Behavioural records within schools (FOI)

​​​Original Request

Please publish the following information from this list of schools: 

​A

On how many occasions in each of the last five years did the following words appear in the behaviour records freetext of the School Information Management System ‘SIMS’ for each school: 

• Use of Mobile Phone
  
• Inappropriate Use of Device
• Telephone Use (Inappropriate).
  

B

Please advise where 'mobile', 'phone', or 'texting' was used in the following disciplinary categories: 

• Confiscation
  
• Disruptive Behaviour
• Not following school expectations.
  

Original Response

The information has been responded to in a published FOI response, therefore Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. 

Please follow the link below to the published Freedom of Information request and Internal Review response:

Mobile phone confiscations within schools (FOI)​

Private schools are not included in this response as they are not the responsibility of the Scheduled Public Authority.

Article applied

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.

Internal Review Request

I would like to appeal this decision. The information I asked for has not been answered in the previous FOI, the new FOI was based on the previous one and asked for specific data that I now know exists because of the previous FOI. 

Internal Review Response

This review has been completed by two senior staff members of the Government of Jersey, independent of the original decision-making process.

The original response has been reviewed and assessed to identify whether exemptions had been applied correctly and whether it was appropriate to withhold information.

The panel was asked to consider whether:

• the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been properly applied and whether the information requested genuinely falls within the exemption(s) cited
• there were any other options available in order to respond to the request
• it is possible to provide any further information; and

They will also provide an outcome of the internal review by stating whether:

• the original decision is upheld; or
• the original decision is reversed in part or in full; or
  
• the original decision is modified.

Has the exemption been properly applied?

The request for an internal review of this Freedom of Information (FOI) request has been considered.  It has been determined that Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 was incorrectly applied to the response.

Whilst free text comments on behaviour incidents are available to be interrogated, they are not felt to be a reliable source of information due to variations in recording.  Therefore the number of times the categories of “Use of Mobile Phone”, “Inappropriate Use of Device” and “Telephone Use (Inappropriate)” have been used.  A full review of all free text responses would exceed the time permitted under the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 and therefore Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

It will also be important to bear in mind the caveats provided below to avoid reaching inappropriate conclusions.

Revised Freedom of Information response

The data provided has been extracted from the reporting version of the Education Department’s central repository of the data that Government of Jersey schools and Government of Jersey fee paying schools enter into SIMS (their management information system).  The data was extracted on 5 September 2024 and covers the period between the 1 January 2021, which is the earliest date for which detailed behaviour data is held, and the date on which the extract was run.  This data is not collected from non-Government of Jersey schools.

The counts provided are of behaviour incidents that match the search criteria.  If the matched incident was recorded against more than one pupil, then the incident is counted for each pupil.

The attached Tables A and B provide details of the use of behaviour categories across schools.  However, these do not use the wording suggested in the applicant’s question, which referred to free text.

Table A.pdf

Table B.pdf​

B

Due to the differences in behaviour management, there is significant variation in the nature and number of behaviour incidents recorded across schools.  Schools have their own behaviour management policies, and therefore have the facility to create behaviour classifications in SIMS that suit their needs.  Whilst this approach supports schools, it does not lend itself to reporting meaningfully.  Variations in recorded numbers do not accurately reflect differences in behaviour between schools.  A zero return does not necessarily indicate that there were no incidents recorded, it indicates that the requested search did not produce results due to variations in recording.

It should also be noted that within the time period requested, there have been changes in recording within individual schools, and as such the provided data is not felt to be robust.

The Department has determined that to disclose small numbers would likely breach the privacy of individuals and therefore disclosure control has been applied where numbers are fewer than five and Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) 2011 Law has been applied.

Articles applied

​Article 16 - A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations.

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.​​