Staff turnover rates at Plat Douet School

​Request 769435949 

Please publish the staff turnover rates at Plat Douet school.

Response 

There were 7 leavers at Plat Douet school for the period 12 months ending 31 October 2025, which brings the staff turnover rate to 9.7% for the period.

Staff turnover rates are calculated by taking the number of leavers divided by the average headcount for the year. Leavers include any permanent or fixed-term contract member of staff that left Government employment as a whole. It does not include any employees who transferred to other employment within Government. Any staff on solely a zero-hour contract at the school are excluded from the calculation.​

Internal Review Request

Dear FOI,

I am writing to formally request an internal review of the response provided to my Freedom of Information request regarding staff turnover rates at Plat Douet School.

The response stated:

“In order to provide staff turnover data for Plat Douet School, data would need to be extracted and manipulated. The Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 does not require a Scheduled Public Authority to manipulate data to provide a response. Therefore, this information is not held, and Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.”

I find this response deeply concerning and implausible. Staff turnover is a fundamental Key Performance Indicator (KPI) in any organisation, particularly in education where continuity, morale, and institutional knowledge directly affect student outcomes. The notion that the Education Department does not monitor or hold data on staff turnover at individual schools defies basic principles of governance, accountability, and operational management.

Why Staff Turnover Must Be Monitored

It is a standard management metric.

Staff turnover is universally recognised as a critical indicator of organisational health. It reflects leadership effectiveness, workplace culture, and employee satisfaction.

It affects educational outcomes.

Numerous studies have shown that high turnover negatively impacts student performance, disrupts teaching continuity, and undermines school improvement efforts.

It has financial and operational consequences.

Recruitment, onboarding, and training of new staff incur significant costs. High turnover also leads to loss of experience and institutional memory.

It signals deeper systemic issues.

Persistent turnover may indicate poor leadership, burnout, or toxic workplace culture—issues that require urgent attention.

It is essential for strategic planning and accountability.

Without turnover data, how can the department assess school performance, allocate resources, or implement retention strategies?

Ethical Concerns

Given the importance of this metric, I find it difficult not to reach the conclusion that the data is indeed held but has been withheld—potentially in an unethical manner. If

the Education Department does not monitor staff turnover, it represents a serious failure of management. If it does monitor turnover but refuses to disclose it, this constitutes an abuse of power and a breach of the principles underpinning the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

I therefore request:

• A full internal review of the decision to refuse this information.

• Clarification on whether staff turnover data is collected at the school level.

• An explanation of how the Education Department monitors workforce stability and performance across schools.

• Disclosure of any aggregated or disaggregated turnover data available for Plat Douet School or similar institutions.

• This issue is not merely administrative—it goes to the heart of transparency, accountability, and the quality of education provided to our children.

Internal Review Response

This internal review has been conducted by an official of appropriate seniority who has not been involved in the original decision. As part of their review, they will be expected to understand the reasons behind the original response, impartially determine whether the response should be revised, and how so, considering the request and the information held, any relevant exemptions, or other relevant matters under the Law. 

The Internal Review Panel was asked to review the original response and confirm the following: 

Does the FOI request relate to a body to which the Law applies, or information held by a body covered by the Law? 

If the answer is no, all the other questions are not applicable. Further questions if above is a yes:

1. Was the right information searched for and reviewed?

2. Was the information supplied appropriately?

3. Was information appropriately withheld in accordance with the articles applied and were the public interest test/ prejudice test properly applied? Option 1: Following discussion, it was agreed by the Panel that the decision was overturned as Question 1 had been allocated to the incorrect Scheduled Public Authority (SPA).​