BERMUDA
PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION (INFORMATION STATEMENT) Sandys Secondary Middle School Board of Governors NOTICE 2021
GN / 2021
The Chairperson of the Sandys Secondary Middle School Board of Governors, in exercise of the power conferred by section 5 of the Public Access to Information Act 2010, gives the following Notice:
Citation
1.This Notice may be cited as the Public Access to Information (Information Statement) Sandys Secondary Middle School Board of Governors Notice 2020.
Deposit of information statement
2.Pursuant to the requirements of section 5 of the Public Access to Information Act 2010, notice is hereby given that the Sandys Secondary Middle School Board of Governors information statement has been deposited for public inspection at—
- the offices of the Sandys Secondary Middle School Board of Governors
- the Bermuda Archives; and
- the Bermuda National Library,
- the Office of the Information Commissioner
Made this 06 day of January 2021
Mrs. Valerie Dill, Chairperson, Sandys Secondary Middle School Board of Governors
BERMUDA GOVERNMENT
SANDYS SECONDARY MIDDLE SCHOOL
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
PATI Information Statement
NAME OF PUBLIC Authority: SANDYS SECONDARY MIDDLE SCHOOL BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Introduction
The purpose of the PATI Act of 2010 is to give the public the right to obtain access to information held by public authorities to the greatest extent possible, subject to exceptions that are in the public interest or for the protection of the rights of others. The objective is to increase transparency and eliminate unnecessary secrecy with regards to information held by public authorities, increase the accountability of public authorities, inform the public about the activities of public authorities including the manner in which they make decisions and have more information placed in the public matter as a matter of routine.
The purpose of this document is to make information readily available to the public, to encourage authorities to proactively publicize information and to develop a culture of openness.
The information provided includes: Organizational structure of the Authority, governing legislation, functions and powers, services and programmes, information held - grouped into decision making, administrative or other record, further information (includes financial), contact details for the information officer and locations of the information statement.
Included in the Information Statement will be the following information:
- Structure, Organization & Legislation
- Obligations under PATI Act
- Records & Documents held by the Board of Governors
- Administration Manuals
- Decision making documents
The Board of Governors will make available to the public all Board of Governor Meeting minutes, any Audited Financial Statements and the Cambridge results.
SECTION A: STRUCTURE. ORGANIZATION AND LEGISLATION [s5(1)a]
The Governing Body of the Sandys Secondary Middle School, the Board of Governors of the Sandys Secondary Middle School (BOG) is a corporate body, established by the Sandys Secondary School Act 1950.
The Board of Governors of the Sandys Secondary Middle School consists of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Recording Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and not less than 5 nor more than 12 additional members including the PTA President. The Principal and Deputy Principal are ex-officio members.
The members of the Board include:
Chair of the Board
Valerie Dill
Board Members
L’Tanya Roberts, Recording Secretary
Joseph Robinson, Assistant Secretary
Dane Benjamin, Treasurer
Edward Ball Jr.
Dr. Patricia Chapman
Howard Dill
Deana Bailey
Kalley Baxter-Williams, (Principal & Ex Officio)
Lawrence Scott
Michelle Simons
Deborah Thomas-Gilkes
Lavern Simons
PTA President
The Board has sub-committees. These include the following:
- Executive Committee
- Facilities Committee
- Finance and Audit Committee
- Human Resources Committee
The Board of Governors accepts responsibility for directing the affairs of the Sandys Secondary Middle School, ensuring it is solvent, operates functionally and delivers the outcomes for which it has been established.
The Board of Governors facilitates the Mission and Vision of the school by supporting the principal, teachers and staff and maintaining and developing the facility.
LEGISLATION
The Board of Governors is governed by the following Ordinances and Acts:
The Sandys Secondary School Act, 1950
The Sandys Secondary School Amendment Act, 1957
The Education Act, 1996
The Education Amendment Act, 2002
The Education Act, 2008
BUT Policies and Procedures Manual for Teachers 2006
Section B: 1) Functions, Powers, Duties of the Board of Trustees [s5(1)b]
The Board of Trustees:
- Providing adequate building and accommodation for all students and ensuring that these facilities are kept in good conditions.
- Ensuring that buildings are maintained and ethics observed in accordance with the recommendation of the head teacher.
- Recruiting teaching, non teaching and staff members.
- Ensuring that financial records are properly kept.
