Equalities Information

Equalities Objectives 2024-2028

Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation

Objective 1: To continue to promote a tolerant and inclusive school community where all feel safe and valued.

We believe that a greater level of success from pupils and staff can be achieved by realising the uniqueness of individuals. Creating an inclusive environment where individuals feel confident and at ease is a commitment of the school. This environment will be achieved by:

Being respectful.

Always treating all members of the school community fairly.

Developing an understanding of diversity and inclusion and the benefits it can have.

Adopting an inclusive attitude and ensuring that the whole school community understands what inclusive behaviour looks like in the school and how this aligns with the school’s values.

Adopting an inclusive curriculum that is accessible to all.

Encouraging compassion and open-mindedness.

Challenging bias and calling it out in order to move the conversation forward.

We are committed to having a balanced, diverse and fair curriculum. We believe that our pupils should be exposed to ideas and concepts that may challenge their understanding, to help ensure that pupils learn to become more accepting and inclusive of others. Challenging and controversial concepts will be delivered in a way that prevents discrimination and promotes inclusive attitudes.

Foster good relations between people who have a shared characteristic and those who do not

Objective 2: Children are confident to challenge prejudice and celebrating diversity

We do not tolerate any form of prejudice-related incident. Whether direct or indirect, we treat discrimination against all members of our school with the utmost severity. When an incident is reported, our school is devoted to ensuring appropriate action is taken and a resolution is put into place which is both fair and firm.

Our pupils are taught to be:

Understanding of others.

Celebratory of diversity.

Eager to reach their full potential.

Inclusive. Children support each other, recognising similarities and embracing differences.

Aware of what constitutes discriminatory behaviour.

The school’s employees will not:

Discriminate against any member of the school community.

Treat other members of the school community unfairly.

The school’s employees will:

Promote diversity and equality.

Encourage and adopt an inclusive attitude.

Lead by example.

Seek training if they need to improve their knowledge in a particular area.

Throughout the year, the school provides a variety of opportunities to celebrate diversity, including:

Planning activities for key diversity awareness days.

Inviting guest speakers to talk to pupils about diversity.

Incorporating lessons about diversity into the curriculum.

Continuing to expand the ‘Rainbow Library’ to increase children’s access to texts and resources which highlight a range of diverse characteristics and representation.

Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

Objective 3: Advance equality and dignity in the workplace

We do not discriminate against staff with regard to their:

Age.

Disability.

Gender reassignment.

Marital or civil partner status.

Pregnancy or maternity.

Race.

Religion or belief.

Sex.

Sexual orientation.

Equality of opportunity and non-discrimination extends to the treatment of all members of the school community. All staff members are obliged to act in accordance will the school’s various policies relating to equality.

We will guarantee that no redundancy is the result of direct or indirect prejudice. All disciplinary procedures are non-prejudicial, whether they result in warnings, dismissal, or any other disciplinary action.

School Information

The school has data on its composition broken down by year group, ethnicity and gender, and by proficiency in English.

The school has a very low number of ethnic minority children and most families are White British. There are very few children whose first language is not English. The largest ethnic group is White - British at (97.1%) followed by Black Caribbean (1.3%), Pakistani (0.8%), Black African (0.4%) and any other mixed background (0.4%). Fewer than 10 children are from Black, Minority, Ethnic (BME) backgrounds and 4 children speak English as their second language. There are no current trends in underachievement for these pupils.

The school is situated in an area that has a high level of deprivation and the school is within the highest 20% of schools for deprivation and access to free school meals (ranked 6144 out of 32,844 where 1 is the most deprived). 43.8% of our children, from Reception to Y6 are classed as disadvantaged compared to the National average of 25.9%. On average, disadvantaged children have a lower attainment than non-disadvantaged and the school works hard to minimise this gap including its use of Pupil Premium funding.

The school has data on its composition broken down by types of impairment and special educational need.

The school has a higher than average proportion of children with Special Education Needs. 29.2% (66 out of 226 pupils) compared to the national figure of 13%. 5.26% (14 out of 226) of the pupils have an EHCP (Education Health and Care Plan) compared to the National of 2.3% , Our school has clear protocols and targeted provision to support these pupils. Our SENCO oversees support while further staff deliver targeted interventions to this group.

Provision plans are in place for all SEND pupils. Provision mapping enables us to illustrate and map the interventions a child has had, the expenditure of the targeted interventions, and their impact on attainment.

The school’s Behaviour for Learning strategy supports our SEND pupils to develop strategies and to self-regulate in order to get most from their time in lessons.

The school is an accessible building, with ramps, accessible toilets and wheelchair accessible routes. There is a current and recently updated accessibility plan.

Objectives and targets relating to disadvantaged children are explained in our Pupil Premium Strategy Report.

We record and report instances of discriminatory language or bullying, and set equality objectives accordingly when we identify a need to incorporate anti-discriminatory practice into our teaching and learning.

Equalities Policy and Practice

Documentation and record-keeping

Our school has a statement of overarching policy which is published to the web site, and there are references in the school improvement plan to gap closing and achieving equality of outcome for vulnerable learners.

There are references to the school’s responsibilities under the Equality Act in the minutes of governors’ meetings, staff meetings and senior leadership team meetings.

Before introducing important new policies or measures, the school carefully assesses their potential impact on equalities, positive or negative.

Responsibilities

A senior member of staff has special responsibility for equalities matters.

A member of the governing body has a watching brief for equalities matters.

Staffing

The school’s programme for continuing professional development (CPD) includes reference to equalities matters, both directly and incidentally.

There is good equal opportunities practice in the recruitment and promotion of staff, both teaching and administrative.

Behaviour and safety

There are clear procedures for dealing with prejudice-related bullying and incidents. The school annually returns a report on the number of racist incidents to the Local Authority. Surveys and focus groups show that most pupils feel safe from all kinds of bullying. Our Local Authority has close working relationships with Stonewall (through the Education Champions Programme) and Show Racism the Red Card, our partners for anti-racist education.

Curriculum

Focused attention is paid to the needs of specific groups of pupils, for example those who are registered as SEN, and there is extra or special provision for certain groups, as appropriate.

There is coverage in the curriculum of equalities issues, particularly with regard to tackling prejudice and promoting community cohesion and mutual understanding.

There are activities across the curriculum that promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

The school takes part in nationally recognised initiatives and award schemes, for example: Anti-bullying week, Northumberland Healthy Schools Award, Philosophy for Children; Mantle of the Expert and Show Racism the Red Card

In curriculum materials in all subjects there are positive images and representations of disabled people; of LGBTQIA+ people; of both women and men in non-stereotypical gender roles; and of people from a wide range of ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.

Consultation and involvement

The school has procedures for consulting and involving parents and carers, and for engaging with local groups and organisations, and has regard in these for the concerns and requirements of the Equality Act.

The school has procedures for finding out how pupils think and feel about the school, and has regard in these for the concerns of the Equality Act.