Minister defends secrecy over school reports and review costs

Daphne Caine cites commercial sensitivity and privacy concerns over external school assessments

The education, sport and culture minister has defended her department’s decision not to release the full external validation reports for the Island’s schools - and has refused to disclose the overall cost of the work commissioned.

Garff MHK Daphne Caine cites commercial sensitivity as the reason behind her recent request to the President of Tynwald to be excused from answering a written question asking how much the Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC) has paid for the Etio reviews.

The external assessments are carried out under a three-year contract, now nearing the end of its second year.

The minister believes revealing the cost would be “contrary to the public interest” and risk the Island’s ability to remain competitive when negotiating contractual terms.

“I don't understand the interest in the figure,” she said, adding that her focus is on the output of the reviews, ensuring they serve their intended purpose and provide ‘value for money’.

The Etio reports are part of a system of external validation in which schools are visited and assessed using what DESC describes as an “Ofsted-adapted” framework.

However, the framework itself has not been published to date - something Mrs Caine now says she is prepared to change, despite a previous Freedom of Information request requesting the framework, which was denied.

DESC has published one-page summaries for each school, but the level of detail differs - with some schools assessed across multiple criteria, and others only partially reviewed.

For instance, Castle Rushen High School was only assessed on the ‘quality of education’, while Ballakermeen High School was additionally assessed on ‘behaviour, relationships and attitudes’.

The minister denies the summaries are 'watered down' but accepts that DESC now recognises parents would like greater transparency around school performance in future.

“There is no benefit [in releasing the reports in full],” Mrs Caine said, arguing that doing so would undermine the system: “There would be all sorts of negative fallout from that, and it wouldn’t be a robust system of quality assessment.”

She believes publishing full reports could risk identifying individuals, damage morale, and erode trust in the process.

The department's refusal to release the full reports has been criticised by some politicians, including Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper, who sits as Vice-Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.

He has promised he will seek to ‘compel’ DESC to release financial data about the reviews through the committee’s scrutiny powers, if the information isn’t forthcoming.

DESC’s approach has also prompted public comment, with some questioning the level of transparency.

When Manx Radio reported the minister’s attempt to avoid answering questions on the cost, one reader commented whether she was becoming the “Minister of Secrets”.

Mrs Caine rejected that characterisation. “You are receiving all this feedback, but I’ve not had anything from parents.” she said, adding “the comments I’ve seen are from the media and from politicians.”

When asked whether she would reconsider if her inbox was full of parental requests for the reports and their cost, she confirmed she would still choose not to publish.

Manx Radio has submitted multiple Freedom of Information requests in relation to the Etio process, including a request for the reports in full and for the total cost of the reviews.

An internal review into the request for the reports has been ongoing since February.

Responses to further requests are expected in the coming weeks.