Education Learning and Leisure

Corporate Services

HR and Organisational Development

Woodhill House

Westburn Road

Aberdeen

AB16 5GB

Tel 01224 665356

Fax 01224 665111 www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk

LP-3 ABERDEEN 3 Our Ref: ACE/567435

Stuart Benzie

Please ask for: FOI Coordinator Direct Dial: 01224 665356 Email: [email protected]

22 April 2014

If you have difficulty reading this document please contact HR on 01224 664102

We refer to your request, received on 28th March 2014 for information on weekly sickness absence statistics for schools, split by CSN, further split by sector and further split by post type in academic years 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2013/14.

Please find responses below.

[i] Can you please provide the sickness statistics for promoted teaching staff; teachers; school support staff by nursery nurse; Pupil Support assistant; classroom assistant; and admin staff as number of days lost for each week of each term. A: Aberdeenshire Council’s absence recording system does not record absences per week. All that is recorded relating to the date of an absence spell is the start date and end date. We can provide monthly figures if that would be helpful.

[ii] Can these figures please be provided for academic years 2009/10; 2010/11; 2011/12; 2013/14 (to end of Christmas term please).

of 3 A: Aberdeenshire Council’s absence recording system only holds absence records for current employees and for those who left within the current or previous financial year. Sickness absence figures are therefore not available for the 2009/10, 2010/11 or 2011/12 academic years.

[iii] For both sets of data above can this please be presented by CSN; by school type, eg secondary, primary and special; and where possible numbers for each school. In addition the numbers of type of staff at each school is also requested. A: Aberdeenshire Council’s absence recording system does not hold information relating to which CSN the absences occurred in. We can however provide figures by sector (primary, special and secondary) if this would be helpful. By numbers of type of staff at each school do you mean how many individuals work within each of the roles you listed above in [i]?

[iv] Please ensure each term is clear either by presenting by term and week 1 of n, or by use of week commencing information A: As per [i] we cannot split absence spells by week.

Please let me know what information you would like given the points outlined above.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further queries.

If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with this response, please refer to the further information attached.

Yours faithfully

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator HR & OD

of 3 Further Information: Aberdeenshire Council’s Review Procedure under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002:- If you wish Aberdeenshire Council to review its actions and/or decisions with respect to your Request for Information, you should contact:- Alastair Nicol, Principal Committee Officer, Aberdeenshire Council, Woodhill House, Westburn Road, Aberdeen AB16 5GB (e-mail [email protected]); no later than 40 days after you receive the Notice intimating the decision that you want to have reviewed. Your request for review must be in writing or in another form which has some permanency and is capable of being used for subsequent reference (e.g. audio/video tape recording). You must state your name and address for correspondence. You must also give details of the information which you originally requested and the reasons why you are dissatisfied with the way in which your application for information has been dealt with. The Principal Committee Officer will arrange for your application for review to be considered by the Review Panel. The Review Panel will write to you informing you of its decision by not later than twenty working days after receipt of your request for a review. The Review Panel will also provide you with a statement of its reasons for arriving at the decision it has made. Your Right to Complain to the Scottish Information Commissioner: If you are dissatisfied with the Review Panel’s decision, you may appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner. An appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner must be made within six months, specifying:-  the Request for Information to which the requirement for review by relates;  the reasons for your dissatisfaction with the review decision; The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:- Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9BS Telephone – 01334 464610; Fax - 01334 464611; Email – enquiries@its publicknowledge.info