Information Publication

Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School
Publication Scheme on information available under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

The governing body is responsible for maintenance of this scheme.

  1. 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 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.

  2. Aims and Objectives
    The Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School is a community of faith with Jesus Christ at its centre and where prayer is part of our daily lives. In our school, we aim to bring out the best in everyone and we are committed to the pursuit of excellence. Gospel values such as honesty, patience, kindness and forgiveness are at the heart of our relationships. We show concern and respect for individuals, valuing each member of our school community as a unique person created in God’s image and loved by Him. While encouraging pupils to become young Christian adults who have a love and appreciation of their own faith, we also help them to have an understanding and respect for other traditions and faiths. Our aim at all times is to recognise Jesus Christ as ‘the Truth’. It is only by believing in Him, and by making Him the centre of our lives, that we can ever be completely happy and completely free.
    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’. These are contained in section 6 of this scheme.
    The classes of information that we undertake to make available are organised into four broad topic areas:
    School Prospectus – information published in the school prospectus.
    Governors’ Documents – information published in the Governors’ Annual Report and in other governing body documents.
    Pupils & Curriculum – information about policies that relate to pupils and the school curriculum.
    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. You can visit our website at www.sacredheartofmary.net
    Email:[email protected]
    Tel: 01708 222660
    Fax: 01708 226686
    Contact Address: Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School, 70 St Mary’s Lane, Upminster, Essex  RM14 2QR.
    To help us process your request quickly, please clearly mark any correspondence “PUBLICATION SCHEME REQUEST” (in CAPITALS please) If the information you are looking for is not 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 do not have Internet access, you can access our website using a local library or an Internet café.
    Single copies of information covered by this publication are provided free unless stated otherwise in section 6. 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. Where there is a charge this will be indicated by a £ sign in the class box.
  6. Classes of Information Currently Published
    School Prospectus – this section sets out information published in the school prospectus.
  7. School – Prospectus: Description The statutory contents of the school prospectus are as follows, (other items may be included in the prospectus at the school’s discretion):
    • the name, address and telephone number of the school, and the type of school – the names of the head teacher and chair of governors
    • information on the school policy on admissions
    • a statement of the school’s ethos and values
    • details of any affiliations with a particular religion or religious denomination, the religious education provided, parents’ right to withdraw their child from religious education and collective worship and the alternative provision for those pupils
    • information about the school’s policy on providing for pupils with special educational needs
    • number of pupils on roll and rates of pupils’ authorised and unauthorised absences
    • National Curriculum assessment results for appropriate Key Stages, with national summary figures
    • GCSE/GNVQ results in the school, locally and nationally
    • a summary of GCE A/AS level results in the school and nationally
    • the number of pupils studying for and percentage achieving other vocational qualifications
    • the destinations of school leavers
    • 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

    Governors’ Annual Report and other information relating to the governing body– this section sets out information published in the Governors’ Annual Report and in other governing body documents.

    Governors’ Annual Report: The statutory contents of the governors’ annual report to parents are as follows, (other items may be included in the annual report at the school’s discretion):

    • details of the governing body membership, including name and address of chair and clerk
    • a statement on progress in implementing the action plan drawn up following an inspection
    • a financial statement, including gifts made to the school and amounts paid to governors for expenses
    • a description of the school’s arrangements for security of pupils staff and the premises
    • information about the implementation of the governing body’s policy on pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and any changes to the policy during the last year
    • a description of the arrangements for the admission of pupils with disabilities; details of steps to prevent disabled pupils being treated less favourably 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
    • a statement of policy on whole staff development identifying how teachers’ professional development impacts on teaching and learning
    • number of pupils on roll and rates of pupils’ authorised and unauthorised absence
    • National Curriculum assessment results for appropriate Key Stages, with national summary figures
    • GCSE/GNVQ results in the school, locally and nationally
    • GCE A/AS and vocational qualification results in the school and nationally
    • the number of pupils studying for and percentage achieving other vocational qualifications
    • the destinations of school leavers
    • a statement of the extent to which proposals in the post- inspection action plan have been carried into effect

    Instrument of Government

    • 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
    • The date the instrument takes effect

    Minutes of meeting of the governing body and its committees £ Agreed minutes of meetings of the governing body and its committees [current and last full academic school year]
    Pupils & Curriculum Policies – This section gives access to information about policies that relate to pupils and the school curriculum.

    Home school agreement: 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 race equality.

    Collective Worship – Statement of arrangements for the required daily act of collective worship

    Careers Education Policy Statement of the programmes of careers education provided for Key Stage 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.
    School Policies and other information related to the school – This section gives access to information about policies that relate to the school in general.
    Published reports of Ofsted referring expressly to the school £ Published report of the last inspection of the school and the summary of the report and where appropriate inspection reports of religious education in those schools designated as having a religious character
    Post-Ofsted inspection action plan A plan setting out the actions required following the last Ofsted inspection and where appropriate an action plan following inspection of religious education where the school is designated as having a religious character.
    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
    Performance Management of Staff Statement of procedures adopted by the governing body relating to the performance management of staff and the annual report of the head teacher on the effectiveness of appraisal procedures
    Staff Conduct, Discipline and Grievance Statement of procedure for regulating conduct and discipline of school staff and procedures by which staff may seek redress for grievance
    Curriculum circulars and statutory instruments Any statutory instruments, departmental circulars and administrative memoranda sent by the Department of Education and Skills to the head teacher or governing body relating to the curriculum
    Annex A – Other documents Annex A provides a list of other documents that are held by the school and are available on request

  8. 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 Mr S Beck, Clerk to the Governors, at the School.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 5A
    For Enquiry/Information Line: 01625 545 700
    Email: [email protected]
    Website : www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

SACRED HEART OF MARY GIRLS’ SCHOOL

Freedom of Information Publication Scheme

Annex A – Further documents held by the school

Name of Document Description

ICT Internet Permission Form

Parental and pupil consent form and related information document regarding the School’s regulations and guidelines concerning internet and e-mail provision.

Internal Examinations Appeals Procedure

Details of the appeals procedure relating to internal assessment decisions.

Anti-Bullying Policy

Details of the School’s procedures when bullying occurs and how the School promotes an anti-bullying culture.

Citizenship Policy

Statement of the School’s aims and objectives in delivering the citizenship curriculum.

Some information might be confidential or otherwise exempt from the publication by law – we cannot therefore publish this