Shakespeare Infant School
Shakespeare Infant School Equalities Policy
(including Equalities Information and Objectives)
Review Date: May 2020
Introduction
We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010 as both a provider of education and as an employer.
We believe that all pupils and members of staff should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential whatever their background, identity and circumstances. We are committed to creating a community that recognises and celebrates difference within a culture of respect and co-operation. We appreciate that a culture which promotes equality will create a positive environment and a shared sense of belonging for all who work, learn and use the services of our school. We recognise that equality will only be achieved by the whole school community working together – our pupils, staff, governors and parents/carers.
This document outlines the principles which will guide our approach to working with our school community and enabling an open culture.
For staff and prospective staff, this policy should be read in conjunction with the school’s Employment Equality Policy.
National and Legal Context
We recognise that we have duties under the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the school community to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in relation to age (applicable only to staff), disability, ethnicity, gender (including issues of transgender, maternity and pregnancy), religion and belief, sexual orientation and marital status (applicable only to staff).
We also recognise that we have a duty under the Education & Inspections Act 2006 to promote community cohesion, i.e. developing good relations across different cultures and groups.
We also appreciate that these duties reflect the international human rights standards as expressed in the UN Convention on Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and the Human Rights Act 1998.
School Context
rank within Hampshire Primary schools 153 out of 425 where 1 is the most deprived
Principles
To fulfil our legal obligations, we are guided by a number of principles.
We see all pupils, potential pupils, their parents and carers, and staff as of equal value:
We recognise that treating people equally does not necessarily involve treating them all the same. We recognise that our policies, procedures and activities must not discriminate but must take account of diversity and the kinds of barriers and disadvantage that staff, parents/carers or pupils may face in relation to their protected characteristics:
We intend that our policies, procedures and activities should promote:
We ensure that our policies and practices for all staff and potential staff throughout the employment lifecycle, i.e. from recruitment through to the cessation of employment and beyond, are applied fairly and consistently across all groups with full respect for legal rights, taking into account aspects applicable to particular groups (e.g. duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled staff).
We intend that our policies, procedures and activities avoid or minimise any possible negative impacts and we aim to reduce inequalities that exist between groups and communities different from each other.
In our development of policies, we engage with groups and individuals, including pupils who are affected by a policy or activity to ensure that their views are taken into account. For policies and activities affecting pupils, we will take account of views expressed at school council; for parents, through parent governor representation and for staff, through staff governor representation. Where necessary, we will consult more widely with specific groups.
We intend that our policies, activities and curriculum offer foster greater social cohesion and provide for an equal opportunity to participate in public life irrespective of the protected characteristics of individuals and groups.
We maintain and publish information annually to show our compliance with the public sector equality duty, set out under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. Our current equality information can be found in Appendix A to this policy statement.
We develop and publish specific and measurable objectives every four years based on the evidence that we have gathered (principle 8) and the engagement we have been involved in (principle 7).
The objectives can be found in Appendix B to this policy statement and take into account both national, county and school level priorities.
We will set ourselves new objectives every four years, but keep them under review and report annually on progress towards achieving them.
Application of the principles within this policy statement:
The principles outlined in the policy statement will be applied and reflected in:
Addressing prejudice and prejudice-related bullying
The school is opposed to all forms of prejudice including, but not limited to prejudice related to protected characteristics. We will ensure that prejudice-related incidents in relation to staff and pupils are recorded and dealt with appropriately.
Roles and responsibilities
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 and that arrangements are in place to deal with any concerns or unlawful action that arises.
The headteacher is responsible for implementation of this policy, ensuring that all staff are aware of their responsibilities and given appropriate training and support and for taking appropriate action in any cases of unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation.
All staff are expected to work in accordance with the principles outlined in this policy to:
Equalities Information Appendix A
We recognise that the public sector equality duty has three aims, to:
We have considered how well we currently achieve these aims with regard to the protected groups under the Equality Act (race, disability, gender, gender re-assignment, age, pregnancy and maternity, marital status, sexual orientation, religion and belief and sexual orientation).
