Renfrew High School inspection and complaints: FOI release

Information requested

1. When was Renfrew High school (Renfrewshire) last inspected by Education Scotland?
2. When was Renfrew High School learning hub (Renfrewshire), last inspected by Education Scotland?
3. How many Complaints has Education Scotland had into Renfrew High School learning hub (Renfrewshire) in the last FIVE years (broken down yearly)?
4. What is the Legislation requirement between each school inspection by law? (i.e. what is the time frame between each inspection set out in law)?
5. Who investigates Education Scotland, when they fail to
   a. look into Complaints?
   b. fail to do school inspections within legislation time frames?
   c. fail to answer email requests?

Response

In response to your request we can provide the following information:

1. Renfrew High School was last inspected in February 2018, the inspection report and more detailed Summary of Inspection Findings is attached at Annex A and B.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information requested within the letter because an exemption under section 38(1)(b), personal information, of FOISA applies because it is personal data of a third party, ie names of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

2. The inspection of Renfrew High School in 2018 included all aspects of learning and teaching provision within the school. Learning hubs are not inspected separately unless they are established as a school in their own right.

3. Education Scotland has not received any complaints about Renfrew High School learning hub (Renfrewshire) in the last five years. In accordance with section 17(1) of FOISA (‘Notice that information is not held’), we are unable to supply the information requested as it is not held by Education Scotland.

4. Scottish Ministers’ powers relating to inspection of educational establishments and services are set out in Section 66 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. The Act does not set out the frequency of school inspection. At present schools are selected for inspection each year on a proportionate basis using a sampling methodology rather than a cyclical approach. Set criteria are used to select the schools including the context and characteristics of the school, the type of school, levels of deprivation, and balance across local authorities. We also place an increased emphasis on the length of time since the last inspection.

5. Should you wish to raise any complaints about Education Scotland the published complaints policy can be found here. If you are not satisfied with the response from Education Scotland you have the right to contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), who handle complaints about public services in Scotland, for advice. The SPSO will consider complaints which have been through the organisation’s formal complaints procedure.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500490115 - Information Released - Annex

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