Freedom of Information

(Provided by Seamab Care and Education Services)

Section 1: Introduction

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the 'Act') provides a statutory right of access to information held by Scottish public authorities. It also requires Scottish public authorities to proactively publish information and to produce and maintain a Guide to Information as part of adopting a publication scheme. Under the Act, authorities are legally obliged to:

Publish the classes of information that they make routinely available (classes of information are outlined in the Model Publication Scheme, explained below)
Tell the public how to access the information and what it may cost, if anything.

The purpose of this Guide is to:

Allow you to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class;
State what charges may be applied for receiving information;
Explain how you can find the information easily;
Provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information;
Explain how to request information we hold that has not been published.

1.1 Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004

Alongside the Act, Seamab is also automatically subject to the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) for the purposes of its independent special school provision. EIRs provides a right of access to environmental information in a similar way to Freedom of Information. This Guide includes details of the environmental information that we routinely make available. You do not need to specify which Act you are asking for information under if you wish to make an information request; simply ask us for what you are looking for.

1.2 Information not available through this publication scheme

Seamab is only subject to the Act in relation to its independent special school provision; it is not subject to the Act in relation to its residential care provision, even where that residential care is part of the Education Campus, or to facilitate education. Whilst some of the information published through this guide will overlap with care provision because of the integrated nature of our services, this guide will not set out to publish information specifically about residential care (with the exception of Care Inspectorate reports which are already public domain) or any of the other Seamab functions and activities.

Seamab's residential care in relation to its independent special school provision is subject to separate regulation by The Care Inspectorate.

Section 2: How to access the information under the Guide

The information we publish through our publication scheme is generally available online on our website and is linked to from this Guide to Information document. Information contained on external websites will be made clear. If the information is listed in this Guide, but is not available on our website, we can send it to you by email where possible. We can also provide this information in alternative formats, including the provision of paper copies through the post (although there may be a charge for this).

Section 3: Our charging schedule for information in this Guide

There is no charge for viewing the information listed in this Guide on our website, or for receiving any of the information listed in this guide via email.

We may charge you for providing you with physical copies of the information in this Guide, or for providing you with a CD containing the information. We will only charge you what it actually costs us to produce.

We will always provide you with a total cost before providing the information to you. We will not supply you with the information before payment is received.

Charges are as follows:

A4 paper: 10p per black and white sheet, 20p per colour sheet
A3 paper: 20p per black and white sheet, 40p per colour sheet
CD: 50p

Our postage charge is the current cost of sending the information to you.

We do not currently hold any information under Class 8: Our Commercial Publications. Where we do so in the future, this information will be available at its standard unit cost only (e.g. if we sell a book commercially for £15, it will be available to you for a cost of £15).

Section 4: How to access information that is not published in this Guide (making an information request)

This Guide should provide the most commonly sought after information about our education provision. However, if the information that you are looking for is not included in this Guide, you can contact us to make a request to obtain the information. Disclosure of the information may be subject to exemptions.

4.1 How to make a request

You can make a request for information in any format that is recorded. This could be either a written letter; an email; a telephone voicemail or any other format that we can keep a record of. The request must include your name and contact details so that we can issue you with a response.

Where possible, we prefer to receive requests either by letter or email. Please direct your requests to:

The Chief Executive

Seamab

Rumbling Bridge

Kinross-shire, KY13 0PT

Tel: 01577 840307

E-mail: info@seamab.org.uk

4.2 How to word a request

You do not need to word your request in any particular way so long as it is clear who you are, how to contact you and what specific information you are seeking. It is helpful for us if you include the following information:

Your name
Date
Contact details to receive a response
What specific information you require

You can ask us for any information relating to our specified function – it is up to us to decide if it falls under Freedom of Information or EIRs, or whether the information you seek is subject to disclosure.

4.3 Receiving a response

Seamab has to issue you with a response to your enquiry within 20 working days, although we aim to answer all enquiries as soon as possible. Occasionally where an enquiry is complex, we may extend this period to 40 working days. You would be notified of any such decision and receive our reasoning for it.

