Phone: 01229 462729 | Email: office@dsmprimary.com
We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in relation to age (as appropriate), disability, ethnicity, gender (including issues of transgender, and or maternity and pregnancy), religion and belief, and sexual identity.
We welcome our duty under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to promote community cohesion.
We recognise that these duties reflect international human rights standards as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and the Human Rights Act 1998.
In fulfilling the legal obligations cited above, we are guided by nine principles:
Principle 1: All learners are of equal value
Principle 2: We recognise and respect difference
Treating people equally (Principle 1) does not necessarily involve treating everyone the same. Our policies, procedures and activities must not discriminate but must nevertheless take account of differences of life experience, outlook and background and the kinds of barriers and disadvantages people may face, in relation to:
Principle 3: We foster positive attitude and relationships, and a shared sense of cohesion and belonging
We intend that our policies, procedures and activities should promote:
Principle 4: We observe good equalities practice in staff recruitment, retention and development
Principle 5: We aim to reduce and remove inequalities and barriers that already exist
In addition to avoiding or minimising possible negative impacts of our policies, we take opportunities to maximise positive impacts by reducing and removing inequalities and barriers that may already exist between:
Principle 6: We consult and involve widely
We engage with a range of groups and individuals to ensure that those who are affected by a policy or activity are consulted and involved in the design of new policies, and in the review of existing ones. We consult and involve:
Principle 7: Society as a whole should benefit
We intend that our policies and activities should benefit society as a whole, both locally and nationally, by fostering greater social cohesion and greater participation in public life of:
Principle 8: We base our practices on sound evidence
We maintain and publish quantitative and qualitative information showing our compliance with the public sector equality duty (PSED) set out in clause 149 for the Equality Act 2010.
Principle 9: Objectives
We formulate and publish specific and measurable objectives, based on the evidence we have collected and published (Principle 8) and the engagement in which we have been involved (Principle 7)
The objectives which we identify take into account national and local priorities and issues, as appropriate.
We keep our equality objectives under review and report annually on progress towards achieving them.
We keep each curriculum subject or area under review in order to ensure that teaching and learning reflect the principles.
We ensure the principles listed above apply to the full range of our policies and practices, including those that are concerned with:
The school is opposed to all forms of prejudice which stand in the way of fulfilling the legal duties relating to:
Prejudice around disability and special educational needs.
Prejudices around racism and xenophobia, including those that are directed towards religious groups and communities, for example anti-Semitism and islamophobia, and those that are directed against Travellers, migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum.
Prejudices reflecting sexism and homophobia
We keep a record of prejudice-related incidents and report termly to the local authority with the numbers, types and seriousness of prejudice-related incidents at our school and how they are dealt with.
The governing body is responsible for ensuring that the school complies with legislation, and that this policy and its related procedures and action plans are implemented.
A member of the governing body has a watching brief regarding the implementation of this policy.
The head teacher is responsible for implementing the policy; for ensuring that all staff are aware of their responsibilities and are given appropriate training and support; and for taking appropriate action in any cases of unlawful discrimination.
All staff are expected to:
We ensure that the content of this policy is known to all staff and governors and, as appropriate, to all pupils and their parents and carers.
All staff and governors have access to a selection of resources which discuss and explain concepts of equality, diversity and community cohesion in appropriate detail.
We respect the religious beliefs and practice of all staff, pupils and parents, and comply with reasonable requests relating to religious observance and practice.
We ensure that all staff, including support and administrative staff, receive appropriate training and opportunities for professional development, both as individuals and as groups or teams.
Breaches of this policy will be dealt with in the same ways that breaches of other school policies are dealt with, as determined by the head teacher and governing body.
We collect, study and use quantitative and qualitative data relating to the implementation of this policy, and make adjustments as appropriate.
In particular we collect, analyse and use data in relation to achievement, broken down as appropriate according to disabilities and special educational needs, ethnicity, culture, language, religious affiliation, national origin and national status, and gender.