Royal School, Armagh
Freedom of Information Publication Scheme
The Board of Governors is responsible for maintenance of this scheme.
1. Introduction
One of the aims of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (hereafter referred to as FOIA) is that public authorities, including schools, should be clear and proactive about the information they will make public. The Act gives a general right of access to all types of ‘recorded’ information held by public authorities, including schools and establishes the Information Commission with responsibility for ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Act. Any person who makes a request to a Public Authority for information must be informed where that information is held and, subject to certain exemptions, must be supplied with the information.
To do this we must compose and maintain a publication scheme which sets out:
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The classes of information which we publish or intend to publish;
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The manner in which the information will be published; and
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Whether the information is available free of charge or on payment.
The scheme covers information already published and information which is to be published in the future. All information in our publication scheme is available in paper form.
Some information which we hold may not be made public, for example personal information.
2. Aim and Objectives
The aim of the School is to provide a curriculum and learning environment for pupils at the school which will:-
(i) introduce them to a width of experience and a range and depth of knowledge which is compatible with their abilities, interests, aspirations and needs.
(ii) make them aware of the kind of society in which they live and are going to live.
(iii) help the development of essential skills and the understanding of relevant concepts with the purpose that they should be encouraged to realise their full potential at each stage of their development and in all of the activities in which they are involved. Essential skills will include the use of Information Technology – the development of which will be part of both the teaching and learning process.
(iv) encourage them to take a full and active part in all activities of the school outside the formal course of academic study.
(v) assist the formation of those positive attitudes which pupils will need to contribute to society as it is now and as it may develop.
(vi) have concern for their personal welfare, treat them as individuals and encourage the development of personal qualities such as reliability and self-discipline. In relation to welfare the school will have concern with the health, physical, intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social and behavioural development of the pupils. The School will also be actively involved in protecting the child against harm or neglect. For Boarding Students the aim will be to provide pupils with a quality of life both in the day school and in boarding which is under-pinned by the basic values of privacy, dignity, independence, choice, rights and responsibilities, fulfilment and involvement.
(vii) reinforce the role of parents and other agencies in developing sound, moral and social qualities in preparation for adulthood.
(viii) encourage them to view education as a life-long exercise so that they leave school equipped with the enthusiasm and skills to continue the process.
This Publication Scheme is a means of showing how we are pursuing these aims.
3. Categories of Information Published
The publication scheme guides you to information which we currently publish (or have recently published) or which we will publish in the future. This is split into categories of information known as ‘classes’.
The classes of information that we undertake to make available are organised into four broad topic areas:
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School Prospectus – information published in the school prospectus.
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Governors’ Documents – information published in the Governors’ Annual Report.
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Pupils & curriculum – information about policies that relate to pupils and the school curriculum.
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School Policies and other information related to the school – information about policies that relate to the school in general.
4. How to request information
If you require a paper version of any of the documents within the scheme, please contact the school by telephone, email, fax or letter. Contact details are set out below:
Email: info@royalschool.com
Telephone: 028 3752 2807
Fax: 028 3752 5014 (Curriculum)
Contact Address: The Royal School, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DH
To help us process your request quickly, please clearly mark any correspondence
“PUBLICATION SCHEME REQUEST”
If the information you’re looking for isn’t available via the scheme you can still contact the school to ask if we have it.
5. Paying for Information
Information published on our website is free, although you may incur costs from your Internet Service Provider. If you don’t have Internet access, you can access our website using a local library or an Internet Cafe.
Single copies of information covered by this publication are normally provided free of charge. If your request means that we have to do a lot of photocopying or printing, or pay a large postage charge, or is for a priced item such as some printed publications or videos we will let you know the cost before fulfilling your request.
