SINGLE EQUALITY POLICY
We believe that no child or adult should be discriminated against on the grounds of age, class, culture, disability, gender, language, race, religion, sexuality or special needs.
In line with the current equalities legislation (see below), we will be proactive in promoting equality, eliminating discrimination and eliminating harassment. We will do this in our capacity as an educational provider for our pupils, an employer of staff and a service provider to parents and the public.
We aim for every child and adult at Marvels Lane to achieve the best that they can in all that they do. We encourage everyone to respect the rights of others and to celebrate the wide diversity of our school family and the wider community, in other words, to be tolerant and co-operative in all circumstances.
Any attitude, use of language, action or practice which assumes or implies inherent inferiority or superiority of any group will be dealt with and challenged whether it is overt and intentional, disguised yet deliberate, or unintentional. Any such action, verbal or physical, by pupils will be dealt with rigorously through counselling, staged consequences and parental involvement, where necessary. The guiding principles are for children to – understand, take responsibility for, repair damage from and learn from their mistakes/decisions. Any incidents of racism or other discrimination are recorded in a designated book and reported to governors on a regular basis. This is also the case for incidents of reported bullying. Adults are expected to behave in a positive and appropriate manner; failure to do so may result in disciplinary action.
We aim to actively promote and reflect the wide diversity of our school and community with positive images where children gain respect for others and pride and self esteem for themselves. We do this through the curriculum (in and beyond the classroom), display, resources, books and assemblies.
We welcome and actively seek contributions from members of the community including visits, special events, visitors, celebrations and assemblies. We also consult regularly with parents, pupils and governors on how we can improve our provision.
In other words, Marvels Lane School is fully committed to offering equality of opportunity to all children and adults.
Legal Duties
As a school we welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010. The general duties are to:
- eliminate discrimination
- advance equality of opportunity
- foster good relations
We understand the principle of the act and the work needed to ensure that those with protected characteristics are not discriminated against and are given equality of opportunity.
A protected characteristic under the act covers the following groups: age (for employees not for service provision); disability; race; sex (including issues of transgender); gender reassignment; maternity and pregnancy; religion and belief; sexual orientation; marriage and civil partnership (for employees).
In order to meet our general duties, listed above, the law requires us to do some specific duties to demonstrate how we meet the general duties. These are to:
- publish equality information – to demonstrate compliance with the general duty across its functions (we will not publish any information that can specifically identify any child)
- prepare and publish equality objectives
To do this we will collect data related to the protected characteristics above and analyse this data to determine our focus for our equality objectives. The data will be assessed across our core provisions as a school. This will include the following functions: pupil achievement/under achievement; behaviour patterns; exclusions; admissions; attendance; parental involvement; staff recruitment or prejudice related incidents. Questions arising from this analysis are investigated and, if necessary, appropriate and reasonable action is put in place to address any significant discrepancies that are found between groups. Data analysis and outcomes of action plans are reported on a regular basis.
Our objectives will detail how we will ensure equality is applied to the services listed above however where we find evidence that other functions have a significant impact on any particular group we will include work in this area.
We also 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 our legal obligations we will: recognise and respect diversity; foster positive attitudes and relationships and a shared sense of belonging; observe good equalities practice, including staff recruitment, retention and development; aim to reduce and remove existing inequalities and barriers; consult and involve widely; strive to ensure that society will benefit.
Responsibility
We believe that promoting Equality is the whole school’s responsibility.
| School Community | Responsibility |
| Governing Body | Involving and engaging the whole school community in identifying and understanding equality barriers and in the setting of objectives to address these. Monitoring progress towards achieving equality objectives. Publishing data and publishing equality objectives. |
| Headteacher | As above including:
Promoting key messages to staff, parents and pupils about equality and what is expected of them and can be expected from the school in carrying out its day to day duties. Ensuring that all of the school community receives adequate training to meet the need of delivering equality, including pupil awareness. Ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibility to record and report prejudice related incidents. |
| Senior Management Team | To support the Headteacher as above. Ensure fair treatment and access to services and opportunities. Ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibility to record and report prejudice related incidents. |
| Teaching Staff | Help in delivering the right outcomes for pupils.
Uphold the commitment made to pupils and parents/carers on how they can be expected to be treated. Design and deliver an inclusive curriculum. Ensure that you are aware of your responsibility to record and report prejudice related incidents. |
| Parents | Take an active part in identifying barriers for the school community and in informing the Governing Body of actions that can be taken to eradicate these. Take an active role in supporting and challenging the school to achieve the commitment given to the school community in tackling inequality and achieving equality of opportunity for all. |
| Pupils | Uphold the commitment made by the Headteacher on how pupils and parents/carers, staff and the wider school community in tackling inequality and achieving equality of opportunity for all. |
| Local Community Members | Take an active part in identifying barriers for the school community and in informing the Governing Body of actions that can be taken to eradicate these. Take an active role in supporting and challenging the school to achieve the commitment made to the school community in tackling inequality and achieving equality of opportunity for all. |
We will ensure that the whole school community is aware of the Single Equality Scheme and our published equality information and equality objectives by publishing them on the school’s website.
Breaches
Breaches to this statement will be dealt with in the same ways that breaches of other school policies are dealt with, as determined by the Headteacher and the Governing Body.
Monitor & Review
This policy will be reviewed as part of the school’s regular policy review cycle. The equality information and equality objectives will be reviewed annually.
March 2016
Click here to download Single Equalities Policy 2016.
Click here to download Equalities Objectives 2016.
Click here to download Equalities Information 2016.