Jersey Schools Review Framework (FOI)

Request

According to a press release issued by the Government of Jersey's communications unit, the Jersey Schools Review Framework has been piloted across government schools since 2016. Please can you provide the full reports that followed the reviews of schools carried out during this pilot period.

Response

Although the Jersey Schools Review Framework has now been officially launched, the pilot phase reports were carried out during the development of the framework and are therefore exempt from release as these reports relate to the formulation of the framework and the attendant policy.

A response to a previous Freedom of Information request is available at the following link:

School Review Framework (FOI)

Further information can be found in the Jersey Information Commissioner’s decision notice here:

OIC decision notice

Article applied

Article 35 Formulation and development of policies

Information is qualified exempt information if it relates to the formulation or development of any proposed policy by a public authority.

Public interest test

The Department recognises the significant public interest in the disclosure of the school review reports in providing the public with a better understanding of the quality of education in Jersey. For this reason, the Department is intending to publish all reports of reviews undertaken following the launch in September 2019. The pilot phase enabled the Department to explore and develop the framework with the profession and was an opportunity to test and adapt the process over a period of time. During this time the criteria and review methods evolved which meant schools were not assessed using the same methods. Therefore, it would not be in the public interest to publish reports that are not comparable and would be considered unfair to schools that were reviewed at different periods during the pilot phase. On balance, it is the Department’s view that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the reviews completed during the pilot phase.