6. Classes of Information Currently Published
1. School Prospectus – this section sets out information published in the school prospectus.
Class |
Description |
School Prospectus |
The statutory contents of the school prospectus are as follows:· The name, address and telephone number of the school, and type of school· The names of the Head Teacher and Chair of the Governors· Information on the school policy on admissions· A statement of the school’s ethos and values· Information about the school’s policy on providing for pupils with special educational needs· National Curriculum Assessment results for appropriate Key Stages, with national summary figures· GCSE/GNVQ results in the school, in Northern Ireland and nationally· A summary of GCE A/AS level results in the school, in Northern Ireland and nationally· the arrangements for visits to the school by prospective parents· The number of places for pupils of normal age of entry in the preceding school year and the number of written applications/preferences expressed for those places. |
2. Governors’ Annual Report – this section sets out information published in the Governors’ Annual Report.
Class |
Description |
Governors’ Annual Report |
The statutory contents of the Governors’ Annual Report to parents are as follows:· details of the Board of Governors and their category of membership, clearly identifying the Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary.· a financial statement· a description of the school’s arrangements for security of pupils, staff and the premises· information about the implementation of the Board of Governors’ policy on pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and any changes to the policy during the last year· Arrangements made and facilities provided for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities to ensure they are no less favourable treated that other pupils. Article 8 of the 1996 Order refers· Description of the steps taken to implement special needs policies, in accordance with Article 9 of the Order.· a description of the arrangements for the admission of pupils with disabilities’ details of steps to prevent disabled pupils being treated less favourable than other pupils; details of existing facilities to assist access to the school by pupils with disabilities; the accessibility plan covering future policies for increasing access by those with disabilities to the school· National Curriculum Assessment results for appropriate Key Stages, with national summary figures· GCSE/GNVQ results in the school, in Northern Ireland and nationally· GCE A/AS and vocational qualification results in the school, in Northern Ireland and nationally |
Instrument of Governance |
· The name of the school· The category of the school· The name of the governing body· The manner in which the governing body is constituted· The term of office of each category of Governor if less than 4 years· The name of any body entitled to appoint any category of Governor· Details of any trust· If the school has a religious character, a description of the ethos |
3. Pupils & Curriculum Policies – This section gives access to information about policies that relate to pupils and the school curriculum.
Class |
Description |
Information for Parents |
Statement of the school’s aims and values, the school’s responsibilities, the parental responsibilities and the school’s expectations of its pupils for example homework arrangements |
Curriculum Policy |
Statement on following the policy for the secular curriculum subjects and religious education and schemes of work and syllabuses currently used by the school |
Sex Education Policy |
Statement of policy with regard to sex and relationship education |
Special Education Needs Policy |
Information about the school’s policy on providing for pupils with special educational needs |
Accessibility Plans |
Plan for increasing participation of disabled pupils in the school’s curriculum, improving the accessibility of the physical environment and improving delivery of information to disabled pupils. |
Race Equality Policy |
Statement of policy for promoting equality as per Section 75 of the 1998 N.I. Act |
Careers Education Policy |
Statement of the programmes of careers education provided for Key 4. |
Child Protection Policy |
Statement of policy for safeguarding and promoting welfare of pupils at the school. (From March 2004) |
Pupil Discipline |
Statement of general principles on behaviour and discipline and of measures taken by the Head Teacher to prevent bullying. |
4. School Policies and other information related to the school – This section gives access to information about policies that relate to the school in general.
Class |
Description |
Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) published reports referring expressively to the school |
Published report of the last inspection of the school and the summary of the report. |
Post-ETI inspection action plan |
A plan setting out the actions required following the last ETI inspection. |
Charging and Remissions Policies |
A statement of the school’s policy with respect to charges and remissions for any optional extra or board and lodging for which charges are permitted, for example school publications, music tuition, trips |
School session times and term dates |
Details of school session and dates of school terms and holidays |
Health and Safety Policy and risk assessment |
Statement of general policy with respect to health and safety at work of employees (and others) and the organisation and arrangements for carrying out the policy |
Complaints procedure |
Statement of procedures for dealing with complaints |
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Feedback and Complaints