PATI STATEMENT MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Introduction:

The purpose of the Public Access to Information Act 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; increase transparency, and eliminate unnecessary secrecy, with regard 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 domain as a matter of routine.

The purpose of the information statement is to provide information to give the public sufficient information about the public authority to help them to make requests and share to what information is already publicly available.

Board of Trustees:

Pastor Terrence Stovell, Chairman

Mr William JS Zuill, Deputy Chairman

Ms Enid Christopher

Mrs Devina Butterfield

Mr Gareth Davies Mr Winston Esdaille

Ms. Kristin Ferreira

Mrs Simmonnette Tyrrell

Ms Reesheemah Swan, Principal (ex-officio)

Mr Richard Scott, Bursar (ex-officio)

Governing Legislation:

Education Act, 1996

Education (Applications for Registration of Schools) Rules 1987

Education Rules 2006

Education Rules (Tutorial Sites) 2003

Education (School Support) Rules 2004

Public Service Commission Regulations, 2001

Policies and Procedures Manual for Principals, (2008)

Policy and Procedures Manual for Teaching Staff

Collective bargaining agreements of the Bermuda Union of Teachers, Bermuda Public Services

Union and the Bermuda Industrial Union

Whitney Educational Trust Act, 1974

The Trustees are empowered under the Whitney Institute Educational Trust Act 1974 to hold the real property and buildings described in the Schedule of the Act and to operate and maintain a school on its property, to assist children and adults to attend schools and colleges throughout the world and to promote education.

The function of the Board of Trustees is to.

1. appoint a Principal and staff of the school;
2. manage the finances of the school;
3. manage the ongoing maintenance of the property;
4. make recommendations to the Ministry regarding the school's budget;
5. evaluate the performance of the Principal and staff and to assist where possible in improving their performance;
6. ensure that the curriculum of the school is delivered to the students; and
7. raise funds to improve the performance of the school.

To provide an information statement 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 Authority

• Log of all information requests and their outcome Quarterly expenditure (upon request) [s6(5)]   Contracts valued at $50,000 or more.

To respond to information requests in a timely manner [s12-16]

To track information requests, and provide this data to the Information Commissioner

To respond to requests from the Information Commissioner [s9]

To amend personal information held by the Authority that it 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 [part 6, 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]

The Board of Trustees reviews and, if necessary, revises its Committee Structure and mandates each year to take account of system progress.

Services:

The Buildings and Grounds Committee

• Mandate: To oversee the maintenance of the school property and to effect improvements and manage tenancies

Personnel Committee

• Mandate: Oversee and review staff performance, discipline and hiring of teachers and staff

Curriculum Review Committee

Mandate: To oversee delivery of the curriculum, review and make recommendations to the Ministry of Education

Ministry Headquarters

Strategic policy and planning documents

Minutes of Meetings

Memoranda

General correspondence

Education Act, 1996

Education Rules, 2006

Education (School Support) Rules

Education (Tutorial Sites) Rules 2003

Education (Applications for Registration of Schools) Rules 1987

Bermuda Government Scholarships Act 2008

Bermuda Educators Council Act 2002

Public Service Commission Regulations, 2001

Policies and Procedures Manual for Principals, (2008)

Policy and Procedures Manual for Teaching Staff

Policy and Procedures Manual for Scholarship Committee Student Code of Conduct

Collective bargaining agreements of the Bermuda Union of Teachers, Bermuda Public Services Union and the Bermuda Industrial Union

Education Act, 1996

Education Rules, 2006

Education (School Support) Rules

Education (Tutorial Sites) Rules 2003

Education (Applications for Registration of Schools) Rules 1987

Bermuda Educators Council Act 2002

Public Service Commission Regulations, 2001

Policies and Procedures Manual for Principals, (2008)

Policy and Procedures Manual for Teaching Staff

Student Code of Conduct

Collective bargaining agreements of the Bermuda Union of Teachers, Bermuda Public Services

Union and the Bermuda Industrial Union

The Whitney Educational Trust Act, 1974

William JS Zuill

Email: marketing@bes.bm Tel: 278-1622

Every public authority 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: March 2015

Locations of Information Statement:

Your principal office: Whitney Institute Middle School

The Bermuda National Library;

The Bermuda Archives;

' Available electronically,

' Website for public authority (insert site).

Have you published a notice in the Gazette indicating the places where the information statement is available for the public? With the Information Commissioner.

Sign and Date: Richard A Scott, February 26, 2026