Equality

Our School Commitment

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

• Eliminate Discrimination 
• Provide Equality of Opportunity 
• Foster Positive Relationships 

Our Aim 

At Borrow Wood Primary School we aim to promote equality and develop positive relationships, by tackling any form of discrimination. We seek to remove any barriers that may prevent children from participating in all aspects of life, making progress and achieving their full potential. We seek to remove barriers to access and participation that may prevent parents and carers being fully involved in the wider education of their child at school. We foster good relations and understanding between children and adults who share a relevant protected characteristic and who do not share it.

At Borrow Wood Primary School our aim is to ‘bring out the best in everyone’ by:

• Ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and respectfully.
• Making our school a safe and secure place for everyone.
• Recognising that people have different needs, and we understand that treating people equally does not always involve treating them the same.

The Equalities Act 2010 explains that there are nine protected characteristics.  It is unlawful for a school to discriminate against a member of the school or prospective member of the school because of their:

• Age
• Disability
• Race
• Gender
• Gender identity 
• Religion or belief
• Sexual identity and orientation
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Pregnancy/maternity

We aim to: 

• Provide a safe environment where there is a strong focus on high expectations and challenge to improve outcomes for all our children.
• Provide a learning environment where all learners learn to be independent and resilient with the support of those around them. 
• Prepare children for life in a culturally diverse society where the children are able to be confident in understanding their place and responsibilities in their local, regional, national and international communities. 
• Include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and diversity with a clear focus on the participation of children and parents in decision-making.
• Provide positive non-stereotyping information about different groups of people regardless of protected characteristics under the law (age, disability, gender, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnershipand pregnancy/maternity) 
• Plan systematically to improve our children’s understanding and promotion of diversity
• Actively challenge all types of discrimination.
• Ensure that positive messages and actions about inclusion, equality and diversity are part of our daily practice.

To achieve these aims we will: 

• Work closely with other agencies to actively promote inclusion, equality and diversity.
• Involve stakeholders in the development, review, evaluation, and impact assessment of relevant improvement plans, policies and procedures. 
• Publish and share our policies and impact assessments with the whole community.
• Collect and analyse data to ensure all groups are progressing well and no group is disadvantaged. 
• Use all available information to set suitable learning challenges, respond to children’s individual needs and support children in overcoming potential barriers to their success.
• Ensure that the broader school curriculum promotes and celebrates inclusion, equality and diversity. 
• Maintain high expectations of behaviour which demonstrate respect to others. 
• Ensure that all reasonable adjustments are made to ensure equality of opportunity with respect to disability or varying needs.
• Apply a graduated approach to identifying and supporting pupils and students with SEND. 
• Have a co-ordinated assessment process towards an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan) for those children identified as having significant and complex needs, where families are fully involved in planning, commissioning and reviewing services.
• Actively promote parent/carer engagement to monitor that needs are met and provision is appropriate. 

Our School Population September 2023

• 297 children on roll from Nursery to Year 6
• 14% of our children are on the SEND register with a range of needs including Autism Spectrum Disorder, hearing impairment, sight impairment, cognition and learning needs, social and emotional needs, speech and language needs.
• 25% of our children are classified as disadvantaged.
• 81% of our children are registered as White British. The remaining 19% of our children come from a range of different ethnic backgrounds.
• 91% of our children speak English at home as their first language.

The Odyssey Collaborative Trust Equality and Diversity Policy can be downloaded below.