In order to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), schools must publish their equality objectives statement – a declaration of aims that ensures equality for all members of the school’s community.
Bentham Community Primary School Equality Objectives Statement
Opening statement
We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010. The school’s general duties, with regards to equality are:
- Eliminating discrimination
- Fostering good relationships
- Advancing equality of opportunity
We will not discriminate against, harass or victimise any pupil, prospective pupil, or other member of the school community because of their:
- Sex
- Age
- Race
- Disability
- Religion or belief
- Sexual orientation
- Gender reassignment
- Pregnancy or maternity
- Marriage and civil partnership
We aim to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, with special emphasis on promoting equality and diversity, and eradicating prejudicial incidents for pupils and staff. Our school is committed to not only eliminating discrimination, but also increasing understanding and appreciation for diversity.
Aims to eradicate discrimination
We believe that a greater level of success from pupils and staff can be achieved by realising the uniqueness of individuals. Creating a prejudice-free environment where individuals feel confident and at ease is a commitment of the school. This environment will be achieved by:
- Being respectful
- Always treating all members of the school community fairly
- Developing an understanding of diversity and the benefits it has
- Adopting an inclusive attitude
- Adopting an inclusive curriculum that is accessible to all
- Encouraging compassion and open-mindedness
We are committed to having a balanced and fair curriculum. We believe that our pupils should be exposed to ideas and concepts that may challenge their understanding, to help ensure that pupils learn to become more accepting and inclusive of others. Challenging and controversial concepts will be delivered in a way that prevents discrimination and promotes inclusive attitudes. We will also respect the right of parents to withdraw their children from certain classes which pose conflicts to their own beliefs.
Dealing with prejudice
We do not tolerate any form of prejudice-related incident. Whether direct or indirect, we treat discrimination against all members of our school with the utmost severity. When an incident is reported, through our thorough reporting procedure, our school is devoted to ensuring appropriate action is taken and a resolution is put into place which is both fair and firm.
Our pupils are taught to be:
- Understanding of others
- Celebratory of cultural diversity
- Eager to reach their full potential
- Inclusive
- Aware of what constitutes discriminatory behaviour
The school’s employees will not:
- Discriminate against any member of the school community
- Treat other members of the school community unfairly
The school’s employee’s will:
- Promote diversity and equality
- Encourage and adopt an inclusive attitude
- Lead by example
Equality and dignity in the workplace
We do not discriminate against staff with regards to their:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marital or civil partner status
- Pregnancy or maternity
- Race
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
Equality of opportunity and non-discrimination extends to the treatment of all members of the school community. All staff members are obliged to act in accordance will the school’s various policies relating to equality.
We will guarantee that no redundancy is the result of direct or indirect prejudice. All disciplinary procedures are non-prejudicial, whether they result in warnings, dismissal, or any other disciplinary action.
Prejudice is not tolerated and we are continuously working to promote an accepting and respectful environment for our school community.
Our Equality Objectives
Under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) the school is required to set Equality Objectives. Our published information must be updated annually and objectives published at least once every four years.
The school is committed to promoting the welfare and equality of all its staff, pupils and other members of the school community.
To achieve this, the school has established the following objectives:
Objective 1: To narrow the gap between the progress made by ‘all’ children and that made by ‘groups’ of children such as those eligible for the Pupil Premium.
Objective 2: To ensure that future reviews of all school policies include information about, and links to our Equality and Diversity Policy. In order to eliminate discrimination all school policies will be reviewed and revised to ensure that where relevant the importance of avoiding discrimination, victimisation or harassment is expressly noted.
Objective 3: To ensure that staff induction includes raising awareness of, and staff understanding their responsibilities under, the Equality Act.
Objective 4: To further develop the Spriritual, Moral, Social and Cultural aspects of school life.
Objective 5: To eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act 2010.
Objective 6: To advance equality of opportunity/fostering good relations across all characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
Objective 7: To consult and involve those affected by in-quality in the decisions the school takes to promote equality and eliminate discrimination (affected people could include parents, pupils, staff and members of the local community)
Latest review: February 2022