The Equality Act 2010: British Law
Difference is protected under British law. There are very clear aims in the Equality Act that provide guidance for schools. As public bodies, we need to:
- Have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination
- Advance equality of opportunity
- Foster good relations between different people when carrying out their activities
And who are those different people? The Equality Act references nine ‘protected characteristics’; these are groups of people. No one should face discrimination because of:
- Race
- Religion
- Sex
- Gender reassignment
- Age
- Disabilities
- Sexual orientation
- Pregnancy or maternity
- Marriage or civil partnership
At St Peter’s, we talk about these different groups in an age-appropriate way.
At St Peter’s C of E Primary, we are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and careers irrespective of race, gender, disability, belief, sexual orientation, age or socio-economic background. Through our mission statement and school values we aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity in which all members of our school and community feel proud of their identity and ability to participate fully in school life. We tackle discrimination through the positive promotion of equality, by challenging bullying and stereotypes and by creating an inclusive environment. We actively consult with those affected by inequality where appropriate, in order to ensure that we promote equality and eliminate discrimination. At St Peter’s, we believe that diversity is a strength which should be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit us.
Equality in teaching and learning
We provide all our pupils with the opportunity to succeed and to reach the highest level of personal achievement. We do this by:
- Ensuring equality of access for all pupils and preparing them for life in a diverse society.
- Using materials that reflect the diversity of the school, population and local community without stereotyping.
- Promoting attitudes and values that challenge any discriminatory behaviour or prejudice.
- Providing opportunities for pupils to appreciate their own religion and culture and celebrate the diversity of other religions and cultures.
- Seeking to involve all parents in supporting their child’s education.
- Utilising teaching approaches appropriate for the whole school population which are inclusive and reflective of our pupils
- Assemblies and worships led by adults with different protected characteristics
- A focus on historically significant individuals which celebrates the achievements of different communities, including LGBTQ+ and diverse backgrounds
- A focus on different religious events in the yearly calendar (e.g. Diwali, Ramadan, Hanukkah)
- A focal scientist from a range of backgrounds (for example Mary Anning, Alan Turing)
- Class reading books which celebrate and/or are authored by people of different backgrounds (e.g. The Journey by Francesca Sanna, The Ways of the Wolf by Smriti Prasadam)
- An expanded resource of books for children to access, written by authors with different protected characteristics
- Focussing on artists holding a diverse range of protected characteristics, such as Andy Warhol or Marc Chagall
- Educating children at key social calendar events (e.g. Black History Month, Refugee Week)
- The range of different types of families, celebrated through our RSE curriculum