The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act/FOISA) requires Scottish Public Authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme. Authorities are under a legal obligation to:

• Publish the classes of information that they make routinely available

• Tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost

Starley Hall School has adopted the Model Publication Scheme produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner.

Starley Hall School is a Scottish public authority under FOISA. The FOISA legislation applies to information we hold and publish about the school and its educational activities, and not our residences or the wider organisation.

Some information we publish may relate to the organisation as a whole, for example some policies, and we welcome the opportunity to provide people with as much information as we can to promote transparency and support citizen’s rights to access information about public bodies. However, under the legislation, we are only obliged to provide you with information that relates to the school’s educational activities.

Starley Hall School makes a lot of information available to the public. Our Guide to Information (available below) explains what information we make available and how you can access it:

Starley Hall School - Guide to information

If you do not find what you are looking for you can make a request for the information by emailing FOI@starleyhall.co.uk or writing to:

Val Thomson, FOI request, Starley Hall, Aberdour Rd, Burntisland, Fife, KY3 0AG.

We will answer your request within 20 working days. Sometimes there will be reasons why we cannot provide the information you requested. If that is the case, we will tell you why. If we refuse to give you the information, we must tell you why. You can challenge our decision to keep the information from you and ask us to review our response. If you are unhappy after the review, you can appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner. More detailed information and guidance on FOISA can be found on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.

Personal information

A request by an individual for information about himself/herself will be exempt under FOISA and will be handled as a ‘subject access request’ under the Data Protection Act 1998. In certain circumstances such a request may involve the release of associated third party information. FOISA extends access rights which already exist under the Data Protection Act 1998. Where an applicant specifically requests information about a third party, or where responding to a FOISA request would involve the disclosure of personal information about a third party, the request falls within the remit of FOISA. However, we must apply the Data Protection Principles when considering the disclosure of information related to living individuals. We cannot release third party information if to do so would mean breaching one of the Principles.

Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs)

Alongside the Act, the EIRs provide a separate right of access to environmental information we hold. This guide to information also contains details of environmental information we hold, and which we routinely make available. You can find out more information on the difference between FOISA and EIRs on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.