4.4 Charging for information not available in this Guide

Our charging schedule for providing physical copies of the information listed in this guide can be found in Section 3: Our charging schedule for information in this Guide.

For requests for information not included in this guide, any charges will be calculated as follows:

No charge will be made for requests for information that cost us £100 or less to process
A charge of 10% may be made to you for any request that costs us between £100 and £600 to process. The 10% charge will only be made on the portion of the cost that is above £100 (e.g. a request that costs us £400 to process would be subject to a £30 charge – 10% of £300 – where the first £100 of the £400 is waived).
We do not have to respond to a request that would cost us more than £600 to process

Costs are based on staff time and we will send you a notice of any charges, including calculations, before we issue the information. You do not have to pay the charge, and in such cases we will not release the information to you.

4.5 Charging for environmental information not available in this Guide

The rules for charging for provision of environmental information are slightly different, and we may charge you for the release of any information, with no minimum threshold, so long as the charge is not excessive.

For all environmental information provided to you physically, our charges are the same as those in our charging schedule (section 3 in this guide). Processing of requests will be charged as follows:

No charge will be made for requests for environmental information that cost us £100 or less to process
A charge of 10% may be made to you for any request that costs us between £100 and £600 to process. The 10% charge will only be made on the portion of the cost that is above £100 (e.g. a request that costs us £400 to process would be subject to a £30 charge – 10% of £300 – where the first £100 of the £400 is waived).
We will charge you the full amount (with no initial £100 waiver) where a request for environmental information would cost us more than £600 to process (e.g. a request that would cost us £600 to process would result in a charge of £600 to you)

4.6 What to do if you are unhappy about our response

If you are unhappy with the response that you receive then you are entitled to ask Seamab to review the decision taken or the information released. You must notify us in a recorded format, again stating who you are and confirming your contact details. This review will usually be undertaken by a different person from the person who handled the original request. Reviews must be responded to within 20 working days. A reply must be issued either upholding the initial decision, or releasing further information.

4.7 What to do if you are unhappy with our review response

If you are not happy with the decision of a review, or if we fail to respond to your request for a review within 20 working days, you can then make a formal appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner. The Commissioner will then review the decision and either uphold it or enact her right to enforce Seamab to release the information. You can only make an appeal to the Commissioner after asking us to review a decision.

You can contact the Scottish Information Commissioner in the following ways:

Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St Andrews

Fife KY16 9DS

Telephone: 01334 464610

Fax: 01334 464611

E-mail: enquiries@foi.scot

Section 5: Information that we may withhold

We may withhold information where its release is exempt from the requirements of the Act. Typically personal/sensitive personal information will be exempt from release whereby its release would be in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 (in line with FOISA part 2 exemption 38 personal information). Any requests for your own personal information must be made as a data protection subject access request.

We may also withhold information where its release would prejudice the commercial interests of Seamab or a third party (in line with FOISA part 2 exemption 33 commercial interests and the economy).

In such cases where information is subject to the above exemptions, and further exemptions under part 2 of FOISA, Seamab may release the information with redactions, depending on the totality of the exemption of the information content.

Requests for environmental information will be exempt from release under FOISA but may be released to you under EIRs. This is a technical formality that we must apply.

Seamab may withhold information that would require an excessive cost to put together.

Full details of exemptions can be found on the Information Commissioner's website: www.foi.scot

Section 6: Copyright

Where Seamab holds the copyright in its published information, the information may be copied or reproduced without formal permission, provided that:

It is copied or reproduced accurately
It is not used for commercial purposes
It is not used in a misleading context, and
The source of the material is identified.

Where Seamab does not hold the copyright in information we publish, we will make this clear.

Section 7: Contact details for assistance, enquiries, feedback and complaints

For assistance, enquiries, feedback or complaints about anything to do with Freedom of Information and Seamab's obligations under the Act, please contact Seamab at the details provided above.

Section 8: Classes of information

Seamab is of limited subject to the Act, with its independent special school provision only being subject to it. This function currently resides within Seamab's Care & Education Services. The majority of information included in this section will relate specifically to Seamab's independent education provision, however because education sits within the wider Care & Education Services, some of the information will overlap with care provision information.

