Reports for St Columba’s not been posted on the Education Scotland website? Was that decision related to the reasons listed above for why we were denied access to the December 2020 response - potential damage which could be done to the ‘commercial interests’ of the school or a concern that such information going into the public domain would make the school ‘less forthcoming and transparent’ in future?

C) St Columba’s are very active on social media with regards to the quality of their anti-bullying initiatives. Without school inspection reports posted on the Education Scotland website, how can parents who are considering sending their children to the school obtain information about concerns that have been raised about bullying at the school in recent years?

Response

A) Can we have copies of any School Inspection reports for St Columba’s for the period in which our daughter was a pupil [August 2015-August 2020]?

A) Education Scotland does not have any inspection reports for St Columba’s for the period specified. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that Education Scotland does not hold information relevant to this part of your request.

B) Why have Inspection Reports for St Columba’s not been posted on the Education Scotland website? Was that decision related to the reasons listed above for why we were denied access to the December 2020 response - potential damage which could be done to the ‘commercial interests’ of the school or a concern that such information going into the public domain would make the school ‘less forthcoming and transparent’ in future?

B) School inspection reports are published on the Education Scotland website for five years from the date of publication. Inspections requested by Scottish Ministers in accordance with section 66(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (‘the 1980 Act’) do not always result in a published report.

C) St Columba’s are very active on social media with regards to the quality of their anti-bullying initiatives. Without school inspection reports posted on the Education Scotland website, how can parents who are considering sending their children to the school obtain information about concerns that have been raised about bullying at the school in recent years?

C) Parents should contact the school and/or Board of Governors for information regarding their anti-bullying policy and how incidents are recorded.

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