Equalities Statement
Download a copy of this Equalities Statement
Our school commitment
The Equality Act 2010 requires us to publish information that demonstrates that we have due regard for the need to:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
- Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
At Highbury Quadrant:
- We try to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and respectfully
- We want to make sure that our school is a safe and secure place for everyone
- We recognise that people have different needs, and we understand that treating people equally does not always involve treating them the same
- We aim to make sure that no-one experiences less favourable treatment or discrimination because of:
- Their age
- A disability
- Their ethnicity, colour or national origin
- Their gender
- Their gender identity (they have reassigned or plan to reassign their gender)
- Their marital or civil partnership status
- Their being pregnant or having recently had a baby
- Their religion or belief
- Their sexual identity and orientation.
- We recognise that some pupils need extra support to help them to achieve and be successful
- We try to make sure that people from different groups are consulted and are involved in our decisions, especially pupils, parents and those of us who can be treated less favourably.
We welcome our duties
- To promote community cohesion (under the Education and Inspections Act 2006)
- To eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations (under the Equality Act 2010)
We also welcome the emphasis of Ofsted inspections on the importance of accelerating the progress of pupils from groups who are underachieving.
As part of this we will:
- Publish information every year about our school population
- Outline how we have due regard for equality and how we promote community cohesion
- Publish equality objectives to show how we plan to tackle particular inequalities and improve what we do.
Information about the pupil population
Information on pupils by protected characteristics
The Equality Act protects people from discrimination on the basis of ‘protected characteristics’. Every person has several of the protected characteristics, so the Act protects everyone against unfair treatment.
| Pupils | % of school population with this characteristic | Additional information about the school or this group | |
| Pupils on role | 251 |
Boys: 132 Girls: 119 |
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| Pupils with a disability | 0 | ||
| Pupils from a minority ethnic group | 252 | ||
| Religion and belief | Buddhist | 2 | |
| Christian | 48 | ||
| Hindu | 3 | ||
| Muslim | 135 | ||
| Sikh | 2 | ||
| No religion | 32 | ||
| Other religion | 5 | ||
| unknown | 24 | ||
Sensitive information on some pupils with protected characteristics
Some information in relationship to protective characteristics we regard as sensitive. This includes ethnicity, gender, age, disability and religion. It is not appropriate for us to collect information from pupils in relation to some protected characteristics, such as gender identity and sexual orientation.
However, as a school we are aware that there may be a number of equality issues for these pupils. We are committed to understanding and addressing these.
Information on other groups of pupils
Ofsted inspections of schools will look at how schools help “all pupils to make progress, including those whose needs, dispositions, aptitudes or circumstances require additional support.” This may include pupils from low income households, pupils with special educational needs and pupils for whom English is an additional language.
In addition to pupils with protected characteristics, we wish to provide further information on the following groups of pupils:
| Pupils | % of school roll | Explanatory notes |
| Pupils qualifying for pupil premium | 42. % | Additional funding is allocated for these pupils to support their needs under the remit of pupil premium funding. |
| Pupils qualifying for free school meals | 41% | |
| Pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any time in the last 6 years | 42% | |
| Pupils with special educational needs |
27% Pupils with an EHCP 5% |
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| Pupils with English as an additional language | 53% | |
| Looked after children | 0% | |
| Other vulnerable groups | 35% | This includes pupils who may have experienced trauma of some description, may be accessing support from agencies other than school or may be living in very challenging circumstances. |
Our main equality challenges
The school serves a dynamic community, which in part reflects significant social and economic challenges. The proportion for disadvantaged children is high: 41% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. 6% of our pupils have been supported by children’s social care or through other agencies.
This year we have been looking closely at any apparent gaps in the attainment and progress of all groups. Where gaps in attainment and/or progress have been identified strategic work is taking place at all levels to address and monitor the situation. School led tutoring has been carefully used in this area.
In addition to this the school has a focus on following a recommendation in the last OFSTED report (May 2018) that we look to continue to improve outcomes in reading and attendance at our school.
How we have due regard for equality
The information provided here aims to show that we consider equality issues in everything that we do in the school.
We are committed to working for the equality of all our pupils. To meet our duty to have due to regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct towards pupils with protected characteristics prohibited by the Act:
Eliminating discrimination
Harassment on account of race, religion or belief, gender or gender identity, disability or sexual orientation is unacceptable and is not tolerated within the school environment. All staff are expected to deal with any discriminatory incidents that may occur. They are expected to know how to identify and challenge prejudice and stereotyping; and to support the full range of diverse needs according to a pupil’s individual circumstances. Racist and homophobic incidents and other incidents of harassment or bullying are dealt with by the member of staff present, escalating to a class teacher / where necessary to a senior leader. All incidents are reported to the Headteacher (HT) and racist incidents are reported to the governing body and local authority on a termly basis. Below are listed some of the policies in place and practices that help us show due regard to the need to ‘eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.’
Information is available and can be requested on the following:
- Our governing body are informed termly of any equality issues through the HT’s report.
- We have a school behaviour policy that has high expectations for good behaviour and discipline with clarity about procedures across the school.
- We have a school anti-bullying policy that clearly gives the definition of bullying and outlines procedures should any bullying occur.
- We deal promptly and effectively with all incidents and complaints of bullying and harassment that may include cyber-bullying and prejudice-based bullying related to special educational need, sexual orientation, sex, race, religion and belief, gender reassignment or disability.
- We keep a record of all such incidents and notify those affected of what action we have taken. We provide training to all staff in relation to dealing with bullying and harassment incidents.
- We have an Achievement Policy that outlines the provision the school makes for pupils with special educational needs.
- to all children and adults.
- We have carried out accessibility planning for disabled pupils that increases the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum, improves the physical environment of the school and improves the availability of accessible information to disabled pupils.
