Ratified: March 2014

Review Date: March 2015

Persons responsible for review: HT & SLT

Vision

At Rokesly we aim to create a culture where children learn to respect one another; to value individual differences and appreciate individual needs. We work hard to ensure that everyone is included and that everyone feels safe and secure.

As a whole school we aim to provide an environment that is purposeful, creative and dynamic; a place where children develop a thirst for learning that will stay with them throughout their lives. We want pupils to develop into resourceful, independent learners who are equipped with all the skills they need to succeed in the modern world. We see the acquisition of technological skills as a fundamental part of this.

We want all our pupils to be able to make a positive contribution to the school community and we also provide them with opportunities and encouragement to contribute to the wider community so that this may lay the foundation for them to become responsible global citizens of the future.

We aim for our school to be a place where individual strengths are developed so that children can make outstanding achievements which will collectively result in Rokesly becoming an outstanding school.

Aims and Values

Our Equality policy is supported by the school’s vision statement and the values, which give us purpose, direction and meaning in everything we do. We tackle discrimination and promote equality and good relationships across all areas of school activity & decision making including:

  • Progress, attainment and assessments
  • Behaviour, discipline and exclusions.
  • Pupils’ personal development and pastoral care
  • Teaching and Learning
  • Admissions and attendance procedures.
  • Curriculum
  • Home school liaison service outreach services
  • Staff recruitment and continuing professional development
  • Partnerships with parents and communities

Clear targets are set within the SIP for addressing any equality issues, which are reviewed each year to evaluate whether our outcome targets have been met and if the impact is positive.

Statement of commitment

Every adult who works at Rokesly Junior School individually and collectively is committed to promoting equality, good relationships and will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination, promoting equality of opportunities for children and for each other at all times. It is the responsibility of the Governors, the Head teacher, all staff, pupils, parents and visitors to the school to work together to positively promote equality and good relationships and eliminate discrimination ensuring that this policy is in practise every day.

  • We will encourage, support and give opportunities for all pupils and staff to reach their potential. The curriculum will take full account of the gender, ethnicity, background, language, ability/disability and religion of every child.
  • We will monitor pupils’ personal development, attainment & progress individually & anonymously by gender as well as by race, language & ability/disability.
  • Active steps will be taken to ensure that admissions, attendance, discipline & exclusion processes are fair & equitable to pupils from all ethnic, ability and gender groups.
  • We will endeavour to complete impact assessments through developing & reviewing school policies.
  • We will work in partnership with parents and the wider community to establish and promote equality, disseminate good practice and tackle discrimination. We will plan for events to involve parents in their child’s education and in the life of the school. We will monitor the views of all members of the school community.
  • Views of parents, the wider community, staff & children will inform planning & decision-making.
  • Recruitment & selection procedures are consistent with The Equality Act 2006 of practice in Employment.’ The training & professional development of all staff enables them to be confident about equality issues.

School Context

The table below shows information collected on the last census date.

Number of languages spoken / 34
Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals / 20.4%
Percentage of pupils with special educational needs / 20.7%
Number of pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs / 4

Ethnicity

Ethnicity / Percentage of children
Bangladeshi / 2.7%
Indian / 0.6%
Any other Asian background / 2.4%
Pakistani / 0.9%
Other black Africa / 3.3%
Black Congolese / 0.6%
Black Caribbean / 3.6%
Black Ghanaian / 0.6%
Black Nigerian / 1.2%
Other Black / 2.1%
Black Somali / 3%
Chinese / 0.6%
Any other mixed background / 8.3%
White and Asian / 2.4%
White and Black African / 3.3%
White and Black Caribbean / 4.1%
Information not yet obtained / 0.3%
Kurdish / 1.5%
Any other ethnic group / 1.2%
Vietnamese / 0.3%
Refused / 1.5%
Albanian / 1.5%
White British / 38.8%
White Irish / 0.3%
Kosovan / 0.6%
White other / 10.7%
Turkish / 4.1%

Introduction

This policy has been written to meet the school's statutory duty under the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000. General and specific duties are required as follows:
The general duty requires us to have due regard to the need to:

  • eliminate racial discrimination;
  • promote equality of opportunity;
  • promote good relations between people of different racial groups.
    The specific duty requires us to:
  • prepare a written policy on racial equality;
  • assess the impact of our policies, including this policy, on pupils, staff and parents, of different racial groups, including, in particular, the impact on attainment levels of these pupils;
  • monitor the operation of our policies through the impact they have on such pupils, staff and parents, with particular reference to their impact on the attainment levels of such pupils.

