Equal Opportunities Policy

’I pray that you……may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ’ Ephesians 3:18

Countess Anne Church of England Primary School

Living God’s Love through…

Ø Academic provision that recognises the need for excellence in teaching and learning.
Ø Holistic provision that encourages Christian hope; building spirit and soul through faith orientated pastoral care.
Ø Inspirational provision through a modern curriculum that celebrates diversity and provides new opportunities.

Policy name
Equal Opportunities
Policy type
Curriculum
Synopsis
Policy covers:- · Principles of equal opportunity by which the school shall function. · Range of entitlement · Behaviours which shall not be tolerated.
Maintained by
Curriculum Committee
Adopted by Governing body	Date for next review
Adopted by the Governing body September 2012	Annually Spring 2025

‘Visiting our school? If there is a specific need that you have that you would like the school to be aware of when visiting please let us know before your arrival and we shall try to make reasonable accommodation for you.’

Equal Opportunities Policy

This policy aims to:

Ø Offer equal opportunities regardless of race, culture, gender, academic ability, physical ability or class.

Ø Provide an environment free from social, sexual or cultural prejudice for all members of our school community.

Ø Achieve an environment in which members of the school community can be respected as individuals and in which the varied experiences of the community can enrich the life of the school.

The Whole School

Principles:

Equal Opportunities is the responsibility of the whole school community and must reflected throughout the organisation of the school and be addressed in the taught and hidden curriculum.

All staff, governors, parents/guardians and pupils will be involved in developing, implementing and monitoring the equal opportunities policy and practice.

All staff, governors, parents/guardians and pupils regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, gender and socio-economic background, are welcome and will be encouraged to participate in the life of the school.

The school recognises its responsibilities under the Race Relations Act, Sex Discrimination Act and Disability Discrimination Act to eliminate discrimination and to promote good race relations.

Actions:

Statements of equality dimensions and opportunity will be printed in all relevant school documentation e.g. vision statement, policies and in the induction handbook.

All governors, staff and pupils will receive training in relevant aspects of equal opportunities to ensure their ability to actively support this policy.

On acceptance to the school all parents will receive information detailing the school’s Behaviour Code. This information will be available in languages other than English as appropriate to the school community.

The school will make all reasonable effort to ensure that meetings are accessible and convenient for all and take into account particular needs and requirements, e.g physical access, child care and interpreter support.

Parents and members of the local community are invited to help in the delivery of the curriculum.

The school will include in its annual report to parents, information concerning the arrangements made for the admission of disabled pupils; the steps taken to prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably than other pupils; the facilities provided to assist access to the school by disabled pupils. Progress in this area is documented in the School’s S.E.N action plan.

Statement of Inclusion

The school recognises its need to celebrate the diversity that exists within its community and to ensure that all have the opportunity to respond to the expectations and challenges of the curriculum.

What follows are the different areas in which the school will pay particular attention to ensuring that there is Equal Opportunity for all.

Equal Opportunities – Multi–Cultural:

It is our school policy:

To incorporate a balanced view of the world through a multi-cultural approach.
To recognise that our pupils are world citizens who will meet a wide variety of cultures throughout their lives.
To evaluate our practice to ensure that it is not at the expense of indigenous cultures.

Equal Opportunities – Gender

It is our school policy:

To seek to promote non-sexiest attitudes in both children and staff.
To allow children equal access to opportunities which will equip them for adult life and to achieve challenging expectations.
To work towards the eradication of sex stereotyping.

In order to work towards the eradication of such differences we will ask ourselves the following types of questions when evaluating our practice.

1) Are all children able to try out new roles in play and learning activities?
2) Are all classroom tasks shared equally between girls and boys?
3) Do all children get an equal chance to use equipment and resources?
4) Do all our displays and teaching aids present a non-sexiest attitude?
5) Are our responses to bad behaviour the same to both boys and girls?
6) Are men and women from other cultures presented to children in a non stereotypical way?
7) Do all children have equal access to playground space and other play facilities?

Equal Opportunities – Race:

It is our school policy:

1) That no child or adult should be treated in any way differently, or in a derogatory manner, because of their race.
2) To challenge racism in the context of a caring school community.

In order to fulfil the above, the following types of behaviour will not be tolerated:

1) Provocative behaviour, i.e wearing of any racist badges or insignia.
2) The use of verbal abuse or name calling of a racist nature.
3) The encouragement of other to behave in a racist manner.
4) The ridiculing of an individual for cultural differences.
5) The telling of racist jokes or stories.
6) The exclusion of others because of their culture, ethnicity or race.

Equal Opportunities – Ability:

It is our school policy:

To recognise good effort and attitudes regardless of academic achievement.
To allow all children access to equipment, resources and teacher time regardless of their academic achievements.
To value all efforts and achievements of children in all areas of the curriculum.

Every child has an entitlement to a positive, helpful learning environment, with carefully planned work which matches individual needs, in order that they may reach their potential.

Equal Opportunities – Class:

It is our school policy:

That children should not be treated in any way differently because of an assumed social class.
That assumptions will not be made as regards class difference.

Equal Opportunities – Physical Disability:

It is our school policy that:

Children should not be treated in any way differently to others due to their individual physical disabilities and needs.
A provision should be made for the individual special needs of any disabled children within our school community.
A physically disabled child has a right to take part in all activities within the school environment in so far as their individual disability allows them to do so.

Monitoring of the policy:

We acknowledge that groups of people have often suffered disadvantage due to prejudice or ignorance. We recognise it is all too easy for the structure of institutions to result in ‘inequality by default’. We therefore commit ourselves to take positive steps to examine our policies and practice and to change them where necessary.

The effectiveness of the above policy and our practice will therefore be evaluated every two years. This will be done every two years by the Senior Management Team in consultation with the whole school community.

Review date: February 2024

Next review: Spring 2025