Equality Statement and Objectives
The Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 is the law that protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. It brings together protections relating to nine protected characteristics and places a duty on public bodies, including schools, to promote equality.
The Public Sector Equality Duty requires schools to have due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
- Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
These responsibilities are reflected in our everyday practice, our policies and decisions, and the way we support children, families and staff.
Protected Characteristics
The Equality Act 2010 identifies nine protected characteristics:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
The Act provides protection against unlawful discrimination relating to these characteristics. Some protections apply differently depending on the circumstances, including whether they relate to pupils, staff or employment.
At St Chad’s, we are committed to ensuring that every member of our school community is treated fairly, with dignity and respect, and has the opportunity to participate and succeed.
Our Vision and Principles
At St Chad’s, our Christian vision, LOVE God; LOVE Neighbour; LOVE self, and our school values of love, friendship, compassion and respect, underpin everything we do.
We believe that every child is individually unique, valued and loved by God. We are committed to ensuring that every child can fulfil their potential physically, academically, socially, morally and spiritually.
We want St Chad’s to be a community where everyone is known, valued and respected, whatever their background, beliefs, identity or individual needs.
Therefore, we:
- Value every child and every member of our school community.
- Treat everyone fairly and with respect.
- Provide a safe, welcoming, secure and stimulating environment in which everyone can flourish.
- Recognise and celebrate the diversity of our community, including the different languages, cultures, beliefs and experiences represented within our school.
- Recognise that people have different needs and that treating people fairly does not always mean treating everyone in exactly the same way.
- Provide additional support and make reasonable adjustments where needed to remove barriers to learning, participation and achievement.
- Listen to children, parents, carers, staff and governors, ensuring that different voices and experiences inform our decisions.
- Challenge discrimination, bullying, harassment and prejudice, helping children to develop an understanding of fairness, inclusion and respect for others.
We meet our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty by considering the impact of our policies, practices and decisions on different groups within our school community. We use information and consultation to identify and address barriers, improve equality of opportunity and ensure that all children can participate fully in school life and achieve their potential.
Equality Objectives
Our equality objectives reflect our commitment to removing barriers, improving opportunities and ensuring that all children can flourish.
- To improve attendance, provision and outcomes for all children, particularly those with protected characteristics, and to reduce differences in progress and attainment when compared with other children nationally.
- To improve participation in extracurricular clubs and activities for all groups of children, particularly those with protected characteristics, ensuring greater inclusion and equality of opportunity.
- To develop the knowledge, understanding and skills of children, staff, parents, carers and governors in relation to equality, ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and with respect, and reducing incidents of bullying, harassment and racism.
- To improve consultation with people from different groups so that a wider range of voices and experiences are represented and involved in our decision-making processes
In evaluating the impact of our work, we pay particular attention to the attendance, participation, provision and outcomes of:
- Boys and girls, where differences are identified in particular areas of need.
- Disadvantaged children, including those eligible for free school meals and pupil premium.
- Children with special educational needs and disabilities.
- Children who are new to the country and children for whom English is an additional language.
We recognise that children may belong to more than one of these groups and that individual circumstances and experiences can affect their access to learning and school life. We use this information to identify where additional support, adaptations or changes to provision may be needed.
A copy of our Equality Opportunities Policy can be found here.
St Chad’s is part of the Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT). You can find further information about their approach to equality here.