Equality and Diversity

Aims

Our school aims to meet its obligations under the public sector equality duty by having due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
•  Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
• Foster good relations across all characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

(Protected characteristics are: age, disablility, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation).

Legislation and Guidance

This document meets the requirements under the following legislation:

• The Equality Act 2010, which introduced the public sector equality duty and protects people from discrimination
• The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011, which require schools to publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the public sector equality duty and to publish equality objectives.

This document is also based on Department for Education (DfE) guidance: The Equality Act 2010 and schools.

Roles and Responsibilities

The governing board will:

• Ensure that the equality information and objectives as set out in this statement are published and communicated throughout the school, including to staff, pupils and parents, and that they are reviewed and updated at least once every four years
• Delegate responsibility for monitoring the achievement of the objectives on a daily basis to the executive headteacher.

The equality link governor is Rebecca Leong They will:

• Meet with the designated member of staff for equality every 4 months, and other relevant staff members, to discuss any issues and how these are being addressed 
• Ensure they’re familiar with all relevant legislation and the contents of this document 
• Attend appropriate equality and diversity training
• Report back to the full governing board regarding any issues

The executive headteacher will:

• Promote knowledge and understanding of the equality objectives amongst staff and pupils
• Monitor success in achieving the objectives and report back to governors

The designated member of staff for equality is Amy Richardson. She will:

• Support the headteacher in promoting knowledge and understanding of the equality objectives amongst staff and pupils
• Meet with the equality link governor every 4 months to raise and discuss any issues 
• Support the executive headteacher in identifying any staff training needs, and deliver training as necessary

All school staff are expected to have regard to this document and to work to achieve the objectives as set out in section 8.

Eliminating Discrimination

The school is aware of its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and complies with non-discrimination provisions. Where relevant, our policies include reference to the importance of avoiding discrimination and other prohibited conduct.
Staff and governors are regularly reminded of their responsibilities under the Equality Act, for example during meetings. Where this has been discussed during a meeting it is recorded in the meeting minutes.
The school has a designated member of staff for monitoring equality issues, and an equality link governor. They regularly liaise regarding any issues and make senior leaders and governors aware of these as appropriate.

Advancing Equality of Opportunity 

As set out in the DfE guidance on the Equality Act, the school aims to advance equality of opportunity by:

• Removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people which are connected to a particular characteristic they have (e.g. pupils with disabilities, or gay pupils who are being subjected to homophobic bullying)
• Taking steps to meet the particular needs of people who have a particular characteristic (e.g. enabling Muslim pupils to have access to a hygiene suite) 
• Encouraging people who have a particular characteristic to participate fully in any activities (e.g. encouraging all pupils to be involved in a range of extra-curricular clubs)

In fulfilling this aspect of the duty, the school will:

• Publish attainment data each academic year showing how pupils with different characteristics are performing
• Analyse the above data to determine strengths and areas for improvement, implement actions in response and publish this information
• Make evidence available identifying improvements for specific groups (e.g. declines in incidents of homophobic or transphobic bullying)

Fostering Good Relations   

The school aims to foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not share it by:

• Promoting tolerance, friendship and understanding of a range of religions and cultures through different aspects of our curriculum. This includes teaching in RE, citizenship and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, but also activities in other curriculum areas. For example, as part of teaching and learning in English/reading, pupils will be introduced to literature from a range of cultures
• Holding collective worship dealing with relevant issues. Pupils will be encouraged to take a lead in such collective worships and we will also invite external speakers to contribute
• Working with our local community. This includes inviting leaders of local faith groups to speak at collective worships, and organising school trips and activities based around the local community

Equality Considerations in Decision-Making

The school ensures it has due regard to equality considerations whenever significant decisions are made.
The school always considers the impact of significant decisions on particular groups. For example, when a school trip or activity is being planned, the school considers whether the trip:

• Cuts across any religious holidays
• Is accessible to pupils with disabilities
• Has equivalent facilities for boys and girls

Equality Objectives 2023-2027

Objective 1: To further promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through all appropriate curricular opportunities, with particular reference to issues of equality and diversity
We have chosen this objective because there is very little deprivation and ethnic diversity within our school community. We feel that it is very important that our pupils gain and appreciate a broader cultural perspective and what makes a fair and equitable society.
To achieve this objective we plan to:

• Specifically plan for opportunities across school, and continue to build on knowledge, where we can support our pupils to gain and appreciate a broader cultural perspective.

Objective 2: To increase the number of disadvantaged children attaining combined ARE and the higher standard of attainment.
We have chosen this objective because we have very low numbers of disadvantaged children compared to other school nationally and the number of our disadvantaged children achieving combined ARE and the higher standard of attainment is lower than for other children.
To achieve this objective we plan to:

• Track our disadvantaged children, putting in place appropriate academic and SEMH interventions in place to support their learning throughout school. We have a high aspirations and ambition for all our pupils, including disadvantaged through the curriculum we offer.

Objective 3: Increase the amount of extra-curricular activities available for Key Stage One Children.
We have chosen this objective because a lot of our extra-curricular activities are for older children and parents and children have expressed a need for more activities for younger children. We also recognize the benefits of this to early development.
To achieve this objective we plan to:

• Offer more extra-curricular activities for EYFS and Key Stage One children where appropriate.

Monitoring Arrangements

The executive headteacher will update the equality information that we publish, described in sections 4-7, at least every year.
The document will be reviewed by the executive headteacher and equality link governor at least every 4 years. This document will be approved by the governing board.
This document links to the following policies:

• Accessibility plan
• Risk assessment