Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

2023 - 2026

This policy will be regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure that it does not disadvantage particular sections of the community.

Approved by Governors: September 2023  

Review date: Annually

Chair of Governors: Mrs C Sellers

Headteacher: Mrs L Wilmer

Aims:

At Co-op Academy Friarswood we value the individuality of everyone.  We are committed to giving our children every opportunity to achieve the highest of standards.  We do this by taking account of the pupil's varied experiences and needs.  We endeavour to offer a broad and balanced curriculum and have expectations of all children.  The achievements, attitudes and wellbeing of all of our children matter.  This policy is intended to help ensure that this school promotes the individuality of all children irrespective of ethnicity, religion, attainment, age, disability, gender or background.

We aim to promote equality of opportunity and good relations across all aspects of school life. We do this by:

• Creating an ethos in which pupils and staff feel valued and secure;
• Building self-esteem and confidence in our pupils, so they can use these qualities to achieve their full potential and become rounded citizens of the wider community;
• Have consistent expectations of the pupils and their learning;
• Removing or minimising barriers to learning, so that all pupils can achieve;
• Ensuring that our teaching takes into account the learning needs of all pupils through our curriculum and lesson planning;
• Actively tackling discrimination and promoting equality through our curriculum;
• Making clear to our pupils what constitutes aggressive and discriminatory behaviour;  
• Ensuring class and school resources reflect society as a whole;
• Having clear procedures for dealing with discriminatory incidents and that these are understood by all;  
• Ensuring all pupils develop mutual respect through the school ethos, teachings and adult example.

These aims are designed to ensure that the school meets the needs of all of its community, taking account of the nine protected characteristics; race, disability, sex, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity/paternity and gender reassignment. It is important that in this school we meet the diverse needs of pupils to ensure inclusion for all and that all pupils are prepared for full participation in a multi-ethnic society.

Our commitment for all:

• Ensuring that all pupils and staff are encouraged and able to achieve to their full potential;
• Respecting and valuing differences between people;
• Preparing pupils for life in a diverse society;
• Acknowledging the existence of discrimination and taking steps to prevent it
• Making the school a place where everyone, irrespective of a protected characteristic, feels welcomed and valued;
• Promoting good relations between groups within the school and the wider community;
• Ensuring that an inclusive ethos is established and maintained;
• Opposing all forms of discrimination and harassment;
• Being proactive in tackling and eliminating unlawful discrimination.

Our ethos

The school opposes all forms of racism, harassment, prejudice and discrimination.

The school publicly supports diversity and actively promotes good personal and community relations. Diversity is recognised as having a positive role to play within the school.

Staff foster a positive atmosphere of mutual respect and trust among pupils from all groups.

The school caters for the dietary and dress requirements of different groups subject to health and safety regulations.

The school enables pupils and staff to celebrate festivals and other events relevant to their particular diversity and actively encourages all pupils to understand these.

Clear procedures are in place to ensure that staff deal with forms of bullying and harassment promptly, firmly and consistently. Actions taken are in line with relevant Trust and academy policies and guidance such as those for anti-bullying and dealing with racist incidents.

All forms of harassment are recorded, monitored and dealt with in line with relevant school policies.

Pupils, staff and parents are aware of the procedures for dealing with intolerant behaviour and that such behaviour is always unacceptable.  

Leadership & Management

• School policies reflect a commitment to equal opportunities.
• The local governing body and the school leadership set a clear ethos that reflects the school’s commitment to equality for all members of the school community.
• The school promotes positive approaches to valuing and respecting diversity.
• The school leadership will work in partnership with others to promote equality of opportunity and oppose all forms of oppressive behaviour, prejudice and discrimination.
• Governors and Staff contribute to policy documents. Parents can request to see policies and have their views taken note of.
• We ensure that all recruitment, employment, promotion and training systems are fair to all, and provide opportunities for everyone.
• We have an Accessibility Plan which ensures varying needs of pupils, staff and visitors are accommodated as much as is reasonably possible.

Staffing: recruitment and professional development

• The school adheres to recruitment and selection procedures that are fair, equal and in line with statutory duties and Trust guidelines.
• All those involved in recruitment and selection are trained and aware of what they should do to avoid discrimination and ensure equality and 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

Curriculum

Curriculum planning takes account of the ethnicity, backgrounds and needs of all pupils.

The curriculum builds on pupils’ starting points and is differentiated where appropriate to ensure the inclusion of:

• All genders;
• Pupils learning English as an additional language;
• Pupils from minority ethnic groups;
• Pupils with special educational needs;
• Pupils who are looked after by the local authority;
• Pupils who are at risk of disaffection and exclusion.

Co-op Academy Friarswood monitors and evaluates its effectiveness in providing an appropriate curriculum for pupils of all backgrounds.

Each area of the curriculum is planned to incorporate the principles of equality and to promote positive attitudes to diversity. All subjects contribute to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all pupils.

Extra-curricular activities and special events cater for the interests and capabilities of all pupils and take account of parental concerns related to religion and culture.