- Ensuring that proper standards of conduct are maintained in the school.
- Ensuring good discipline in school is maintained, for example, the board is to decide on the suspension of indiscipline subordinate staff members
Section B: 2) Obligations under PATI Act [s5(1)b]
To provide other information for the public and promulgate it [s5]
- To provide other information to the public so that the public needs only to have minimum resort to the use of the Act to obtain information [s6]. This includes
- General information, e.g. activities of the Board of Trustees
- Log of all information requests and their outcome
- Quarterly expenditure (upon request) [s6(5)]
- To respond to information requests in a timely manner [s12-16]
- To track information requests, and provide this date to the Information Commissioner
- To respond to requests from the Information Commissioner [s9]
- To amend personal information held by the Board of Trustees that is wrong or misleading following a written request by the person to whom the information relates [s19]
- To conduct an internal review if formally requested [part 5]
- To give evidence for review by the Information Commissioner [part6, 47(4)] or for judicial review [s49] , if required
- To provide an annual written report to the Information Commissioner of the status of information requests [s58(3)].
- To do anything else as required under the PATI Act and subsequent Regulations [s59,60] including:
- Fees for Requests for Information
- Management and Maintenance of records
- Procedures for administering the Act
To train staff and make arrangements so as to facilitate compliance with the Act [s61]
To designate one of its officers to be the person to whom requests are directed [s62]
Section C: Services and Programmes [s5(1)c]
Services
Services provided by The Board of Trustees;
Oversight
Fiscal oversight
Appointment of the Principal in conjunction with the Ministry of Education
Employment of teaching staff in conjunction with the Ministry of Education
Employment of non-teaching staff
Facilities management and maintenance in conjunction with the Ministry of Education
Establishment of a strategic framework by administrative staff along with the Board of Trustees in accordance with the Education Act 2008
Risk Management
Section D: Records and Documents held [s5(1)d]
- Minutes of the monthly meetings of the Board of Governors.
- Financial Records
- Cambridge Results
- IGCSE Results
Section E: Administration (all public access) Manuals [s5(1)e]
Manuals
All Curriculum Manuals as set out by the Ministry of Education, available at www.moed.bm
Section F: Decision-Making Documents [s5(1)f]
Financial Instructions
- Outline the duties of the Finance Committee
- Internal controls are stipulated for the ordering of supplies and their payment
Staffing
- All vacancies are reported to the Ministry of Education and advertised in the Official Gazette
- Applications are sent to the Principal for review, with a short-list noted
- A committee comprising of the Principal, a member of the Human Resources Committee and at least one other person, interviews the prospective candidates
- A consensus agreement determines which applicant is recommended.
- The Principal forwards the recommendation to the Board for their approval.
Meetings
Meetings are held under the leadership of the Chairman, with the Secretary taking accurate notes of the proceedings.
Any motion made by a Board member must be seconded. Discussion will ensue following which the motion will be voted upon.
Financial matters are conducted in accordance to the Financial Instructions, with the Treasurer presenting monthly statements for the Board to peruse and comment upon. These are voted and accepted and are audited by the Auditor General annually.
Section G: The Information Officer [s5(1)g]
Tracee Seymour
42 Scott’s Hill Road
Sandys MA 04
Bermuda
Tel: 234-1346
E-mail: tseymour@moed.bm
Section H: Any Other Information [s5(1)h]
Request should be made in writing on the PATI form and presented to:
The Main Office, Sandys Secondary Middle School
42 Scott’s Hill Road
Sandys MA 04
Bermuda
Tel: 234-1346
Section I: any Other Information to be Provided? [s5(2,3,4,5)]
Section J: Information Statement: Copies and Updates [s5(1-5)
The Board of Trustees shall update its information statement at least once a year, and make it available for inspection by the public at reasonable times by [s5(1-5), PATI Act]:
Date Information Statement was updated: December 2020
Locations of Information Statement
- Sandys Secondary Middle School Yes
- The Bermuda National Library Yes
- The Bermuda Archives Yes
- Available electronically Yes
- Website for public authority No
- Have you published a notice in the Gazette indicating the places where the information statement is available for the public? Yes
- With the Information Commissioner Yes
_________________________________________ ________________________________________
Valerie Dill (Mrs) Tracee Seymour (Mrs)
Sandys Secondary Middle School
Board of Governors Information Officer
January 04, 2021 January 04, 2021
Date Date