Equality and Diversity
At Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School, we welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in relation to age (as appropriate), disability, ethnicity, gender (including issues of transgender, and of maternity and pregnancy), religion and belief, and sexual identity; and we welcome our duty under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to promote community cohesion.
We recognise that these duties reflect international human rights standards as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and the Human Rights Act 1998. In fulfilling these legal obligations, we are guided by nine principles:
- Everyone is of equal value;
- We recognise and respect diversity;
- We foster positive attitudes and relationships, and a shared sense of cohesion and belonging;
- We observe good equalities practice in staff recruitment, retention and development;
- We aim to reduce and remove inequalities and barriers that already exist;
- We consult and involve widely;
- Society as a whole should benefit;
- We base our practices on sound evidence;
- Treating people equally does not necessarily involve treating them all the same.
Our policies, procedures and activities do not discriminate but nevertheless take account of differences of life-experience, outlook and background, and in the kinds of barrier and disadvantage which people may face, in relation to:
Protected Characteristics – these are the characteristics which are afforded explicit protection from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. The characteristics are:
Human rights legislation is also considered when undertaking Equality Impact
Assessments (see below). Although socioeconomic status is no longer a protected characteristic within the Equality Act 2010, it is good practice to have regard for this dimension of equality when conducting Equality Impact Assessments.
- Age
- Disability, so that reasonable adjustments are made;
- Ethnicity, so that different cultural backgrounds and experiences of prejudice are recognised;
- Gender, so that the different needs and experiences of girls and boys, and women and men, are recognised;
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and Civil Partnership
- Pregnancy and Maternity
- Race
- Religion, belief or faith background;
- Sexual orientation
All staff are expected to:
- promote an inclusive and collaborative ethos in their classroom; maintaining an awareness of British Values.
- respond to prejudice-related incidents in line with the school’s policy;
- plan and deliver curricula and lessons that reflect the 9 principles above;
- support pupils in their class for whom English is an additional language;
- keep up-to-date with equalities legislation relevant to their work.
We foster positive attitudes and relationships and ensure the principles above apply to the full range of our policies and practices.
Inclusion
We aim to be an inclusive school and to make all our children feel welcome and happy, looking forward to their school day.
If your child has special educational needs (SEN) and/or a disability he or she will be treated no less favourably than other applicants for admission. We make reasonable adjustments to ensure that pupils with disabilities are not placed at a substantial disadvantage.
Our accessibility plan (annexed to our Equality & Diversity Policy, available on our website) describes the arrangements we have already made and the further proposals planned to improve physical access to the school, access to the curriculum and access to written information.
The school has a policy and ‘school offer’ for supporting children with special educational needs which are reviewed every year. These are available in the school office and on our website. Our aim is for all children to have access to all aspects of school life, as far as is reasonable, safe and practical.
