Equality Statement
Equality Statement
At Higham St John’s C E Primary School, all pupils and members of staff are provided with opportunities to fulfil their potential. All are treated fairly in accordance with Equality Act with regards to their protected characteristics of: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.
We believe that equality is at the heart of good educational practice. All pupils are of equal value and deserve equal access to every aspect of school life. They have equality to learn and work towards their highest possible levels of achievement.
The vision and values which we uphold as a school help to emphasise equality for all staff and pupils at all times. All personnel are responsible for ensuring that we implement this policy and help eliminate discrimination.
Equality means that discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation is not acceptable. These are referred to as protected characteristics and it is illegal to discriminate against these under the Equality Act 2010. The school is committed to improving equality of opportunity for people with protected characteristics.
Our school aims to meet its obligations under the public sector equality duty by having due regard to the need to:
Public Sector Equality Duty requires us a school to:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation Advance equality of opportunity between different groups
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
- Foster good relations between different groups
The Two specific duties require us to:
- Publish information to show compliance with the Equality Duty
- Publish Equality Objectives at least every 4 years which are specific and measurable
Having due regard for advancing equality involves:
- Removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics
- Taking steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people
- Encouraging people from protected groups to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low
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.
Equality Objectives
Schools are required to choose equality objectives (at least one) that are specific, achievable and measurable. These are specific to our school community and circumstances. They are a tool for improving the school experience for pupils. Our objectives will be aligned with our School Improvement Plan.
Our Equality Objectives:
- to improve attendance for pupils from ethnic minority groups
- to narrow the attainment gap between males and females in mathematics
- to increase understanding between religious groups
- to raise attainment in writing for males
Equalities Policy