Teaching & Learning

Teachers ensure that the classroom is an inclusive environment in which pupils feel all their contributions are valued.

All pupils have access to the National Curriculum.

Teaching is responsive to pupils’ different learning styles and takes account of pupils’ cultural backgrounds and linguistic needs.

Teachers take positive steps to include all groups or individuals.

Pupil grouping in the classroom is planned and varied. Allocations to teaching groups are kept under continual review and are analysed by ethnicity, gender, SEN and social background.

Teaching styles include collaborative learning so that pupils appreciate the value of working together. All pupils are encouraged to question, discuss and collaborate in problem solving tasks.  

Teachers encourage pupils to become independent and to take responsibility for their own learning.

Teachers challenge stereotypes and foster pupils’ critical awareness and concepts of fairness, enabling them to detect bias and challenge inequalities.

Resources and displays are developing to reflect the experience and backgrounds of pupils; they promote diversity and challenge stereotypes in all curriculum areas. They are reviewed regularly to ensure that they reflect the inclusive ethos of the school and the community in which we live in.

Assessment, achievement & progress

All pupils have the opportunity to achieve their highest standards.  Co-op Academy Friarswood ensures that assessment is as free of gender, cultural and social bias as possible, and that assessment methods are valid.

The school monitors and analyses pupil performance by gender, ethnicity, SEN and those entitled to pupil premium and is therefore able to identify groups of pupils where there are patterns of underachievement. The school ensures that action is taken to counter this.

Staff have high expectations of all pupils and they continually challenge them to extend their learning and achieve higher standards. The school recognises and values all forms of achievement.

Self-assessment provides all pupils with opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning through regular reflection and feedback on progress.

All pupils have full opportunities to demonstrate what they know, understand and can do and therefore, to benefit from assessment that summarises what they have learnt. Information from assessment is used to inform future learning.

Staff use a range of methods and strategies to assess pupil progress.

Behaviour, discipline and exclusions

Co-op Academy Friarswood expects high standards of behaviour from all pupils.

The school’s procedures for disciplining pupils and managing behaviour are fair and applied equally to all.

It is recognised that having a protected characteristic may affect behaviour. The school takes this into account when dealing with incidents of unacceptable behaviour.

All staff operate consistent systems of rewards and discipline as stated within the school’s behaviour policy.

Pupils, staff, parents and governors are aware of procedures for dealing with harassment. They know that any language or behaviour that is damaging to any minority group is always unacceptable.

Personal development and pastoral care

Pastoral support takes account of differences, and the experiences and needs of all individuals.

Appropriate support is given to victims of harassment and intolerant behaviour, using the support of external agencies where appropriate. The perpetrators are dealt with in accordance with school policies and provided with relevant support to consider and modify their behaviour.

Admissions & attendance

The admissions process is monitored to ensure that it is administered fairly and consistently to all pupils, so that pupils from particular groups are not disadvantaged.

Comprehensive information about pupils’ ethnicity, first language, religion, physical needs, diet etc. is included in all admission forms.

Co-op Academy Friarswood uses Staffordshire School Admissions for the above process.

Co-op Academy Friarswood’s families are aware of rights and responsibilities in relation to pupil attendance and absence is always followed up by appropriate personnel who are aware of community issues.

Provision would be made for leave of absences for religious observance that includes staff as well as pupils.

Provision would be made for pupils on extended leave so that they are able to continue with their learning.

Provision would be made for varying dietary needs.

Partnership with parents and the community

Progress reports to parents are accessible and appropriate, in order to ensure that all parents have the opportunity to participate in the dialogue.

All parents are encouraged to participate at all levels in the full life of the school.

The school works in partnership with parents and the community to develop positive attitudes to diversity and to address specific incidents.

Meetings for parents are made accessible for all. Parental involvement is monitored to ensure the participation of all groups.

The school’s premises and facilities are equally available and accessible for use by all groups within the community.

Responsibilities

The governing body and headteacher will ensure that the school complies with all relevant equalities legislation.

The governing body and headteacher will ensure that the policy and related procedures and strategies are implemented.

The headteacher will ensure that all staff members are aware of their responsibilities under the policy.  

All people will be treated equally including those within the nine protected characteristics.

Co-op Academy Friarswood is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people / vulnerable adults.  We expect all staff, visitors and volunteers to share this commitment.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Objectives for 2023 - 2026

Pupils: To build up a range of texts with varying representation of characters and teach about a range of artists, musicians, technicians, scientists  including but not exclusive to people of different race, ethnicity and religion, people with a disability and people from the LGBTQ+ community, in order to develop children’s understanding, knowledge and exposure to a range of cultures.

Colleagues:  To train colleagues on the importance of a curriculum that develops understanding, knowledge and exposure to a range of different cultures in order to support the teaching and learning of our children.

Community:  To highlight our CRL offer and invite people into Friarswood who may challenge stereotypical thinking and who represent but not exclusive to people of different race, ethnicity and religion, people with a disability and people from the LGBTQ+ community, in order to develop understanding, knowledge and exposure to a range of cultures.

Review of Objectives Summer 2022 with actions for 2022 / 2023