Stanmore House School
Equality Strategy
2013 – 2017
Contents
Foreword Page 3
Context Page 4 - 5
What Stanmore Does
Capability Scotland Strategic Vision and Mission
Stanmore House School Vision and mission Statement
Aims and Objectives
What we want to achieve in Equality Page 5
Stanmore House Schools Equality Outcomes 2013 – 2017 Page 5 - 6
How we will achieve our outcomes Page 6 - 7
The process of developing equality Outcomes
How we will manage equality Page 7 - 8
Governance and responsibility
Consultation, involvement and partnership
How we will Achieve our outcomes Page 9 - 13
Foreword
The equality act 2010 gives employers and businesses greater clarity about their responsibilities. It set out a clear expectation that public services must treat everyone with dignity and respect.
Capability Scotland and its schools share a long history of commitment to dignity and respect, including learners and of careful consideration as to how best to ensure our visions and aims become reality. Capability Scotland’s Stanmore House school is committed to a culture that respects difference. We believe as a third sector organisation, we can play our part in promoting equality and diversity. We recognised that equality of access to education is crucial in unlocking many significant opportunities in life, and we are very much aware of our responsibility to uphold both equality in learning and the credibility of the Grant Aided Special Schools Additional Support Needs Division of the Scottish Government’s Schools Directorate.
The public sector equality duty, created by the equality Act 2010, replaces the race, disability and gender equality duties. It is supported by the specific duties contained in the Equality Act 2010 Specific Duties) Regulations 2012
Stanmore House Schools Equality Strategy 2013 – 2017 explains our commitment and actions to meet, and go beyond, our statutory obligations. It articulates the equality outcomes that all Scottish public bodies were challenged to develop by the specific duties published in May 2012. It explains how we develop these, and how we will monitor our progress towards them. We aim to ensure that out equality strategy is driven by consideration of the diverse needs of individuals served by Capability Scotland’s Stanmore House School.
Emma McFarlane
Head of School
Stanmore House School
Context
Stanmore House School is 1 of 7 of Scotland’s Grant Aided Special Schools (GASS) receiving a substantial proportion of funding from the Additional Support Needs Division of the Scottish Government’s Schools Directorate. Stanmore House School are operated by Capability Scotland, Scotland’s largest charity working with people with disabilities.
Stanmore House School were established to provide services for children and young people age between 0-18 years, affected by disorders of movement or coordination, including reductions in communication, caused by cerebral palsy or other conditions, the term ‘motor impairments’ being the collective term to describe the problems affecting such children. As a national and government funded organisation the schools are required to meet the needs of children and young people with motor impairments throughout Scotland.
Stanmore House School received an outstanding Education Scotland Inspection in 2013 and particular mention was made by HMIe of the school’s effective approach to partnership working. They utilise their partnership working to promote equality and diversity.
The independent nature of the schools means that it operates out with local authority educational and NHS structures and is solely responsible for the delivery of all its educational, therapeutic and other responsibilities using progressive educational methods. However, the schools address the educational needs of children and young people in the same framework as all other Scottish children eligible for school provision and through the multi-disciplinary team mention above.
Further information can be found on Capability Scotland’s website www.capability-scotland .org.uk/services-schools/schools.
Capability Scotland’s Vision and Mission is:
“We will be a major ally in supporting disabled people to achieve full equality and to have choice and control of their lives by 2020. Our Mission is to transform people's expectations of what is possible and ensure that disabled people achieve equality”.
Stanmore House School Vision and Mission Statement
“We strive to build a learning community which enables every pupil to access the appropriate curriculum; to be included in educational opportunities through our holistic approaches to education, therapy, medical support and care”.
Aims & Objectives
· To enable pupils to achieve their potential through access to a broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated 24 hour curriculum combining educational and therapeutic approaches.
· To support pupils in becoming successful learners, effective contributors, responsible citizens and confident individuals.
