Introduction

The Governing Body of Langdon Park School is committed to the principle of equality for all in employment of the school and in the provision of teaching and learning. We take pride in our diverse community and all the cultural richness that it brings. We proactively assert that we are an anti-racist organisation, committed to the eradication of all forms of covert and overt racism.

This statement outlines our commitment to equality and diversity. It sets out our intention to create an environment in which everyone in our school community can take full part in the social and cultural life of the school. It also sets out our commitment to promote equality and diversity among our students, families/carers and staff.

Statement of Intent

The Governing Body recognises that certain groups in society have historically been disadvantaged on account of unlawful discrimination they have faced on the basis of their race, gender, disability, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or age. We aim to eliminate prejudices, unlawful discrimination and victimisation within the school, community and amongst the school staff. The Governing Body aims to achieve all its targets in respect of the equalities agenda.

Our Aim

We aim to develop a strong, sustainable and cohesive community within our school. We will continue to develop and promote policies and systems that make sure that the school community and our staff are not unlawfully discriminated against.  We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010.

Our aims are to:

• Promote equality of opportunity
• Promote a diverse working culture
• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, and
• Promote good relations between people from different backgrounds

Legislation and Guidance

This document meets the requirements under the following legislation:

The Equality Act 2010, which introduced the public sector equality duty and protects people from discrimination

The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011, which require schools to publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the public sector equality duty and to publish equality objectives

This document is also based on Department for Education (DfE) guidance: The Equality Act 2010 and  schools.

How we will deliver our commitment

The Governing Body has adopted the following principles:

• We recognise the value of diversity within the community, our staff and our students, and the contribution to everybody who is a friend of the school.
• We are committed to ensuring that the teaching and learning meet the varied and complex needs of students in our care.
• We will ensure that the employment of the school is accessible and open to everyone and that we actually actively value and celebrate the wide variety of lifestyles and cultures within the community.
• Our commitment is supported by a legal duty to provide learning and employment opportunities fairly and without unlawful discrimination.
• We will ensure that the school’s policies and procedures are developed and implemented withappropriate regard to the impact on equality.

Responsibilities

• We expect all members of the school community and all visitors to support our commitment to equality and meeting the requirements of the Equality Act. We provide training, guidance and information to enable them to do this.
• The Governing Body is responsible for ensuring that the school complies with legislation, and that this policy and its related procedures and action plans are implemented. The Governors’ Committees should keep relevant aspects of the School’s commitment to the Equality Duty under review. The Governing Body biennially reviews this Policy and its impact.
• The Headteacher is responsible for maintaining an ethos in the School that upholds this policy and the Equality Duty. They are also responsible for ensuring this policy is understood and implemented by all staff and for making students and staff aware of its commitments and expectations.
• Leadership Team members are responsible for addressing the policy actively within their areas of responsibility and for collating and analysing relevant monitoring evidence.
• All staff are responsible for acting on this policy consistently in their day-to-day professional responsibilities and for supporting students and their families to share the School’s commitment to equality.

Implementation, Evaluation and Monitoring

• With the help of feedback from employees and the wider school community we will continue to develop arrangements to monitor, review and evaluate the effectiveness of our employment policies and provision of teaching and learning. If our monitoring reveals any gaps in our policies/provision, we will take the necessary action.
• Where appropriate we will work alongside other organisations, local voluntary and community groups to provide excellent teaching and learning with a focus to gain access to employment, whilst promoting equal opportunities to all. We will build on good practice, and promote this whilst consulting and involving the local community. We will ensure that there are no barriers preventing anyone from accessing our school community. We will engage with local organisations who provide services to the school to ensure that they are working in line with our statement.

Equality Objectives

The School has committed to the following over-arching objectives for equality. In line with the specific duty of the Equality Act 2010, these are translated into specific and measurable objectives relevant to current school improvement priorities at each review of this policy.

The School commits to:

• giving active consideration to equality issues, including the potential effects on different people when developing and implementing strategies, policies and procedures.
• ensuring appropriate training for those responsible for developing strategies, policies and procedures and putting them into practice, and ensuring such people are made aware of their obligations in relation to the Equality Duty.
• empowering managers, workers and other relevant parties by providing appropriate and necessary information.
• monitoring and reviewing the impact of our policies and procedures, and taking appropriate corrective action where concerns are identified. Part of the purpose of monitoring and reviewing will be to ensure that policies and procedures are consistently and fairly applied.
• improving attendance of students from particular groups to ensure accessibility to an education. This will involve working in partnership with the students, parents/carers and other agencies as appropriate.
• improving knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable students to appreciate and value difference and diversity.
• reducing prejudice-related bullying and the use of derogatory language in order to ensure the safety of all students and to encourage students to become citizens who demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of equality and diversity.
• engagement with our students, parents and the wider community to ensure that we demonstrate our commitment to sharing the responsibility for raising well-educated and civic minded students, as we feel this responsibility cannot rest solely with schools.

Links to other policies:

• Accessibility Plan
• Admissions Policy
• Behaviour for Learning Procedure and Guidance
• Code of Conduct – Governors
• Code of Conduct – Staff
• Recruitment and Selection Policy
• SEND Policy and Report
• Whistleblowing  Policy

Agreed by Governors: 22^nd June 2023