Equality

Equality Information and Objectives Statement

As a public body maintained by the local authority, we must comply with the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act (2010), and the additional specific duties and public authorities regulations (2017), and publish details that demonstrate how we comply with this duty.

Equality objectives help focus attention on the priority equality issues within our school in order to deliver improvements in policy making, service delivery and employment, including resource allocation.

We aim to:

Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct 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 between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
Consult and involve those affected by inequality, in the decisions we take to promote equality and eliminate discrimination (including parents, pupils, staff and members of the local community)

Equality Statement

St. George's CE Primary School is an inclusive school where we focus on the well-being and progress of every child and where all members of our community are of equal worth.

We are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents, and carers irrespective of race, sex/gender, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, age or socio-economic background.

We promote a culture of equity, inclusion, and diversity in which all those connected to the school feel proud of their identity/ability to participate fully in school life.

We promote equality, tackle all forms of discrimination, and foster good relationships between diverse groups of people

We challenge discrimination, harassment, victimisation, bullying and stereotypes. Our school culture is supportive, and we create working/learning environments which champions respect for all.

Our staff, SLT and Governors, believe that diversity is a strength which should be respected, valued and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit us.

Aims to eradicate discrimination

At St. George's, we are proudly inclusive and we tackle discrimination through the positive promotion of equality, by challenging bullying and stereotypes and creating an environment which champions respect for all.

We recognise and celebrate the fact that we are all uniquely talented and how we all benefit from our richly diverse cultural experiences. We believe that diversity is a strength which should be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit us.

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 is underpinned by our school’s vision;
Promote attitudes and values that will challenge discriminatory behaviour;

Provide opportunities for pupils to appreciate their own culture and religions and celebrate the diversity of other cultures;
Develop children’s advocacy skills so that they can detect bias, challenge discrimination, leading to justice and equality;
Ensure that our curriculum cover issues of equalities, diversity, religion, human rights and inclusion;
Seek to involve all our parents in supporting their child’s education;
Take account of the performance of all our children when planning for future learning and setting challenging targets;
Make best use of all available resources to support the learning of all groups of

children;

Identify resources that support staff development;
Encouraging compassion and open-mindedness.

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

Dealing with 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 consistent. All issues or concerns are recorded by staff on My Concerns.

Our trained DSLs evaluate all incidents, analyse any patterns and trends. These are shared with governors every term via our safeguarding report. Our trained DSL’s also provide follow-up information which may require further staff training.

Our children are taught to be:

Kind and compassionate.
Fair and welcoming to all; celebrating differences and similarities.
Confident enough to strive to reach their full potential.

Open and honest and able to admit their mistakes.
Aware of what constitutes discriminatory behaviour.
Be inclusive.
Risk taking and encouraging of their peers.

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 school year, St. George’s provides a variety of opportunities to celebrate diversity, including:

- Visiting places that are in direct contrast with where we live.
- Planning activities for key diversity awareness days.
- Inviting guest speakers to talk to pupils about diversity.
- Incorporating lessons about diversity into the curriculum.

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.

Diversity and representation Inclusion

St. George's actively seeks to engage with all members of our school community. We monitor resources and language used, so that all images and resources presented to the children represent all cultures within our local and national community.

We enable our children to identify with the world around us through educating them about inspirational people from all walks of life, both past and present day. We take part fully in Black History Month; through literature, history, art and poetry and use this special time of year to learn about the world beyond our doorstep. Our annual commitment to Anti-bullying week builds upon our strong Christian values of respect and helps strengthens our understanding of what respect looks like on a daily basis.

Equality in Teaching and learning

We provide all our pupils with the opportunity to succeed and to reach the highest level of personal achievement. We do this by:

Ensuring equality of access for all pupils and preparing them for life in a diverse society where they will live, study and work
Using materials that reflect the diversity of the school, population, and local community without stereotyping or prejudice
Promoting attitudes and values that challenge any discriminatory behaviour or prejudice
Providing opportunities for pupils to appreciate their own culture and celebrate the diversity of other cultures
Seeking to involve all parents/carers in supporting their child’s education
Utilising teaching approaches appropriate for the whole school population which are inclusive and reflective of our pupils and society.
We adopt the following key principles:

All learners are of equal value

We recognise and respect difference

We foster positive attitudes and relationships and a shared sense of cohesion and belonging.

We aim to reduce and remove inequalities and barriers that already exist.

There is a consistently high expectation of all children irrespective of race, gender, disability, belief, sexual orientation, age or socio-economic background. At St. George's, we provide enabling environments in which all pupils have equal access to all facilities and resources.

Equality in Admissions and Exclusions

Our admissions arrangements are fair and transparent and do not discriminate on the grounds of race, sex/gender, religion/belief, disability and/or socio-economic background.

Equity for Staff

All staff appointments and promotions are made on the basis of merit and ability and in compliance with the law.

St. George's staff, SLT and Governors are committed to ensuring equality of provision throughout the school community. To achieve this, our equality objectives 2022 - 2025 are as follows:

promote understanding and respect for differences.
tackle all forms of discrimination
foster good relationships between diverse groups.
embed EDI into everything we do as oppose to it being a stand alone agenda
provide EDI training for all staff, leaders and governors
develop an Anti-racist strategy
monitor and analyse pupil achievement by race, gender, and disability
and act on any trends or patterns in the data that require additional support for pupils.
raise levels of attainment in core subjects for vulnerable learners.
Review/monitor levels of parental and pupil engagement by protected characteristic in learning and school life, across all activities to ensure equity and fairness in access and engagement.
promote cultural development and understanding through a rich range of experience, both in and beyond the school
ensure that all pupils are given equal opportunities with regards to after-school clubs and activities
ensure the school environment is accessible as possible to all pupils, staff, governors, parents/carers, and visitors.
eradicate prejudice related bullying in relation to the protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010
reduce prejudice and increase understanding of equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging through direct teaching across the curriculum.
actively close gaps in attainment and achievement between pupils and all groups of pupils; especially learners eligible for free-school meals, with specific educational needs and dis/abilities and looked after children

For further information see the following publications:

Equality Act 2010
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018
Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948
Protection from Harassment Act 1997

Information on pupils by protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics. Every person has several of the protected characteristics, so the Act protects everyone against unfair treatment.

In order to ensure that all pupils are protected from discrimination, the school collects information on protected characteristics.

Information on other groups of pupils

In addition to pupils with protected characteristics, we gather further information on the following groups of pupils:

Pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM)
Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
Disadvantaged group
Pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL)
Young carers
Looked after children
Other vulnerable groups

Closing Statement

Children at St. George's learn what it means to come to our ‘family school’ and have ‘COURAGE’.

We provide a calm, kind and mindful learning environment in which our children feel happy, safe and valued and all members of our school community thrive. Discrimination and prejudice of any kind is not tolerated. We are continuously working towards a wholly accepting environment where our children make a positive contribution to society, demonstrating qualities such as respect, co-operation and valuing differences ensuring they are ready to leave our school with a greater understanding of cultural diversity preparing them for their role in the wider world.

The objectives will be reviewed by governors in September 2025