Seamab is not obliged to make this information about care services available under the Act, however in the interests of disclosing the maximum amount of information about its education provision, some information relating to care is provided here where it accompanies education information in its current format. In a similar manner, some corporate-level information is included here where generally applicable and no local service-level deviation occurs (e.g. strategic plan or corporate policy).

Once published through the Guide to Information, the information will be available for the current and previous two financial years. Where information has been updated or superseded, only the current version will be available (previous versions may be requested under section 1(1) of the Act).

Please note that Seamab takes no responsibility for the content of external websites.

Class 1: About Seamab School

Information about Seamab's independent special school provision, who we are, where to find us, how to contact us, how we are managed and our external relations.

General information about Seamab's Care & Education Services

Contact details — name, address and contact details (including contact during holidays). Available at www.seamab.org.uk
School structure, names, roles and responsibilities of senior staff and board members — details of the organisational structure of Seamab Care & Education Services. Available at Who we are │ Seamab
Term times — details of term times for our Education Service. Available at www.seamab.org.uk
Contact details for complaints — complaints form, including contact details, for complaints about any of our services, including Care & Education Services. Contact us at info@seamab.org.uk
Publication scheme and Guide to Information — details of our Publication Scheme and Guide to Information in fulfilment of Freedom of Information obligations. Provided in this document, the most up-to-date version of which can be found on our website.
Charging schedule for published information — a list of the charges we may make for providing physical copies of information requested under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act. Provided in this Guide, the most up-to-date version of which is on our website.
Requesting information — contact details and advice about requesting information about our Education provision. Provided in this Guide, the most up-to-date version of which is on our website.
Charging schedule for environmental information — charging schedule for environmental information provided in response to requests under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004. Provided in this Guide, the most up-to-date version of which is on our website.
Charging schedule for unpublished information — what we charge for providing information not published under this Guide. Provided in this Guide, the most up-to-date version of which is on our website.

Constitution

Corporate-level registered charity status — details of Scottish charity registration status (registered number SC011002). Available at www.oscr.org.uk
History of Seamab — timeline details of the history of Seamab, the body that provides education services, including the names of previous iterations of the body. Available at www.seamab.org.uk

How the service is run

Seamab Governance structure — description of the governance structure of Seamab. Available at Who we are │ Seamab
Education service decision making — details of the Head of Care and Head of Education. Available at Make a referral │ Seamab
Details of the people who make strategic and operational decisions about the Education Service — names, responsibilities and (work-related) biographical details of the people who make strategic and operational decisions about the performance and delivery of Education services. Available at Who we are │ Seamab School — names and contact details of the Chief Executive and Head of Care.
Codes of conduct — Care and Education staff are qualified and registered with SSSC and GTCS, and as such abide by their respective codes of conduct. SSSC Codes of practice: www.sssc.uk.com. GTCS Code of Professionalism and Conduct: www.gtcs.org.uk

Planning and information

Corporate mission statement — the corporate mission statement of Seamab. Available at seamab.org.uk/about-us/about-seamab-2
Care and Education vision, values and aims — a statement of the vision, value and aims of our Care & Education Services. Available at seamab.org.uk/about-us/about-seamab-2
Corporate strategic plan — strategic plan (2014–2016) for Seamab. Available at www.seamab.org.uk
Corporate policies — corporate policies that are applicable to all Seamab care and education services and staff and relevant to education provision. Available on request at www.seamab.org.uk
Seamab Annual Report — our corporate-level Annual Report. Current year and previous years are available on request. Available at www.seamab.org.uk
School planning processes — available at www.seamab.org.uk

External relations

Our partners — Care & Education Services' partners vary from year-to-year. Information on this is available in the annual report at www.seamab.org.uk

Class 2: How we deliver our independent special school functions and services

Information about our work, our strategy and policies for delivering functions and services and information for our service users.

