Equality Statement

At Buckland Primary School, we are committed to promoting equality and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and able to thrive. Our school’s equality statement reflects our unwavering dedication to promoting equal opportunities and addressing discrimination in all its forms.

“We believe that every individual within our school community deserves to be treated with dignity and fairness, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other protected characteristic. We are committed to creating a school environment that celebrates diversity and champions equality for all.”

In our pursuit of equality, we strive to eliminate discrimination, prejudice, and harassment in all aspects of school life. We challenge stereotypes, biases, and inequalities to ensure that each member of our school community has an equal opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.

Our curriculum promotes inclusive and diverse perspectives, recognising the rich tapestry of our global society. We encourage respectful dialogue, critical thinking, and open-mindedness, fostering a culture that values different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints.

We are dedicated to creating a safe and nurturing learning environment that supports the well-being and mental health of all our students. We provide targeted support and reasonable adjustments to ensure that every individual can access and fully participate in our educational programs and activities.

Through ongoing training, staff members are equipped with the knowledge and skills to uphold our commitment to equality and challenge discriminatory practices. We actively promote a collaborative partnership with parents, carers, and the wider community to reinforce our shared responsibility in fostering an inclusive school ethos.

Our equality statement is not just a written declaration; it is a commitment to action. We continually monitor our practices, policies, and procedures to identify and address any barriers to equality. We encourage open feedback and reporting of incidents, ensuring that appropriate measures are taken to address any concerns promptly and effectively.

By embracing and celebrating diversity, we cultivate a school environment that encourages mutual respect, empathy, and understanding. Together, we strive for a society where equality and fairness are embedded values, preparing our students to become compassionate and socially responsible global citizens.

We are proud to promote equality and diversity at Buckland Primary School, ensuring that everyone can flourish and be proud of their unique identity.

PROMOTING THE NINE PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS

 The Equality Act became law in 2010. It covers everyone in Britain and protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Everyone in Britain is protected. This is because the Equality Act protects people against discrimination because of the protected characteristics that we all have. Under the Equality Act, there are nine Protected Characteristics: 

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

Under the Equality Act you are protected from discrimination: 

• When you are in the workplace
• When you use public services like healthcare (for example, visiting your doctor or local hospital) or education (for example, at your school or college)
• When you use businesses and other organisations that provide services and goods (like shops, restaurants, and cinemas)
• When you use transport
• When you join a club or association (for example, your local rugby club)
• When you have contact with public bodies like your local council or government departments 

The 9 Protected Characteristics are actively promoted in school through:

• Our school vision and ethos statements, SDP, and SEF
• Our school core values
• Our school positive behaviour policy
• Conscious role modelling by all adults in the school community
• Active engagement and communication with parents and carers
• Whole school and year group assemblies
• The promotion of British values in school life
• Developing a love of reading through a range of authors and genres
• Discussion within connected curriculum subjects, taking a cross-curricular approach, for example when we learn about Black History month and when we learn about relationships in RSHE
• Promoting articulation by building appropriate language and a coherent vocabulary
• PSHE and RSHE lessons
• Religious Education lessons
• Sporting competitions –inter and intra competitions
• Art projects and visits
• The work of the Pupil Parliament, Friendship Ambassadors and ECO reps
• Educational experiences and visits
• Real-life learning outside the classroom
• Guest speakers
• Developing links within the local community
• Extra-curricular activities, after-school clubs, charity work and work within the local community
• Safer recruitment, retention and staff development

We collect and analyse the following data to assess the impact of our Single Equality Policy. The data is recorded on our CPOMs system and the main areas we assess are: 

• Admissions
• Attendance
• Exclusions
• Outcomes
• Racial incidents
• Bullying incidents
• Homophobic incidents
• Any other prejudice related incidents

Embedding Protected Characteristics into the whole ethos of Buckland Primary School promotes:

• Self-esteem, self-knowledge and self-confidence
• Understanding that everyone is wonderful and everyone has wonderful talents and attributes
• Respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic process
• Acceptance of responsibility for their own behaviour and teaching children to make good choices
• Respect for their own and other cultures
• Every member of the community knowing that whatever they report it will be dealt with appropriately and followed up
• Understanding of how they can contribute positively to school and home life and to the lives of those living and working in the locality and further afield
• An understanding of Equality, Human Rights and Protected Characteristics
• An appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety
• An understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law
• An acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour
• An understanding of the importance of identifying and combating discrimination
• Parents taking an active part in identifying barriers and informing school leaders of actions that can be taken to eradicate these
• The highest expectations for all our children and staff, and the wider community