· To promote social inclusion through educational programmes, our partnership with other agencies and involvement in our local community.
· To positively work in partnership with our pupils’ families, carers and all other relevant agencies to ensure pupil wellbeing.
· To operate a holistic approach and encourage collaborative working practice across staff teams.
· To offer appropriate opportunities for all staff to continue to develop their professional knowledge, skills and experience.
· To respect and value individual rights and aspirations and promote a sense of fairness and equality.
The Curriculum of the school reflects these aims and current thinking and practice in:
· the education of pupils who have cerebral palsy and other significant physical impairments
· education standards in mainstream schools
· the provision of an alternative highly structured and differentiated curriculum
The school moto is: “Celebrating Success”.
What we want to achieve in equality
Stanmore House School’s Equality Strategy 2013 – 2017 explains our commitment and actions to meet, and go beyond, our statutory obligations. It presents Stanmore House School’s equality outcomes and explains how we developed these, and how we will monitor our progress towards them.
Stanmore House School’s Equality Outcomes 2013 - 2017
Stanmore House School’s equality outcomes are statements of the results we aim to achieve in promoting equality, tackling discrimination and fostering good relations across each of the protected characteristics for:
· Age
· Disability
· Gender
· Gender reassignment
· Pregnancy and maternity
· Race
· Religion or belief
· Sexual orientation
· Marriage and civil partnership
· Outcome 1: Protected Characteristics:- Age and Disability
Advance equality of opportunity by Improving the transitional experiences of disabled pupils by working with external agencies including social work departments and further and higher education establishments to tackle existing barriers to successful transition.
· Equality Outcome 2: Protected Characteristics :- Disability, Religion and Belief
To eliminate unlawful treatment, and advance equality of opportunity for disabled pupils through an increase awareness and understanding of Assistive and Augmentative Communication in the wider community. By working with pupils, families, members of the Capability Scotland allied health team and external agencies including NHS Education for Scotland, CALL (Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning) Scotland and SCTCI (the Scottish Centre of Technology for Communication Impairment) to ensure that people who use AAC have their voice listened to and understood.
· Equality Outcome 3: Protected Characteristics:- Gender
Stanmore House School takes appropriate action to address any discrimination, potential to promote equality in practices of appointment in relation to protected characteristics. To address the gender imbalance of staff working at Stanmore House School.
The Process of developing equality outcomes
In developing our equality outcomes, we used the expertise available within the existing framework that oversees out compliance with the equality duties. This will allow us to build on work from previous years.
To ensure that Capability Scotland Stanmore House School’s outcomes were comprehensive senior management met with members of the Quality/ Policy team within the organisation. The outcomes were considered in relation to both the schools main function and all of its most significant areas of challenge.
Stage 1 – Identify the current status
· Gather, assess and use employee/pupil data
· Assess and review our policies and practices
· Take into consideration pupil capacity for involvement
Stage 2 – Report on findings
· Publish a report covering:
Our priorities for action including continually reviewing and monitoring the report and producing an update (every two years) covering our progress towards equality outcomes
How We Will Do This
· Knowledge: all employees are aware of the general equality duty requirements. This involves a positive ethos towards protected characteristics and decision-makers should be aware of the implications of the equality duty when making decisions about policies and practices
· Timeliness: an impact assessment of all policies at writing and at review must be undertaken
· Meaningful consideration: consideration of the three needs must form an integral part of our decision-making process. This must be carried out with rigour and with an open mind
· Sufficient information: decision-makers must consider what information they have as well as what information might be needed to give proper consideration to the duty
· Review: we must have regard to the needs of the duty when policies are implemented and reviewed
Who Needs to be Aware of Our Obligations?
For the purposes of corporate responsibility and governance the following groups need to be actively engaged and involved in the process of meeting the SSD’s. This will be done through developing and measuring progress on outcomes by gathering data and analysing trends.
