Equality
At St Mary's CofE Primary School, we welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010. We are committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity and valuing diversity for all children and families. The school’s general duties, with regards to equality are:
- Eliminating discrimination.
- Fostering good relationships.
- Advancing equality of opportunity.
We will not discriminate against, harass or victimise any pupil, prospective pupil, or other member of the school community because of their:
- Gender
- Race
- Disability
- Religion or belief
- Sexual orientation
- Gender reassignment
- Pregnancy or maternity
St Mary's CofE Primary School aims to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development, with special emphasis on promoting equality, 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. 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:
- Being respectful
- Always treating all members of the school community fairly
- Developing an understanding of diversity and the benefits it can have
- Adopting an inclusive attitude
- Adopting an inclusive curriculum that is accessible to all
- Encouraging compassion and open-mindedness
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 instead promotes inclusive attitudes. St Mary's CofE Primary School does 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 a 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.
At St Mary's CofE Primary School 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.
- Treat other members of the school unfairly.
The school’s employee’s will:
- Promote diversity equality.
- Encourage and adopt an inclusive attitude.
- Lead by example.
Equality Objectives:
St Mary's CofE Primary School is committed to promoting the welfare and equality of all its staff, pupils and other members of the school community. To achieve this, the school has established the following objectives:
- To improve attendance of children who are SEND
- To narrow the attainment gaps of SEN against that of SEN children nationally.
- To ensure all pupils are aware of, appreciate, and value difference and diversity.
- To support children who have friendship issues and respond promptly to signs of potential bullying and inappropriate behaviour.
- To look after pupils’ mental health and wellbeing by ensuring they understand their emotions and how they can manifest in their behaviours. To reduce anxiety and stress within pupils.
- To look after staff health and wellbeing by ensuring they are kept safe from bullying/exclusion/inequality and respond promptly to signs of potential bullying and inappropriate behaviour.
The school’s Equality Policy gives further