Single Equality

Community Cohesion Policy

2015– 2018

Date agreed: November 2013

Date of last Review: June 2017

Date of Next Review: June 2018

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Contents

1-Foreword

2-Introduction

3-Local and School Context

4-Specific Equality Areas:

Definition / Our Commitment / Our achievements / Our aims and objectives –

  • Disability
  • Gender
  • Gender Reassignment
  • Pregnancy and Maternity
  • Race
  • Religion or Belief
  • Sexual Orientation

5-Community Cohesion

6-Equality Impact Assessment

7-Consultation and Information

8-Publishing and raising awareness

  • Specific Duties

9-Monitoring

10-Links with other school policies

11-Roles and Responsibilities

12-Breaches of the policy

13-Action Plan

Foreword

The governors and staff at St Andrew’s Methodist Primary Schoolare committed to diversity and equality in our school. This Single Equality and Community Cohesion Policyreflects our ambition to have diversity and equality at the heart of our work, and outlinesthe activities which will deliver this.

Equality of opportunity and social inclusion issues will ensure that ourschool community can truly benefit from and contribute to the improvements we are making, which will bring long-term and positive benefits to the school.Therefore the school’s Single Equality and Community Cohesion Policy will require ownership by Governors, senior leaders, all staff, the school community and the pupils in order to succeed.

Thispolicyserves essentially two purposes:

1. To set out our school’s overall commitment to equality and community cohesion in one central document for past, present and prospective pupils. ThePolicy therefore contains the school’s approach to all relevant protected characteristics of: Disability, Gender, Gender reassignment, Pregnancy and maternity, Race, Religion orBelief, Sexual orientation; and

2. How the school will manage, plan and include its Single Equality and Community Cohesion Policywithin its day to day work.

Schools also have obligations as employers and a service provider against the protected characteristics of Age and Marriage and Civil partnerships. These obligations are not covered in this framework as this policy is concerned with a school’s obligations to its pupils (mainly present and prospective pupils and where relevant former pupils and staff).Separate policy guidance covering recruitment and employment is available from Schools Personnel team and the Local Authority.

ThisSingle Equality and Community Cohesion Policy will help us ensure we focus on the outcomes that matter to our school community and that our service is more accessible and delivered effectively.This policy provides a framework for the school to eliminate prohibited conduct, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in a proactive way.

TheSingle Equality and Community Cohesion Policy is based on the Equality Act 2010.

Much of what is required of schools is already being carried out by them. The main new provisions in the Equality Act 2010 are:

  • new disability discrimination provisions (direct disability discrimination, indirect disability discrimination and discrimination arising from disability)
  • new protected characteristics:
  • new positive action provisions

Schools also have a “specific duty” to publish information around their equality objectives in an accessible manner by April 2012.

Finally, avoiding discrimination and promoting equality supports the agenda of improving attainment and progression for all pupils. Good education and skills are crucial for opening up opportunities and increasing the chance of a successful life. Furthermore, Equality and Community Cohesion is an important part of OFSTED inspectionsthrough the Quality of Teaching judgement (Spiritual Moral Social & Cultural element) and need to be considered at all times.

Introduction

There were a number of statutory duties that the school was required to meet prior to the Equality Act 2010. As such, with the implementation of this act and the harmonisation of previous legislation, this policy will refer to the Equality Act 2010 and its various provisions as the legislative framework through which this Single Equality and Community Cohesion Policywill operate.

In the development of this Single Equality and Community Cohesion PolicySt Andrew’s Methodist Primary Schoolhas moved from a focus on an individual response to an approach that builds on disability, gender, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or beliefand sexual orientationconsiderations from the start and at every level of the school, at strategic, policy, management and classroom level. We will demonstrate what we have done and what we plan to do to improve opportunities and outcomes for pupils, staff, parents and other users of the school. This policy will be monitored and delivered through the governors’ role, School Improvement and Self Evaluation process.

We will ensure that every pupil irrespective of the protected characteristics is able to achieve high standards and that strategies are in place to tackle under–achievement. We will ensure that every pupil has access to the necessary support required to enable them to achieve their highest potential. We will ensure that the school’s procedures for disciplining pupils and managing behaviour are fair, effective and equitable.

Our intention is to ensure that the adults working or volunteering in the school include as much as possible a balanced representation of the local and wider community. We believe that this will provide good role models for pupils from all backgrounds.

