Equalities

Values and Beliefs

St John’s is an inclusive school where pupils, parents, staff, governors, the local authority and local services work in partnership to meet the needs of the community. We celebrate the positive contribution made by different social, ethnic and linguistic groups.

Our core values are:

Respect, Love, Faith and Thankfulness

Our approach to equality is based on the following principles:

All learners are of equal value
We recognise and respect difference
We foster attitudes and relationships and a shared sense of cohesion and belonging
We observe good equalities practice in staff recruitment and development
We aim to reduce and remove inequalities and barriers that already exist
We have the highest expectations of all our children

We believe that equality at our school should permeate all aspects of school life and is the responsibility of every member of the school and wider community. Every member of the school community should feel safe, secure, valued and of equal worth.

We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010. The school’s general duties, with regards to equality are:

Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010

Our behaviour policy ensures that all children feel safe at school and addresses prejudicial bullying
Reporting, responding to and monitoring all racist incidents
Regularly monitoring the curriculum to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of our pupils and that it promotes respect for diversity and challenges negative stereotyping
Teaching is of the highest quality to ensure children reach their potential and all pupils are given equal entitlement to success
Tracking pupil progress to ensure that all children make rapid progress, and intervening when necessary
Ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to access extra-curricular provision
Listening to and monitoring views and experiences of pupils and adults to evaluate the effectiveness of our policies and procedures.

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

Using the information we gather to identify underachieving groups or individuals and plan targeted intervention
Ensuring participation of parents/carers and pupils in school development
Listening to parents/carers
Listening to pupils at all times

Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

Ensuring St John’s is seen as a community school within our local community
Ensuring that equality and diversity are embedded in the curriculum and in collective worship.

Our school aims to be an inclusive school. We actively seek to include all our children in our school community. We do not exclude individual pupils, or groups of pupils. This means that equality of opportunity must be a reality for our children and we make this a reality through the attention we pay to the different groups of children within our school with consideration of the following protected characteristics:

Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage and civil partnership (but only in respect of eliminating unlawful discrimination)
Pregnancy and maternity
Race
Religion or belief
Sex
Sexual orientation

Prejudice is not tolerated and we are continuously working towards a more accepting and respectful environment for our school’s community.

Equalities Policy

Equalities Objectives

Equalities in practice - Teaching and Learning

Learning and Teaching

We aim to provide all our pupils with the opportunity to succeed, and to reach the highest level of personal achievement. To do this, teaching and learning will:

Provide equality of access for all pupils and prepare them for life in a diverse society
Use materials that reflect a range of cultural backgrounds, without stereotyping
Use materials to promote a positive image of and attitude towards disability and disabled people
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
Use a range of sensitive teaching strategies when teaching about different cultural and religious traditions
Develop pupils advocacy skills so that they can detect bias, challenge discrimination, leading to justice and equality
Ensure that the whole curriculum covers issues of equality and diversity;
All subject leaders' departments, where appropriate, promote and celebrate the contribution of different cultures to the subject matter
Seek to involve all parents in supporting their child’s education
Provide educational visits and extended learning opportunities that involve all pupil groups
Take account of the performance of all pupils when planning for future learning and setting challenging targets
Make best use of all available resources to support the learning of all groups of pupils
Identify resources and training that support staff development

Learning Environment

There is a consistently high expectation of all pupils regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or any other recognised area of discrimination. All pupils are encouraged to improve on their own achievements and not to measure themselves against others. Parents are also encouraged to view their own children’s achievements in this light.

Teacher enthusiasm is a vital factor in achieving a high level of motivation and good results from all pupils
Adults in the school will provide good, positive role models in their approach to all issues relating to equality of opportunity
The school places a very high priority on the provision for special educational needs and disability. We will meet all pupils’ learning needs including the more able by carefully assessed and administered programmes of work
The school provides an environment in which all pupils have equal access to all facilities and resources
All pupils are encouraged to be actively involved in their own learning
A range of teaching methods are to be used throughout the school to ensure that effective learning takes place at all stages for all pupils
Consideration will be given to the physical learning environment – both internal and external, including displays and signage when appropriate

Curriculum

We aim to ensure that:

