Equality

The Equality Act 2010 introduced a single Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) (sometimes also referred to as the ‘general duty’) that applies to public bodies, including maintained schools and Academies, and extends to certain protected characteristics – race, disability, sex, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment. This combined equality duty came into effect in April 2011. It has three main elements. In carrying out their functions, public bodies are required to have due regard to the need to:

  • Eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Act,
  • Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it,
  • Foster good relations across all characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

The Local Governing Board of the Cledford Primary & Nursery Academy and Gainsborough Primary & Nursery Academy are committed to giving all of our children every opportunity to achieve the highest of standards. We do this by taking account of pupils’ varied life experiences and needs. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum and have high expectations for all children. The achievements, attitudes and well-being of all our children matter, irrespective of ethnicity, attainment, age, disability, gender or background.

Our school aims to be an inclusive school. We actively seek to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual pupils, or groups of pupils. This means that equality of opportunity must be a reality for our children. We make this a reality through the attention we pay to the different groups of children within our school such as:

  • girls and boys;
  • minority ethnic and faith groups;
  • children who need support to learn English as an additional language;
  • children with special educational needs;
  • Gypsy / Roma travellers

There are a variety of ways that demonstrate our commitment to equality and inclusion. Examples include:

  • The Anti-Bullying Ambassadors builds this year on the the KIVA evidence-based programme that was launched in school the previous year to prevent bullying and to tackle any cases of bullying effectively;
  • The Pupil Premium Strategy which aims to ensure that funding reaches those pupils who need it the most so that there is no significant gap between the achievement of pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium and other pupils in the school;
  • The accessibility review carried out to inform the school Accessibility Policy & Plan to ensure that the environment enables full curriculum access that values and includes all pupils, staff, parents and visitors regardless of their educational, physical, sensory, social, spiritual, emotional and cultural needs;
  • The school behaviour system and behaviour policy ensures that all pupils are treated fairly and consistently but also recognises that some pupils may need an individual pupil support plan to that is personalised to specific needs;
  • The school follows the local authority admissions arrangements to ensure that school admissions are fair. We also encourage families to visit the school if they are considering applying for a place and welcome all families irrespective of ethnicity, attainment, age, disability, gender or background;
  • Promote tolerance, mutual respect and equal opportunities through the curriculum, British values, assemblies and visitors to school;
  • The school aims to provide a caring, supportive and accessible environment in which all pupils are valued equally and are given the opportunity to develop their full potential including those with special educational needs or disabilities. School follows DFE, local authority and other relevant guidelines when educating SEND pupils and works collaboratively with a wide variety of outside agencies and parents to help support these pupils;
  • Have a clear vision and set of values that celebrate difference in a respectful, nurturing and inclusive environment where everyone at ‘Family Gainsborough’ matters;
  • Rigorously follow up any concerns or reports of racism, bullying or any other discriminatory behaviour in school
  • Ensure that promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility and take safeguarding very seriously. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families and carers has a role to play in safeguarding children. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively we consider at all times what is in the best interests of the child and have an effective Safegaurding Team that work tirelessly to support pupils and their families;
  • When tracking pupil progress and attainment, ensure that groups of pupils are also tracked in order to identify any groups that are underachieving so that targeted support or interventions can be arranged as necessary;

Please click the link below to visit the School Policies page for more information and documents