This Single Equality and Community Cohesion Policywill be linked to a joint action plan which sets out how we intend to implement the policyover the next three years.

St Andrew’s Methodist Primary School sees this Single Equality and Community Cohesion Policy as a living document and we will continuously review the action plan in consultation with pupils, staff, parents, carers, governors and all other stakeholders where possible. We believe they need to be involved from the very start and their involvement will inform the preparation, development, publication, review and reporting of the policyand action plan to ensure that we meet the needs of people from different backgrounds.

At St Andrew’s we are committed to complying with the public sector equality duty. We aim to eliminate prohibited conduct and advance equality of opportunity. We aim to promote and foster good relations between all members of the school community. Under the Equality Act of 2010, we recognise that from April 2012 we have a specific duty to publish information which demonstrates our compliance with the general equality duty. We will update this information every three year and we will make available the equality objectives.

School context

Local Context:

St Andrew’s Methodist Primary has 251 children and serves families from Little Hulton and Walkden.

Salford is ranked one of the most deprived boroughs in the country and is ranked 13thout of a total of 354 using the indices of multiple deprivations. The area has challenges with respect to low economic growth, poor life expectancy, higher levels of crime, low skill, high levels of people living in poverty, poor physical environment.

Statistics show that 90% of the school population are from a White British ethnic background. Overall 31% of the school population nationally are from minority ethnic groups.

There are more males than females in the school; with approximately 46% girls compared with 54% boys.

As a faith/Methodist school 43% of the families describe themselves as Christian.

Christians form the main religious group in Salford.

School Context:

St Andrew’s Methodist Primary School issituated in the town of Little Hulton in the City of Salford and has 251 pupils on roll, aged between 3 and 11.

  • This is an average-sized primary school.
  • Most pupils are of White British heritage.
  • The proportion of boys is higher than average.
  • An above average proportion of pupils are supported by the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and the children of forces families.
  • The proportion of pupils supported through school action is average.
  • The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.
  • The school exceeds the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.
  • In this average sized primary school the large majority of pupils are White British. There are however, a small number, 3.8%, of pupils with English as an additional language. At 34%, the percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals has risen rapidly, and is above the national average, reflecting an above average level of social deprivation in the area. The number of pupils with SEN support is above average at 19.3%. The number with EHC Plan is below average. Attainment on entry to the school is below age–related expectations.
  • There are three children with an EHC Plan. Numbers of children with SEN are rising. There are currently 19% on SEN register.
  • Currently, no children are looked after by the Local Authority.
  • Crime statistics and Child Protection Records in school, indicate rising levels of drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence in homes.
  • Due to a rising birth rate in the area, school currently has a bulge class in Y3.
  • There are more females than males in the school; with approximately 44% girls compared with 56% boys.
  • Fourteen children have disabilities including spina bifida, low muscle tone, visual impairment, hyper insulism, seizures and heart problems. The large majority of children consider themselves to be Christian. A small number of children (2) have professed to be Muslim.
  • 90% children are of British origin. 6% are from a mixed background and 2% are black or black British origin. 1% are from any other White background, while 0.5% are from any other Asian background. In 2016, 96% children spoke English as a first language.
  • The staff, at the time of writing this document, includes two men and 30women. The age of staff members ranges between 21 and 60 years.Christians form the main religious group in school. No members of staff have described themselves as having a different or no religion.Just less than half the staff are currently married, the remainder are single or divorced.Just above half of the staff have children and there is currently one member of staff on maternity leave. There are no members of staff with a disability.
  • The Governing Body, at the time of writing this document, has five men and seven women.It includes representatives from the Methodist Church. Four members of the governing body are aged between 70 and 82.
  • 34% pupils are eligible for free school meals
  • 19% children have SEN support.
  • 1% children have an EHC Plan.

Structure of our Single Equality and Community Cohesion Policy

This policydocument is designed to give a background to St Andrew’s Methodist Primary School in respect of the protected characteristics in both education and service provision.

Recruitment and employment issues with regard to staff may be referenced but these will be covered in more detail under separate policy.

Therefore, we have set out below:

  • The definitions in respect of each of the protected equality characteristics
  • Our commitment for each of the protected equality characteristics
  • Our headline achievements, aims and objectives for each of the protected equality characteristics

We have then set out our key approaches and tools to help us achieve these aims including:

  • Our Equalities Scheme
  • Our accountability processes for the scheme
  • Our commitment to publication and public access
  • Our monitoring and review processes

Specific Equality Areas

Disability

What do we mean by Disability Equality?