Planning reflects our commitment to equality in all subject areas and cross curricular themes promoting positive attitudes to equality and diversity
Pupils will have opportunities to explore concepts and issues relating to identity and equality
Steps are taken to ensure that all pupils have access to the mainstream curriculum by taking into account their cultural, backgrounds, linguistic needs and learning styles

Resources and Materials

The provision of good quality resources and materials within the school is a high priority. These resources should:

Reflect the reality of an ethnically, culturally and sexually diverse society
Reflect a variety of viewpoints
Show positive images of males and females in society
Include non-stereotypical images of all groups in a global context
Be accessible to all members of the school community

Language

We recognise that it is important that all members of the school community use appropriate language which:

Does not transmit or confirm stereotypes
Does not offend
Creates and enhances positive images of particular groups identified at the beginning of this document
Creates the conditions for all people to develop their self esteem
Uses accurate language in referring to particular groups or individuals and challenges in instances where this is not the case

Extended Learning Opportunities

It is the policy of this school to provide equal access to all activities from an early age. We undertake responsibility for making contributions to extended learning opportunities and are aware of the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity (e.g. sports helpers, coach drivers) by providing them with written guidelines drawn from this policy. We try to ensure that all such non staff members who have contact with children adhere to these guidelines.

Provision for Bi-lingual Pupils

We undertake appropriate provision for all EAL/bi-lingual children/groups to ensure access to the whole curriculum. These groups may include:

Pupils for whom English is an additional language
Pupils who are new to the United Kingdom
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Children
Advanced bi-lingual learners
Use first language effectively for learning

Personal Development and Pastoral Guidance

Staff take account of gender, ethnicity, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or any other recognised area of discrimination and the experience and needs of particular groups such as Gypsy, Roma and Traveller, refugee and asylum seeker pupils
All pupils are encouraged to consider the full range of career opportunities available to them with no discriminatory boundaries placed on them due to their disability, gender, race or sexual orientation (whilst acknowledging that a disability may impose some practical boundaries to some career aspirations)
All pupils/staff/parents/carers are given support, as appropriate, when they experience discrimination
We recognise that perpetrators may also be victims and require support.
Positive role models are used throughout the school to ensure that different groups of pupils can see themselves reflected in the school community
Emphasis is placed on the value that diversity brings to the school community rather than the challenges.

Staffing and Staff Development

We recognise the need for positive role models and distribution of responsibility among staff.

This must include pupils' access to male and female staff at all key stages where possible
We encourage the career development and aspirations of all school staff
It is our policy to provide staff with training and development, which will increase awareness of the needs of different groups of pupils
Access to opportunities for professional development is monitored on equality grounds

Staff Recruitment

All those involved in recruitment and selection are trained and aware of what they should do to avoid discrimination and ensure equality good practice through the recruitment and selection process
Equalities policies and practices are covered in all staff inductions
All temporary staff are made aware of policies and practices
Employment policy and procedures are reviewed regularly to check conformity with legislation and impact

Partnerships with Parents/Carers/Families and the Wider Community

We will work with parents/carers to help all pupils to achieve their potential.

All parents/carers are encouraged to participate in the full life of the school.
Setting up, as part of the schools’ commitment to equality and diversity, a group made up of all stakeholders of the school community. This has been/will be developed to support the school with matters related to its equalities duties
Members of the local community are encouraged to join in school activities
Exploring the possibility of the school having a role to play in supporting new and settled communities

Roles and Responsibilities

Our governing body will ensure that the school complies with statutory requirements in respect of this policy and action plan
The headteacher is responsible for the implementation of this policy, and will ensure that staff are aware of their responsibilities, that they are given necessary training and support and report progress to the governing body
The headteacherhas day-to-day responsibility for co-ordinating the implementation of this policy
Our staff will promote an inclusive and collaborative ethos in the school, challenge inappropriate language and behaviour, respond appropriately to incidents of discrimination and harassment, ensure appropriate support for children with additional needs and maintain a good level of awareness of equalities issues
All members of the school community have a responsibility to treat each other and staff with respect, to feel valued, and to speak out if they witness or are subject to any inappropriate language or behaviour