Freedom of Information Publication Scheme

Freedom of Information

A GUIDE TO THE PUBLICATION SCHEME
March 2009

A. Introduction
This guide has been produced as a requirement of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and replaces the Publication Scheme adopted by the College in 2003.
The new Model Publication scheme and definition document provided by the ICO for Colleges of Further Education has been formally adopted by Stanmore College in order to make information available to the public as part of its normal business activities.
The Model Publication Scheme provides a list of the information routinely published by colleges which the ICO expects them to make available unless:

They do not hold the information.
The information is exempt under one of the FOI exemptions or Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) exceptions, or its release is prohibited under another statute;
The information is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible; or, it would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare the material for routine release.

The scheme commits the College:

to proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information, including environmental information, which is held by the College and falls within the classifications below.
to specify the information which is held by the College and falls within the classifications below.
to proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information in line with the statements contained within this scheme.
to produce and publish the methods by which the specific information is made routinely available so that it can be easily identified and accessed by members of the public.
to review and update on a regular basis the information the authority makes available under this scheme.
to produce a schedule of any fees charged for access to information which is made proactively available.
to make this publication scheme available to the public.

Accessing information covered by the publication scheme
The classes of information the College publishes are described in Part B of the scheme.

How to obtain information

Via the College website - www.stanmore.ac.uk

By email to FOI@stanmore.ac.uk

In writing to -

Mrs Urmila Rasan
The Freedom of Information Officer
Stanmore College
Elm Park
Stanmore
Middlesex HA7 4BQ

Or via the internet at www.ico.gov.uk

Charging for information in the scheme

Free on Website (FoW)	There is no charge made by us for downloading the information from the website, although the user will have to meet any charges made by the Internet Service Provider (“the ISP”) and/or telephone company as well as any personal costs for printing, etc.
Free of charge Paper Copy (FoCPC)	Indicates that information will be provided in a hard copy format from the Corporation free of charge.
Chargeable Paper Copy (CPC)	Indicates information that is available from the Corporation on payment of a charge.

The College may make a reasonable charge for information which is not available on its website. Where a charge is to be made, this will be identified in the scheme below. When requesting information please include the following details:

Your name and address
The information or document you would like to access
The way you would like the information to be sent to you (eg. hard copy or via email)

How long will it take?
We aim to provide information within 21 working days.

Complaints procedure

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request a review by completing a complaint form or sending an email to co-ordinator@stanmore.ac.uk. However, if you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
Website: www.ico.gov.uk

Information available from Stanmore College under the publication scheme

B. Classes of information

This publication scheme lists information which is routinely published by the College – these have been determined by the ICO:

Who we are and what we do

What we spend and how we spend it

What our priorities are and how we are doing

How we make decisions

Our policies and procedures

Lists and registers

The services we offer

Information to be published		How the information can be obtained	Fee
Class 1 Who we are and what we do
Legal Framework	Established as a Further Education Corporation under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 Instruments and Articles of Government	FoW
How the institution is organised	Organisation chart Key staff job descriptions Membership and structure of Corporation (see org chart above) Committee structure (Audit, Chairs, Quality & Planning, Resources, Search) Committee Terms of Reference Code of Conduct Standing Orders Declaration of Interests Strategic plan Self assessment report	FoW FoCPC FoW FoW FoCPC Fow FoCPC FoW FoCPC FoCPC
Lists of and information relating to organisations it works in partnership with and any companies wholly owned by it	The Corporation was last inspected by Ofsted in September 2006. Copies of the report are available on the Ofsted website at www.ofsted.co.uk Reports/returns to funding councils, inspectorates, standards bodies, research councils, professional bodies, government departments etc Minutes of annual Stanmore Training Company meetings (dormant)	FoW FoCPC FoCPC
Location and contact details	Site maps and addresses Bus routes and directions (as above) If possible, named contacts will be given in addition to contact numbers and email address upon request	FoW FoW FoCPC
Student activities	Student Parliament information	FoW
Class 2 – What we spend and how we spend it
Funding/Income	Annual budget – available in the three year financial forecast Planning and budgeting procedures – included in the Financial Regulations and Financial Procedures Tuition Fees	CPC FoCPC FoW	£10.00 per paper copy
Budgetary and account information	Annual statement of accounts – financial year August to July. Document available for the previous year end Budgets for capital expenditure	CPC FoCPC	£10.00 per paper copy
Financial audit reports	Annual Report (statutory accounts)	FoCPC
Capital programme	Property Strategy Planned maintenance programme Tendering policy OJEU(see Financial Regulations above)	FoCPC/ CPC FoCPC FoW	£10.00 per paper copy
Financial regulations and procedures	Financial Irregularity policy	FoW
Staff pay and grading structures	Salary grades and pay spine	FoCPC
Register of suppliers	Contracting (included in Financial Regulations)	FoW
Procurement and tender procedures and reports	Details of procedures used for the acquisition of goods and services. Contracts currently available for public tender and reports of successful tenders.	FoCPC FoCPC
Contracts	Details of contracts of a sufficient size to have gone through a tendering process.	FoCPC
Class 3 – What our priorities are and how we are doing *(current and previous 3 years)*
Annual report	Strategic Plan	FoCPC
Corporate and business plans	Self assessment report	FoCPC
Teaching and learning strategy	Quality improvement plan (see self assessment report above) Curriculum policy	FoW FoW
Academic quality and standards	Programme specifications/prospectus New course proposal form Course amendment form Course evaluation survey Appraisal/observation/self assessment cycle Annual monitoring and review processes	FoW FoCPC FoCPC FoCPC FoCPC FoCPC FoCPC
External review information	Accreditation and monitoring reports by professional, statutory and regulatory bodies Ofsted/ALI report, last inspection in September 2006. Report can be viewed via www.ofsted.gov.uk Report following latest AAV annual visit in November 2008 which can be viewed via www.ofsted.gov.uk Statement of roles, responsibilities and authority of different bodies within the institution involved in programme approval and review	FoCPC FoW FoW FoCPC
Corporate relations	Links with employers and the development of learning programmes	FoCPC
Government and regulatory reports	Accreditation and monitoring reports by professional, statutory or regulatory bodies Information we are legally obliged to make available to our funding and/or monitoring bodies eg. PAYE, Ofsted report	FoCPC FoCPC
Class 4 – How we make decisions (current and previous 3 years)
Minutes of governing body, council, academic boards and steering groups	Board of Governors minutes	FoW
Teaching and learning committee minutes	Quality and Planning Committee minutes	FoW
Minutes of staff/student consultation meetings	Student Parliament minutes	FoCPC
Appointment committees and procedures	Search Committee minutes Search Committee terms of reference	FoW FoW
Class 5 – Our policies and procedures
Policies and procedures for conducting college business	Code of Conduct Gifts and hospitality Instruments and Articles of Government Standing orders Terms of reference and membership of Board Committees Procedures for handling requests	FoW FoW FoW FoW FoW FoW
Procedures and policies relating to academic services	Assessment Careers Education & Guidance Curriculum Examinations IV and moderation Work experience Plagiarism	FoW FoW FoW FoW FoW FoW FoW
Procedures and policies relating to student services	Admissions College rules & disciplinary Complaints Data protection Disclosure storage of information Network acceptable usage Register procedures	FoW FoW FoW FoW FoW FoW FoCPC
Procedures and policies relating to human resources	Capability Disciplinary External employment activities Flexible working Grievance procedure Harassment and bullying Health and safety Leave of absence Management guidelines Probation Professional development review Redundancy Staff travel Whistleblowing	FoW FoW FoCPC FoW FoW FoW FoW FoW FoCPC FoW FoCPC FoW FoW FoW
Policies and procedures relating to recruitment	List of current vacancies Recruitment	FoW FoW
Code of conduct for members of governing bodies	Code of conduct	FoW
Equality and Diversity	Disability Equality Scheme Disability statement Gender Equality Scheme Learning support Mental health	FoW FoW FoW FoW FoW
Health and Safety	Health and safety	FoW
Estate management	Disaster recovery plan Property Strategy	FoCPC FoCPC
Complaints policies and procedures	Complaints	FoW
Records management and personal data policies	Data protection Disclosure storage of information	FoW FoW
Charging regimes and policies	Tuition Fee policy	FoW
Class 6 – Lists and Registers (lists currently maintained only)
Any information the college is currently legally required to hold in publicly available registers (THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE ATTENDANCE REGISTER)	Reports/returns to funding councils, inspectorates, standards bodies, research councils, professional bodies, government departments etc Register of Members’ Interest Gifts and Hospitality	FoCPC FoW FoW
Asset register	Summary of Capital asset register	FoCPC
Disclosure logs	Freedom of Information/Data Protection requests log	FoCPC
Class 7 – The services we offer
College publications and services	Sixth Form Prospectus Adult Guide Welfare/advice services Health Services Careers services Counselling services Learning Centre facilities Sports and recreational facilities Press releases Website	FoW/FoCPC FoW/FoCPC FoCPC FoCPC FoCPC FoCPC FoCPC FoCPC FoW FoW