We recognise that a person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Our commitment

St Andrew’s Methodist Primary School is committed to promoting an ethos that safeguards the dignity and well being of everyone and encourages practices that take into account the rights of individuals to be treated with dignity and respect. We will not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment and victimisation directed at anyone because of their disability.

This Single Equality and Community Cohesion Policyincorporates our commitment and actions on disability equality. It demonstrates our commitment to addressing disability equality in our decision making and the delivery of education.

We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity for disabled pupils, staff and other users of our services so they can have equal access to all our school and its services. This policy is a statement of our commitment and shows clearly how we will work over the next three years to achieve our goal.

Accessibility Action Plan

We continue to make our school as disability friendly and accessible as we can. To assist us with this process, we have updated our accessibility action plan (available on school website). This outlines our plans and commitment to increase accessibility of our school environment.

We will continue to review our policies, practices and procedures so that they do not adversely affect anyone because of their disability. By also building this into our curriculum, working and procurement processes we will expect others to do the same.

Our achievements

  • We made reasonable adjustment to provide part time working opportunities for a member of staff with a disability. We continue to make reasonable adjustments for any member of staff with a disability.
  • The school building has been adjusted to meet the needs of children and adults with a disability.
  • The school will make reasonable adjustments to purchase auxiliary aids and services where required to ensure that children are not treated less favourably or discriminated against.
  • Diversity project undertaken by all year groups which included children visiting services/shops in the local area to look at accessibility and facilities for people with disabilities. The school works closely with the catering staff to ensure children with special dietary requirements are provided for.
  • Children with disabilities are fully included in extra-curricular activities and educational visits.
  • We make reasonable adjustments within our medicines policy to meet the needs of all children and staff.
  • Awareness raising on visual impairment. (Visits from Guide Dogs for the Blind)
  • Awareness raising of, and fundraising for, (childhood eye cancer) by parents at Xmas performances

Our Aims and objectives

We have identified a number of specific actions designed to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people. We have committed to:

  • All children and staff in school to annually celebrate Disability Awareness Day.
  • Reviewing marketing and communication to ensure that positive images of disabled people and their abilities are used in our promotional material and publications and around the school environment.
  • Involving disabled people in the development of the policy via the school council and consultation with parents and staff.
  • Annual review of accessibility plans regarding the physical layout of the building.

Gender

We are mixed sex school with boys and girls from the ages of 3-11.

What do we mean by Gender Equality?

We recognise that a person’s gender refers to the fact that they are male or female. In relation to a group of people, it refers to either men or women or to boys or girls.

Our commitment

St Andrew’s is committed to promoting an ethos that safeguards the dignity and well being of everyone and encourages practices that take into account the rights of individuals to be treated with dignity and respect. We will not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment and victimisation directed at anyone because of their gender.

We recognise that stereotypes exist for both genders and some can lose opportunities because of these stereotypes and welcome the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 with specific provision for Gender Equality and we will give due regard to the need to:

  • Eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment on the grounds of gender, including domestic violence, sexual violence, bullying and exploitation.
  • Promote equality of opportunity between women and men in all of our functions.

Our achievements

  • School has worked hard to narrow the gap in achievement of boys and girls. Raise on Line Data shows that this has been successful.
  • The School Council has an equal number of girls and boys
  • Sports teams include pupils of both gender

  • Information on gender is gained from the school census data and from the Raise On Line/ASP Data provided annually.
  • Our aim is to narrow the gap between the achievement of boys and girls.
  • Boys and girls have equal access to the curriculum and extra curricular activities.
  • Issues around gender violence and domestic violence are tackled by robust referral systems to the designated teacher (Headteacher) and the Family Support Worker. The needs of these families are met through a multi agency approach.
  • Classroom based lessons on gender issues are delivered through the PHSE, SRE and Citizenship curriculum.
  • We are aware that children can receive information from the internet, films and magazines where different genders are portrayed in a demeaning way. We address this through our Acceptable Use of the internet, Behaviour and PHSE policies.
  • Staff with caring responsibilities can apply for flexible working hours.

Our Aims and objectives

We have identified a number of specific actions designed to promote positive attitudes towards both boys and girls. We have committed to:

  • Continuing to ensure that boys and girls make the same progress in maths and English.
  • Promoting safe use of the Internet.

Gender Reassignment