We have also involved staff, pupils, parents and others in the following ways:
Pupil-related data
Information |
Evidence and commentary |
Y2 Attainment – all pupils |
Reading Writing Maths Expected + 92% Expected + 89% Expected + 91% GDS 38% GDS 23% GDS 28% |
Y2 Attainment by gender 2019 |
Boys Reading Writing Maths Expected + 90% Expected + 86% Expected + 90% GDS 33% GDS 12% GDS 29%
Girls Reading Writing Maths Expected + 93% Expected + 91% Expected + 91% GDS 41% GDS 31% GDS 28% |
Y2 Attainment by race 2019 (16 children) |
Reading Writing Maths Expected + 94% Expected + 88% Expected + 94% GDS 25% GDS 6% GDS 25%
|
Participation in the student council by race
|
Of the 6 children in the group we aim for at least 1 to be from an ethnic minority |
Participation in After School Clubs as at April 2019 |
105 children in years 1 and 2 attend an after school club |
Headteacher awards by gender |
By the end of the academic year 98% of children achieve their HT certificate.
|
Exclusions 2018-19 |
None |
Feedback from parental survey 2019 |
29% returned. These are anonymous so do not have data re ethnicity/gender. No issues arising regarding gender or racial issues. |
Formal complaints 2018-19 |
None |
Racial incidents 2018-2019 |
None |
Other information
Information |
Evidence and commentary |
Attendance at parents evenings 2018-2019 |
98% of parents attend our parent evenings. We always contact parents to arrange a meeting if they missed their appointment. |
Governor representation as at June 2019 |
12 governors 4 female and 8 male Currently we do not ethnic minority representation |
Volunteers as at March 2019 |
We have a good balance with male and female helpers on school visits. This depends on personal workload and commitments. Our regular volunteer helpers in school on a more daily basis tend to be female. Our ethnic minority families engage very well with the school and are very supportive of the school. They support re curriculum activities and are very supportive regarding their children’s learning. We have very good support for volunteers on school visits. |
Qualitative information
The school has published various policies on the school’s internet site as listed:
behaviour management, anti- bullying, SEN, Collective Worship, Employment Equality, admissions policy, educational visits, Child protection.
The curriculum promotes equality including assemblies, views of Children’s Voice and our PSHE curriculum, our learning values. We also celebrate different cultures during specific events eg festivals.
These policies evidence the school’s commitment to the principles outlined in this policy and the public sector equality duty.
Staffing is creatively structured to enable support to be targeted where it is needed.
All children’s needs are met through the curriculum and effective use of intervention programmes. Our approach is fully inclusive.
We enable all children to access after school activities and fund one club for children eligible for pupil premium.
The school has also published other information relevant to equalities on the equality pages on the school website.
Date of publication of this appendix: May 2019
Date for review and re-publication: May 2020
Equality Objectives Appendix B
We recognise that the public sector equality duty has three aims, to:
We have considered how well we currently achieve these aims with regard to the protected groups under the Equality Act (race, disability, gender, gender re-assignment, age, pregnancy and maternity, marital status, sexual orientation, religion and belief and sexual orientation).
We have also involved staff, pupils, parents and others in the following ways:
Having referred to and analysed our equality information, we have set ourselves the following objectives for 2019 - 2020:
Objective 1:
To encourage more engagement from all members of our local community. We are working on this with our active membership of the Boyatt Wood Community Group which is attended by our assistant HT.
Objective 2:
To continue to focus on closing the attainment gap between pupil premium children and non- pupil premium children, notably EAL children and FSM children who have special educational needs.
Objective 3:
To improve provision and showcasing of British Values throughout our curriculum.
Objective 4:
To minimise the gender gap in maths to ensure girls achieve in line with boys.
NOTE: The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011 require Governing Bodies to publish equality objectives at intervals of no more than four years but schools should publish detail on progress towards these objectives on an annual basis and publish this detail on the school’s internet site.