FOI/202600506787 · FOI · not held
Starley Hall School inspection and registration information: FOI release
Information requested
You asked for information related to Starley Hall School from 1998 to 2002 to include:
1. Which statutory agency was responsible for the inspection and registration of Starley Hall School?
2. All correspondence related to HMIE inspections of Starley Hall School.
3. Minutes/reports regarding Starley Hall School.
4. Which statutory agency was responsible for the residential standards of Starley Hall School and required inspections of residential care and the health and safety of the children as required by The Children [Scotland] Act 1995 Volume/s 1&2 working-vol 2?
Response
We are able to provide some of the information you have requested.
Question 1
During the period 1998 to 2002, HM Inspectors were responsible for the inspection of education, care and welfare at Starley Hall School.
As set out in Part V of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, statutory responsibility for the registration of independent schools in Scotland sits with the Registrar of Independent Schools.
This would, therefore, have been the case in the period of the request from 1998 to 2002. The Registrar can be contacted by email at: independentschools@educationscotland.gov.scot.
Education Scotland does not hold details of other organisations that may have registered or inspected aspects of the services provided by Starley Hall School during this period. You may find the following reports published on the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry informative in setting out the legislative landscape and statutory duties of other bodies.
Legislative background to the treatment of children and young people living apart from their parents – report for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry by Professor Kenneth McK. Norrie.
The provision of education in residential settings for disabled children and young people and children with additional support needs: key legislation and policy developments from 1974-2024.
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain the information from the links above, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
Question 2
Please see attached at Annex A correspondence related to HMIE inspections of Starley Hall School during the period 1998 to 2002.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information requested within the letters because an exemption under section 38(1)(b), personal information, of FOISA applies because it is personal data of a third party, ie names of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.
This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
Question 3
Please see attached at Annex B minutes/reports regarding Starley Hall School.
Question 4
As set out in The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 HM Inspectors of Schools examined whether there were adequate arrangements in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of resident pupils as part of their inspections of residential schools. As detailed in the response to question one, the reports published on the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry website may provide further information.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Detected exemption language
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information requested within the letters because an exemption under section 38(1)(b), personal information, of FOISA applies because it is personal data of a third party, ie names of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.