Equalities

Equality Information and Objectives

 

Public Sector Equality Duty (Updated November 2020)

The Equality Act 2010 requires us to publish information that demonstrates that we have due regard for the need to:

  • Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
  • Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
  • Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

At Richmond Methodist Primary and Nursery School, our Methodist ethos is ‘for all’. We are an inclusive school where we focus on the well-being and progress of every child and where all members of our community are of equal worth, “Doing all the good we can”.

We believe that the Equality Act provides a framework to support our commitment to valuing diversity, tackling discrimination, promoting equality and fostering good relationships between people. It also ensures that we continue to tackle issues of disadvantage and underachievement of different groups.

Our approach to equality is based on the following key principles:

  1. All members of our school community are of equal value and equality is practised in everything we do – “Doing all the good we can”
  2. We recognise and respect diversity
  3. We foster positive attitudes and relationships and a shared sense of cohesion and belonging, through our culture of being Ready, Mutually Respectful and Safe
  4. We aim to reduce and remove inequalities and barriers that already exist.
  5. We have the highest expectations of all our children and are ‘Proud to be Richmond Methodist School’

Information on pupils by protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics. Every person has several of the protected characteristics, so the Act protects everyone against unfair treatment.

In order to ensure that all pupils are protected from discrimination, the school collects information on protected characteristics.

Information on other groups of pupils

In addition to pupils with protected characteristics, we gather further information on the following groups of pupils:

  • Pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM)
  • Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
  • Disadvantaged group
  • Pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL)
  • Young carers
  • Looked after children
  • Other vulnerable groups

Eliminating discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Act

The information provided here aims to demonstrate that we consider equality issues in everything that we do at Richmond Methodist Primary and Nursery School. Our Methodist ethos ensures that we work towards eliminating discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act.

We are committed to working for equality for our whole school community to meet our duties under the Equality Act 2010.

We eliminate discrimination by:

  • Adoption of the single Equality Scheme
  • Our behaviour policy ensures that all children feel ready, mutually respectful and safe at school and addresses prejudicial bullying
  • Reporting, responding to and monitoring all racist incidents
  • Regularly monitoring the curriculum to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of our pupils and that it promotes respect for diversity and challenges negative stereotyping
  • Teaching is of the highest quality to ensure children reach their potential and all pupils are given equal entitlement to success
  • Tracking pupil progress to ensure that all children make rapid progress, and intervening when necessary
  • Ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to access extra-curricular provision
  • Listening to and monitoring views and experiences of pupils and adults to evaluate the effectiveness of our policies and procedures.

Advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

We advance equality of opportunity by:

  • Using the information we gather to identify underachieving groups or individuals and plan targeted intervention
  • Ensuring participation of parents/carers and pupils in school development
  • Listening to parents/carers
  • Listening to pupils at all times

Fostering good relations across all characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

We foster good relations by:

  • Ensuring that Richmond Methodist Primary and Nursery School is seen as a key contributor in our local community
  • Ensuring that equality and diversity are embedded in the curriculum and in Assemblies.

Equality Objectives

At Richmond Methodist Primary and Nursery School, we are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers, irrespective of race, gender, disability, belief, religion or socio-economic background through our School Improvement Objectives.