- Our admission arrangements are fair and are laid out in our Admissions policy.
- Our complaints procedure sets out how we deal with any complaints relating to the school.
- We aim to observe and implement the principles of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in our employment practice.
- We have procedures for addressing staff discipline, conduct and grievances.
- We have a staff code of conduct which is reviewed each year and is logged in the Staff Handbook.
What has been the impact of our activities? What do we plan to do next?
Disability
We are committed to working for the equality of people with and without disabilities. We:
- Support disabled learners and staff by meeting their individual needs.
- Take steps (reasonable adjustments) to ensure that disabled pupils are not put at a disadvantage compared to other pupils. These include the use of specialist equipment, planning academic interventions to support disabled pupils.
- Involve disabled learners, their families and disabled staff in the changes and improvements we make and consulting them on issues affecting them, rather than with people acting on their behalf. For example, we consulted them regarding accessibility for our school refurbishment.
- Develop a curriculum that supports all pupils to understand, respect and value difference and diversity. In PHSCE pupils learn explicitly about valuing diversity.
- Enabling all pupils to learn about the experiences of disabled people and the discriminatory attitudes they often experience. We do this through the use of positive texts in literacy for example: ensuring that the curriculum has positive images of disabled people
- We hold termly Pupil Progress Reviews to evaluate and assess pupil progress and attainment and use the evaluation to inform decisions about individual children and groups, including disabled pupils
- We have made sure that there are efficient interventions to support pupils with SEND.
- We break down our assessment of them so that we can see and celebrate even the smallest achievement that some children make, expecting to see others make more- depending on the individual needs of every child in this group.
What has been the impact of our activities? What do we plan to do next?
Ethnicity and race (including EAL learners)
We are committed to working for the equality of all ethnic groups.
We:
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- Monitor the attainment and progress of all our pupils by ethnicity.
- Set targets to improve the attainment and progression rates of particular groups of pupils.
- Identify and address barriers to the participation of particular groups in learning and other activities by analysing needs and targeting interventions.
- Develop particular initiatives to tackle the motivation and engagement in learning of particular groups. For example, use of ICT to engage and motivate.
- Involve parents, carers and families in initiative and interventions to improve outcomes for particular groups.
- Develop a curriculum that supports all pupils to understand, respect and value difference and diversity. For example, during Black History Month we learn about Black people who have influenced history.
- Provide all pupils to learn about the experiences and achievements of different communities and cultures.
- Ensure that the curriculum challenges racism and stereotypes.
- Organise celebrations and special events, for example we hold an international evening every year in July.
- Ensure that the curriculum is supported by resources that provide a range of positive images that reflect the diverse communities of modern Britain.
- At the end of the year we compare ourselves to other schools locally and nationally, expecting that our children will do as well as if not better than other children.
- We work closely with parents, providing interpreters when necessary.
What has been the impact of our activities? What do we plan to do next?
Gender
We are committed to working for the equality of all pupils though:
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- Monitoring the attainment of all our pupils by gender.
- Taking a “Which boys? Which girls?” approach to address underachievement: neither boys nor girls are treated as homogeneous groups with easily definable strengths and weaknesses.
- Setting targets to improve the attainment and rates of progress of particular groups of boys and girls.
- Identifying and addressing barriers to the participation of boys and girls in activities.
- Developing particular initiatives to tackle boys’ attitudes to school and learning, for example by engaging with fathers and drawing them into school life.
- Both male and female parents and carers are encouraged to be involved in the work of the school and contribute to their children’s learning and progress.
- We ensure we respond to any sexist bullying or sexual harassment in line with the school policies.
- Through our curriculum, we encourage pupils to develop an understanding of the experiences of different genders in society and challenge sexism and negative stereotypes.
- Ensuring the inclusion of positive, non-stereotypical images of women and men, girls and boys across the curriculum and across age groups.
What has been the impact of our activities? What do we plan to do next?
Religion and Belief
We are committed to working for the equality for people based on their religion, belief and non-belief.
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- The school takes every opportunity to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all pupils and strategically plans events, such as International Evening and assemblies.
- The school’s curriculum, including RE & PSHCE, supports pupils to be accepting of one another’s lifestyles and beliefs, as well as exploring shared values
- We use the PSHCE & RE curriculum to teach pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs. This helps to challenge prejudice and discrimination.
- Assemblies and visits to local faith communities provide us with a means to learn about each other’s religions and beliefs.
- The school seriously deals with all bullying or harassment on the basis of faith and belief and tackles prejudices around racism and xenophobia, including those that are directed towards religious groups and communities, for example anti-Semitism and Islam phobia.
- All incidents are reported to the LA.
Consultation and engagement
Our actions to advance equality have been informed by the input of staff, pupils and parents and carers. We widely consult and as an experienced, long-standing staff team, have earned the respect and trust of the school community with whom we work in complete partnership.
We have achieved this through:
- Input from staff surveys or through staff meetings / INSET
- Feedback from the school council, PSHE lessons,
- Issues raised in annual reviews or reviews of progress on Individual Education Plans/ Personalised Provision Maps, mentoring and support;
- Feedback at governing body meetings.
- We have a very comprehensive School Improvement Plan which is reviewed by school leaders and advisors every year (consultation with the senior management team and key staff). Action points identified are addressed over the year and we carefully allocate funding where necessary to achieve specific outcomes.
Our Equality Objectives
The Equality Act 2010 requires us to publish one or more specific and measurable equality objective. We aim to address areas where we need to act to improve equality and tackle disadvantages.
We will regularly review the progress we are making to meet our equality objectives.
| Equality objectives for the academic year 2022-2023 | Progress: to be reviewed at the end of the Summer Term 2023 |
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