Whilst not an exhaustive list, for Stanmore House School this could include:
· Executive Management Board – in how they ensure good governance and comply as a group with the duty
· Learning Provision Leadership Team – in how they oversee the design, delivery, quality and effectiveness of our functions
· Human resources– in how they build equality considerations into employment policies and procedures including review and evaluation
· Policy makers – in how they build equality considerations into all stages of the policy making process including review and evaluation
· Frontline staff1 – in how they meet the needs of people from equality groups including the teaching of the principles of equality
· Communications staff2 – in how they ensure relevant equality information is available and accessible
· Pupils – in how they are made aware of the principles of equality and how they can have a voice in such matters pertaining to them
· Parents and carers – in how they are made aware of the principles of equality and how they can have a voice in such matters pertaining to them
How we will manage equality
Governance and responsibility
Stanmore House school leadership along with the Capability management team will exercise their duty to ensure compliance, and implementation of the equality strategy and action plan. Capabilities internal audit and quality team will support the fulfilment of our equality duties. The Head of Learning Provision is accountable for the fulfilment of Stanmore House School’s equality duties, and is supported by the Lead Professional for Education.
Stanmore House School will set up an equality steering group. There key responsibilities will include:
· Consider implications for Stanmore House School of relevant legislative development.
· Approve ongoing development of Stanmore House School’s equality framework and strategy.
· Promote and advocate increased organisational understanding of SQA equality obligations.
· Ensure consistence across the organisation and both its schools in approaches to fulfilling these obligations.
Stanmore House School will publish a dedicated equality report at least every two years. The steering group will publish minutes of meetings and publish reports as part of existing management reporting in place as part of the quality management system within the organisation.
Consultation, involvement and partnership
Capability Scotland and Stanmore House School have strong links with a number of organisations in the area of rights and equality.
As it moves into implementation of actions contributing to its equality outcomes Stanmore House School will further build on these links to ensure that its decisions are based on robust evidence and reflect the needs of the stakeholders it serves.
1
How we will achieve our Outcomes
Equality Outcomes Action Plan
Outcome 1 / TransitionsContext / Scottish Government Legislation / GIRFEC / Accessibility Strategies / Capability Scotland mission / Schools visions, values and aims / Schools Improvement Plans
Linked to context / P / P / P / P / P / P
Protected Characteristics / Age
P / Disability
P / Gender / Gender Reassignment / Pregnancy and maternity / Race / Religion or Belief / Sexual Orientation / Marriage and Civil Partnership
Identified Barriers / Tasks / Lead / Timescale / Resources / Success Criteria / Monitoring Evaluation
Transference from children to adult social work and allied health services
Identification of suitable adult placements including further education
SDS/ direct payments not reflective of adult requirements
Guardianship
Young person’s capacity/ incapacity and understanding of the transition process
External cancelation of meetings causing slippage affecting transition timescales rights
Educational rights timescale variable across Local Authorities / Highlight the need for early identification of adult social worker and relevant allied health professionals at first transition meeting
To be placed as a fixed agenda item for all transition meetings
Awareness training for staff, Leavers and parents/ carers surrounding SDS and direct Payments
To be placed as a fixed agenda item for all transition meetings
To provide an accessible transition programme for all leavers that is individualised to each leavers needs and aspirations
To ensure that annual planners for review/ transition meeting are communicated to all attendees at the beginning of the school year.
Any cancellations are re scheduled as close to the original meeting.
To ensure that annual planners for review/ transition meeting are flexible to accommodate leaver dates as set by the local authorities. / Head of School or Chair of Transition meetings
Head of School or Chair of Transition meetings
Allocated Social worker, School leaver and parent/ carer
Head of School or Chair of Transition meetings
Head of School
School Staff
Social Work
? advocacy
Leaver
Head of School or Chair of Transition meetings
School admin
Head of School or Chair of Transition meetings
School admin
Head of School or Chair of Transition meetings
School admin / First transition meeting as identified on review planner
3-6mths before leaving date