September marks the start of a new school year and with it, we often see an influx of FOI requests.
It usually starts with an email. The subject line is polite, official (possibly even a little dry): “Request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.”
You open it, wondering if it’s a mistake. It’s not. Someone; a journalist, a parent, a campaigner, or simply a curious member of the public, wants to know something. And they’ve used the law to ask for it.
If you work in a publicly funded school, college or university, this moment will happen eventually.
What is a Freedom of Information Request?
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request is a formal right, enshrined in law, that allows anyone to request access to recorded information held by public authorities.
In practice, it means that people can ask your institution for all sorts of information: how much you spend on IT software, your attendance policies, the number of staff disciplinaries in the last academic year, or how many trees are on campus. Some questions are serious and data-heavy; others can feel oddly niche. All deserve to be handled with care.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is the legal framework that governs this process, and if you’re funded by the state (whether you’re a maintained school, academy, sixth form college, or university) you’re covered by the Act.
What Happens When You Receive One?
The moment a request is received in writing (email is fine), the clock starts ticking. You have 20 working days to respond. Not 20 calendar days. Twenty working days from receipt.
The request doesn’t need to say “Freedom of Information” to be valid, it just needs to ask clearly for information. You’re only required to provide what you already hold in recorded form. That means documents, emails, spreadsheets, and data. Not opinions, hypotheticals or creating new analysis from scratch.
Where Do You Start?
Start by reading the request carefully. Does it make sense? Is it clear what’s being asked? If not, there’s room to seek clarification, but don’t delay unnecessarily.
Then comes the search. This often involves a bit of internal digging: a polite email to a department, a rummage through shared drives, a search of archived documents. Sometimes the answer is easy to find; sometimes it’s buried beneath years of naming conventions like “final_final_USETHIS_one.docx.”
Once the information is located, it needs to be reviewed. Are there personal details? Is there commercially sensitive data? Would disclosure cause harm? The Freedom of Information Act contains a number of exemptions for situations like these, but they must be applied with precision and fairness.
Redaction may be necessary. Context may be helpful. But transparency is the goal, unless there’s a compelling reason to withhold.
What If It’s… Difficult?
Some requests are tricky. Some are frustrating. Some seem designed to test the limits of patience.
The Act allows for requests to be refused if they are vexatious, repetitive, or too costly to fulfil. But this isn’t a get-out clause. It must be justified. There’s a balance to be struck between protecting resources and respecting the public’s right to know.
And while the content of a request might raise eyebrows (how many pigeons have entered the school library this term?), it doesn’t mean it lacks legitimacy.
Why It Matters
Freedom of Information isn’t about catching schools or colleges out. At its heart, it’s about accountability. Education institutions are entrusted with public money and play vital roles in their communities. FOI ensures that trust can be tested and reinforced.
Handled well, FOI requests can be an opportunity to show good governance, sound decision-making, and openness.
Handled badly (ignored, delayed, or dismissed), they can lead to complaints, investigations by the Information Commissioner’s Office, and damage to reputation.
FOI requests are not everyday occurrences for most education staff, but they’re not rare either. They arrive, sometimes quietly, and ask institutions to do what they already strive for: to be transparent, responsible and fair.
A clear internal process helps. So does a calm approach. Most of all, it helps to see these requests not as burdens, but as part of the wider responsibility that comes with public trust.
Because when someone asks, “Can I see that information?”, the best answer is not just “Yes,” but “Here it is, clearly, correctly, and on time.”