Equality Information & Objectives

INTRODUCTION

Whitehill Primary School is a community where we all work hand in hand to ensure that our children have the very best of starts. We are proud of, celebrate, value and embrace the rich diversity within our school and beyond. We are committed to fully including, respecting and supporting all members of our school community whatever their cultural background, belief, gender, race or disability.

AIMs

We recognise and value the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and so aim:

• 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

LEGISLATION

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 & 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 
• Ensure that the published equality information is updated at least every year, and that the objectives are reviewed and updated at least every 4 years 
• Delegate responsibility for monitoring the achievement of the objectives on a daily basis to the headteacher

The headteacher will:

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

The designated member of staff (Alex Haddaway) for equality will:

• Support the headteacher in promoting knowledge and understanding of the equality objectives among staff and pupils
• Support the 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 below. 

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.

New staff receive training on the Equality Act as part of their induction, and all staff receive annual refresher training.

The school has a designated member of staff for monitoring equality issues.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 that 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 pray at prescribed times) 
• Encouraging people who have a particular characteristic to participate fully in any activities (e.g. encouraging all pupils to be involved in the full range of school societies) 

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

• Analyse  attainment data each academic year exploring how pupils with different characteristics are performing 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) 
• Publish further data about any issues associated with particular protected characteristics, identifying any issues which could affect our own pupils 

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 by embracing natural links with other curriculum areas.
• Holding assemblies dealing with relevant issues. Pupils will be encouraged to take a lead in such assemblies 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 assemblies, and organising school trips and activities based around the local community
• Encouraging and implementing initiatives to deal with tensions between different groups of pupils within the school. For example, our school council has representatives from different year groups and is formed of pupils from a range of backgrounds. All pupils are encouraged to participate in the school’s activities, such as sports clubs. We also work with parents to promote knowledge and understanding of different cultures
• We have developed links with people and groups who have specialist knowledge about particular characteristics, which helps inform and develop our approach

EQUALITY 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

OUR EQUALITY OBJECTIVES

Objective 1

Use assemblies, curriculum enrichment and cultural events to increase pupil awareness and understanding of different communities.

We want our students to embrace the rich experiences and learning that can stem from diversity and in doing so understand the wonders of the world more fully.

Objective 2

To ensure that our learning resources reflect those in our community and depict positive images of people with protected characteristics.

We want all of our learners and their identities to be recognised and celebrated within lessons so that nobody feels isolated.

Objective 3

To ensure that there are no differences in progress or confidence due to cultural background, belief, gender, race or disability.

We want all of our students - no matter their differences, to thrive and succeed in life.

MONITORING ARRANGEMENTS

The governing board and headteacher will update the Equality information & Objectives we publish, at least every year. 

This document will be reviewed by the governing board and headteacher at least every 4 years.