In order to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), schools must publish their equality objectives statement – a declaration of aims that ensures equality for all members of the school’s community.

St George’s C E  Primary School Equality Objectives Statement

Opening statement

 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
• 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.

We will not discriminate against, harass or victimise any pupil, prospective pupil, or other member of the school community because of their:

• Sex
• Age
• Race
• Disability
• Religion or belief
• Sexual orientation
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy or maternity
• Marriage and civil partnership

We aim to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, with special emphasis on promoting equality and diversity, and eradicating prejudicial incidents for pupils and staff. Our school is committed to not only eliminating discrimination, but also increasing understanding and appreciation for diversity.

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

It may be possible to identify individuals from the information provided when the number of pupils with a particular characteristic is low and the information is sensitive personal information. In these cases, we have indicated this by an asterisk*.

• Gender: 52% female, 48% male

• Pupils eligible for Pupil Premium Funding – Disadvantage group: 31.4%

• Pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM): 28.3%

• Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN): 26.9%

• Pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL): 14.4%

• Young carers: 1.1%

• Looked after children: 1.4%

Through rigorous tracking and monitoring of individuals and of all the groups of children, including progress and attainment, and by providing equal opportunities to access the curriculum and activities, we aim to ensure that any gap in attainment for pupils within any of the above different groups is removed, or at least remains less than the gap nationally.

Aims to eradicate discrimination

We believe that a greater level of success from pupils and staff can be achieved by realising the uniqueness of individuals. Creating a prejudice-free environment where individuals feel confident and at ease is a commitment of the school. This environment will be achieved by:

• We eliminate discrimination by:

• Adoption of the single Equality Scheme
• Our Behaviour policy and Anti-Bullying policy ensure 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

We are committed to having a balanced and fair curriculum. We believe that our pupils should be exposed to ideas and concepts that may challenge their understanding, to help ensure that pupils learn to become more accepting and inclusive of others. Challenging and controversial concepts will be delivered in a way that prevents discrimination and promotes inclusive attitudes. We will also respect the right of parents to withdraw their children from certain classes which pose conflicts to their own beliefs.

Eliminating discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Act

The information provided here aims to demonstrate that we give careful consideration to equality issues in everything that we do at St George’s CE Primary School. ‘Due regard’ ensures that we work towards eliminating discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act.

We are committed to working for equality for all our staff, parents/carers and children to meet our duties under the Equality Act 2010.

We eliminate discrimination by:

• Adoption of the single Equality Scheme
• Our Behaviour policy and Anti-Bullying policy ensure 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

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

We advance equality of opportunity by:

• 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

 Fostering good relations across all characteristics - between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

We foster good relations by:

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

Dealing with prejudice

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, through our thorough reporting procedure, our school is devoted to ensuring appropriate action is taken and a resolution is put into place which is both fair and firm.

Our pupils are taught to be:

• Understanding of others
• Celebratory of cultural diversity
• Eager to reach their full potential
• Inclusive
• Aware of what constitutes discriminatory behaviour

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 employee’s will:

• Promote diversity and equality
• Encourage and adopt an inclusive attitude
• Lead by example

Equality and dignity in the workplace

We do not discriminate against staff with regards 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.

Prejudice is not tolerated and we are continuously working to promote an accepting and respectful environment for our school community.

Latest review: September 2021

The Equality Act and it's protective characteristics flow through our curriculum. All staff have had training on the Equality Act and this information has been shared with parents.