Function

Strategies, school policies and internal staff procedures for delivering the school's functions, including allocation, quality and standards. Available at www.seamab.org.uk
Reporting concerns — information about how to report a concern to Seamab, for staff and service users or members of the public. Available at www.seamab.org.uk
Seamab Child Protection Policy — Seamab's Child Protection Policy for employees working with children provides staff with information about protecting children and reporting concerns. Available on request.
Reports on the exercising of our functions — the Annual Report outlines the exercising of our functions. Available at www.seamab.org.uk
Seamab News — Seamab-wide news publication, which may feature articles relevant to education services periodically. Available at seamab.org.uk/news/newsletters

Services

List of services — a list of services provided by Seamab. Available in the Our work sections at www.seamab.org.uk
How to access our services — information for potential service users about how to access our services. Available at www.seamab.org.uk/make-a-referral
How we charge for our services and functions (generally) — available at www.seamab.org.uk

Class 3: How Seamab takes decisions and what we have decided in relation to our independent special school provision

Information about the decisions we take, how we make decisions and how we involve others.

Decision making

Board meetings — decisions taken in relation to our education service. Contact us at info@seamab.org.uk or 01577 840307.
Public consultations and the outcomes of engagement with stakeholders — contact us at info@seamab.org.uk
Inspections, audits and investigations — reports of any regulatory inspections, audits and investigations carried out by the school. Available at www.seamab.org.uk

Class 4: What we spend and how we spend it in relation to our independent special school provision

Information about our strategy for, and management of, financial resources.

Seamab's Annual Report and Accounts — Seamab's education service is accounted for as part of the activities of the care and education services. Available on request at www.seamab.org.uk
Financial handbook — financial policies and procedures for budget allocation. Contact us at info@seamab.org.uk

Class 5: How we manage our human, physical and information resources in relation to our independent special school provision

Information about how we manage the human, physical and information resources of the authority.

Human Resources

Human Resources policies and procedures — corporate policies and procedures relevant to all staff, including education staff are contained within the employee handbook. Available at www.seamab.org.uk
Our vacancies — details of our current vacancies, including but not limited to education. Available at seamab.org.uk/work-for-us

Physical resources

Our premises — details of Seamab, our current Education campus where we deliver our education services. Available at www.seamab.org.uk
Management of the school's land and property assets, including environmental / sustainability report — Property and land maintenance arrangements — available on request at info@seamab.org.uk

Information Resources

Records management policy, including records retention schedule — a policy that governs how we manage records and that outlines what records we keep and how long for. Available at seamab.org.uk/privacy-policy
Freedom of Information — details about our Guide to information and how to make a request for information to us are included in this document.
Data Protection Policy — Seamab data protection policy, applicable to all areas of the organisation. Available at www.seamab.org.uk

Class 6: How we procure goods and services from external providers

Information about how we procure goods and services, and our contracts with external providers.

Invitations to tender — available at www.seamab.org.uk
List of contracts which have gone through formal tendering — available at www.seamab.org.uk

Class 7: How we are performing in relation to our independent special school provision

Information about how we perform as an organisation, and how well we deliver our functions and services.

Education Scotland Reports — Seamab's education provision is audited by Education Scotland. The latest reports can be found on the Education Scotland website at education.gov.scot

Class 8: Commercial Publications

Information packaged and made available for sale on a commercial basis and sold at market value through a retail outlet e.g. bookshop, museum or research journal.

We do not sell any information that we publish.

Class 9: Our Open Data

Open data made available by our organisation as described by the Scottish Government's open data resource pack and available under an open licence.

Seamab is currently examining how it can best contribute to the Scottish Government's Open Data Strategy. At present we do not hold or publish any specific Open Data information.

Summary of changes to document

Date: 8/2/19
Version: 1.0
Actioned by:T Doran,
Description: Control sheet added and 'last updated' date added to guide to information. Class 8 and 9 added to policy.

Date: 9/2/20
Version: 1.0
Actioned by:T Doran,
Description: No changes.

Date: 29/9/2023
Version: 1.4
Actioned by: J MacKinnoin
Description: Update to contact names and website links

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‍Document title:Freedom of Information Policy
‍Publish date:September 2023
‍Ref. no.CO-PO-005
‍Version:1.4
‍Review by date:September 2026
‍Document owner:HR Manager