School Context

Our school values the individuality of all our children. We are committed to giving all our children every opportunity to achieve the highest standards. Within this ethos of achievement, we do not tolerate bullying or harassment of any kind. This policy helps to ensure that this school promotes the individuality of all our children, irrespective of ethnicity, attainment, age, disability, sexuality, gender or background. We aim to reflect the multi-ethnic nature of our society and ensure that the education we offer fosters positive attitudes to all people.
This policy reflects the general and specific duties on schools as detailed in the Race Relations Act 1976 and as amended by the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000. This policy must be read in conjunction with other related school policies such as Positive Behaviour and Special Educational Needs.
Policy, Leadership and Management

This policy has been agreed by teachers, support staff and members of the governing body.
The head teacher and the governing body are responsible for ensuring that the policy is communicated, implemented and monitored.
The school aims statement includes a commitment to the promotion of equality of opportunity, tackling racial discrimination and promoting good race relations.
All staff are responsible for dealing with racist incidents, and being able to recognise and tackle racial bias and stereotyping.
Copies of the policy will be available from the school office.
Staff and governors will be given the opportunity to discuss the implications of the policy and any training needed.
All members of staff are entitled to appropriate training, in order that they can play their full part in ensuring that our school promotes racial equality. Training is linked to priorities within the School Improvement t Plan. Members of the governing body will also identify their own training needs in relation to racial equality.
The school will follow the LA Guidelines in dealing with incidents of racial harassment.
Any incident of racial harassment is unacceptable in our school. Incidents could take the form of physical assault, verbal abuse, damage to a pupil's property or lack of cooperation in a lesson, due to the ethnicity of a pupil. Racist incidents include any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.

Any adult witnessing an incident or being informed about an incident must follow these agreed procedures:

  • stop the incident and comfort the pupil who is the victim;
  • reprimand the aggressor and inform the victim what action has been taken;
  • if the incident is witnessed by other pupils, tell them why it is wrong;
  • report the incident to the head teacher or deputy head teacher and inform him/her of the action taken
  • inform the class teacher(s) of both the victim and the aggressor, then record what happened on a Behaviour Record Sheet;
  • inform both sets of parents, if appropriate.

All racist incidents will be recorded and reported to the governing body by the head teacher.
Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment

The diversity of our society is addressed through our schemes of work that reflect the programmes of study of the National Curriculum. Teachers are flexible in their planning and offer appropriate challenges to all pupils, regardless of ethnicity.
We aim to provide all our pupils with the opportunity to succeed, and to reach the highest level of personal achievement. To do this, teaching and learning will:

  • ensure equality of access for all pupils and prepare them for life in a diverse society;
  • use materials that reflect a range of cultural backgrounds, without stereotyping;
  • promote attitudes and value that will challenge racist behaviour;
  • provide opportunities for pupils to appreciate their own culture and celebrate the diversity of other cultures;
  • seek to involve all parents in supporting their child's education;
  • provide educational visits and extra-curricular activities that reflect all pupil groupings;
  • take account of the performance of all pupils when planning for future learning and setting targets;
  • make best use of all available resources to support the learning of all groups of pupils.

Admission, Attendance, Discipline and Exclusions

The school is committed to ensuring that all processes are fairly applied.
If ethnic discrepancies in attendance or exclusions become apparent then this will be addressed to discover causes and to seek positive ways forward.
Pupils' Personal Development, Attainment and Progress

Attainment is monitored across all subject areas for individual pupils.
Different levels of achievement are met throughquality first teaching and when appropriate through differentiated work. See the Special Educational Needs and More Able Gifted and Talented sections of this scheme for more information on the types of support given.

Achievement of all students is celebrated in a number of ways, including stickers, Good News certificates, Celebration assemblies etc

Extra curricular activities are open to all students who self select by aptitude, ability and personal preference.
Attitudes and Environment

In our school, we aim to tackle racial discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and good race 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 that they can then use these qualities to influence their own relationships with others;
  • having consistent expectations of 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 schemes of work and lesson planning;
  • actively tackling racial discrimination and promoting racial equality through a number of ways including newsletters to parents, displays of work etc;
  • making clear to our pupils what constitutes aggressive and racist behaviour;
  • identifying clear procedures for dealing quickly with incidents of racist behaviour;
  • making pupils and staff confident to challenge aggressive and racist behaviour.

Parents, Governors and Community Partnership

All parents have the opportunity to discuss the progress of their children at parents’ evenings. Parents are also welcome to make an appointment at any other time during the term if they have concerns.
An annual report is issued in the summer term.
Parents are invited to help with school trips and their help is greatly valued. Membership of the Parent Staff Association is encouraged.
Staffing - Recruitment, Training and Professional Development

The school is required to supply the LA with employment data related to racial groups employed within the school.
The school is committed to attracting and developing a workforce on a basis of merit.
The recruitment process will be monitored to ensure that there is no ethnic bias.
Professional development opportunities are offered to all staff.
Monitoring and Evaluation

We make regular assessments of pupils' learning and use this information to track pupils' progress as they move through the school. As part of this process, we will monitor the performance of different racial groups, to ensure that all groups of pupils are making the best possible progress. We use this information to adjust future teaching and learning plans, as necessary.

