It does this in two ways:
- public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities; and
- members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities.
The Act covers any recorded information. Recorded information includes printed documents, computer files, letters, emails, photographs, and sound or video recordings.
The Act does not give people access to their own personal data (information about themselves). If a member of the public wants to see information that a public authority holds about them, they should make a subject access request under the current Data Protection legislation or for curricular and education information, the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005.
As a public authority schools have a legal obligation to provide information through an approved
(293 KB) under FOI.
Any information that a school makes routinely available should be included in their publication scheme. Other requests for information need to be dealt with in accordance with the legislation and the school's internal policies.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published guidance for schools which details your obligations under the Act and explains how to recognise and respond to requests within the statutory time limit. There is also guidance available on how to refuse a request and on dealing with persistent or vexatious requests.
Guidance on records retention and storage is available from the Information and Records Management Society.