ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY SCHOOL

Introduction: What a publication scheme is and why it has been developed

One of the aims of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (which is referred to as FOIA in the rest of this document) is that public authorities, including all maintained schools, should be clear and proactive about the information they will make public.

To do this we must produce a publication scheme, setting out:

• The classes of information which we publish or intend to publish;
• The manner in which the information will be published; and
• 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 for you on our website and in paper form. Some information which we hold may not be made public, for example, personal information.

This publication scheme conforms to the model scheme for schools approved by the Information Commissioner.

Aims and Objectives

The schools aim:

• To celebrate our Catholic faith and to encourage children to be confident in their relationship with God.
• To provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all children, allowing them to develop their full potential academically, physically and socially.
• To work in partnership with our Parish Communities and our families to prepare children for their future life.
• To create a caring and secure environment in which teaching and learning can flourish for all children and staff.

This publication scheme is a means of showing how we are pursuing these aims.

How to request information

If you require a paper version of any of the documents within the scheme, please contact the relevant school by telephone, email, fax or letter. Contact details are set out below, or you can visit the schools’ websites.

To help us process your request quickly, please clearly mark any correspondence “PUBLICATION SCHEME REQUEST”. Requests will be dealt with within 20 working days excluding school holidays.

If the information you’re looking for isn’t available via the scheme and isn’t on a website, you can still contact the relevant school to ask if it is available.

Paying for information

Information published on any website is free, although you may incur costs from your Internet service provider. If you don’t have Internet access, you can access our websites using a local library or an Internet café. Single copies of information covered by this publication are provided free unless stated otherwise in advance. 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.

Classes of Information Currently Published

Feedback and Complaints

We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have about the scheme. If you want to make any comments about this publication scheme or if you require further assistance or wish to make a complaint then initially this should be addressed to the address of the school concerned.

If you are not satisfied with the assistance that you get or if we have not been able to resolve your complaint and you feel that a formal complaint needs to be made then this should be addressed to the Information Commissioner’s Office. This is the organisation that ensures compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and that deals with formal complaints. They can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

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