Resources are available to support groups of pupils where the information suggests that progress is not as good as it should be. The governing body receives regular updates on pupil performance information.

Statement of Intent

Equality and inclusion are an integral part of our school. We want to make our school one in which all members of the school community are given the best possible opportunity to make a success of their lives, whatever their background. Every person has a valuable contribution to make and our challenge is to unlock the talents and potential of everyone in the school. We also aim to foster an awareness of and sensitivity towards people from different races, abilities or with particular special needs and to respond positively and inclusively towards them.

We aim to support the needs of every child in the school including those who have special needs, English as a second language, is gifted or talented or comes from a particular ethnic group.

It is our aim to include children with special educational needs and disabilities successfully and to meet their needs within mainstream education. We plan to identify children with special needs as early as possible, to monitor their progress closely and to offer appropriate support within a flexible, differentiated framework. They will all have access to the National Curriculum.

Pupils with special needs will be admitted to the school in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the Code of Practice 2002 and the Special Needs and Disabilities Act 2001. Where possible, the inclusion manager will make contact with the present school of a pupil prior to admission to ensure everything is in place to support that child at Rokesly. Pupils with SEN are welcomed into the school and will be integrated as fully as possible according to their individual needs. Extra provision specified in statements will be met by the school with possible support from the local authority.

It is our aim that no child who is in need of extra help should ‘slip through the net’. We monitor the progress of all children as they move up through the school and review the amount of intervention they receive whenever there is a change in their needs.

Definition of Special Educational Needs

At RokeslyJuniorSchool we take care in defining special needs (SEN). This description is generally applied to:

  • children who are noticeably behind the rest of their peer group in academic achievement.
  • children who have a behavioural or emotional problem which is affecting their learning and academic achievement.
  • children who have medical or physical conditions which need to be noted and taken into consideration when planning for their learning.
  • very intelligent or gifted children also have special needs.
  • children who have special needs which last for only a relatively short time, as a result of trauma, illness or bereavement, for example, or these needs may be longer term.

We also recognise that children who come into school from a non-English speaking family may have a need for specialised help. Although we would by no means suggest that all second language speakers have special needs, it is important not to overlook the possibility.

Roles and responsibilities

Provision for children with SEN is a matter for the school as a whole. It is each teacher’s responsibility to provide for children with SEN in his/her class, and to be aware that these needs may be present in different learning situations. All staff are responsible for helping to meet an individual’s special educational needs, and for following the school’s procedures for identifying, assessing and making provision to meet these needs.

The Governing Body, in co-operation with the Headteacher, have a legal responsibility for determining the policy and provision for children with special educational needs.

Governors ensure that:

  • A SEN governor is identified
  • The necessary provision is made for any children with SEN
  • They have regard to the requirements of the Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs (2001)
  • They are fully informed about SEN issues
  • They are involved in the development and monitoring of the school’s SEN policy and that the school as a whole will also be involved in its development
  • The quality of SEN provision is regularly monitored

The Headteacher has responsibility for:

  • the management of all aspects of the school’s work, including provision for children with special educational needs
  • keeping the governing body informed about SEN issues
  • working closely with the inclusion manager
  • the deployment of all SEN staff within the school
  • monitoring and reporting to the governors about the implementation of the school SEN policy and the effects of inclusion policies on the school as a whole

TheInclusion manageris responsible for:

  • overseeing the day to day operation of the school SEN policy
  • co-ordinating the provision for children with special educational needs
  • liaising with and advising other school staff
  • helping staff to identify children with special educational needs
  • supporting class teachers, where necessary, in drawing up Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and devising strategies appropriate to the needs of the children
  • liaising closely with parents/carers of children with SEN so that they are involved in the process
  • liaising with outside agencies, arranging meetings and providing a link between these agencies, class teachers and parents/carers
  • maintaining the school’s SEN register and SEN records
  • assisting in the monitoring and evaluation of progress of children with SEN through the use of existing school assessment information
  • contributing to the in-service training of staff
  • managing Teaching assistants(TA) /Special needs assistants(SNA)
  • liaising with the infant school’s SENCO and SENCOs from other schools to help provide a smooth transition from one school to the other
  • regular liaison with the infant school’s SENCO regarding policy and practice

Class teachers are responsible for: