Public Sector Equality Duty
Aims
Our school aims to meet its obligations under the public sector equality duty by having due regard for the need to:
Eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is 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 across all characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
What is the Public Sector Equality Duty (the PSED)?
The Equality Act 2010 introduced a single, general duty for public bodies, including schools, and which extends to all ‘protected characteristics’ – race, disability, sex, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment.
Legislation and guidance
This document meets the requirements under the following legislation:
The Equality Act 2010, which introduced the public sector equality duty and protects people from discrimination
The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011, which require schools to publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the public sector equality duty and to publish equality objectives
This document is also based on the Department for Education (DfE) guidance: The Equality Act 2010 and schools.
Roles and responsibilities
The governing board will:
Ensure that the equality information and objectives as set out in this statement are published and communicated throughout the school, including to staff, pupils and parents.
Delegate responsibility for monitoring the achievement of the objectives on a daily basis to the Headteacher
The Senior Leadership Team will:
Promote knowledge and understanding of the equality objectives amongst staff and pupils.
Monitor success in achieving the objectives alongside governors.
How does Hazeldown comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty?
The school has a range of policies which make explicit the school’s commitment to actively promoting equality of opportunity for all. The main policies that deal with equality of opportunity are:
Accessibility policy
Equality policy
SEND policy
Behaviour policy
Hazeldown School prides itself on being an inclusive school that cares for every individual child. We have an inclusive approach to all members of our school community, whether they are pupils, parents, staff, other stakeholders or visitors. This applies to all aspects of our work, including all aspects of pay and employment.In doing so, we promote and deliver a range of strategies to ensure that we comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty. Through assemblies and learning sessions, particularly PSHE and RE, we give all of our pupils the opportunity to discuss and explore the values that underpin the PSED.
Equality objectives
Our current Equality objectives are below, along with the outcome of monitoring. They can be found in the document Equality Policy and Objectives on the policies web page.
Objectives (Specific and measurable) | Monitoring | Additional notes |
Objective 1: Teaching and Learning · Ensure that the curriculum promotes role models that young people can positively identify with. · Increase staff knowledge and awareness of promoting equality. · Ensure that relevant and research on disadvantaged pupils in the local area drives the PP strategy. · Increase confidence of all staff in adapting the curriculum. | Reading progression document for class novels purposefully includes a range of texts covering different subject matter and role models of different gender, race and religion PP children are identified and specific details regarding families collated to identify patterns or specific areas for support The curriculum is embedded through Cornerstones and additional Schemes of work | A new Devon Agreed Syllabus for RE in September 2024 will be supplemented with the purchase of a new scheme of work to support the teaching team – connections to equality are within the syllabus. |
Objective 2: Race and Faith · Ensure that all out of school activities enable everyone to participate. · Race Equality Duty: Identify, respond and report racist incidents to the Local Authority. · Celebrate cultural events throughout the year to increase pupil awareness and understanding of different communities e.g., Diwali, Eid and Christmas. · Build in opportunities to explore practices and celebration of different faiths and cultures. | They are, but this does need to be publicized to a greater degree an/or specific invitations issued or specific conversations had. This is an embedded process. These are covered through the curriculum. Initial work on identifying global family origins and connections within our school community to celebrate diversity has been really positive (see corridor display). Children share their cultural celebrations and connections in class as part of curriculum work (where they are comfortable to do so.) | Further focus on ‘celebrating’ other faiths and religions rather than the ‘tolerating’ concept in the traditional british values is important. |
Objective 3: Disability and Gender · Ensure that the school is aware of the access needs of disabled pupils, staff, parent/carers and any other visitors. · Improve signage and external access for visually impaired people. · Ensure a parking space is available for disabled parents/ visitors. · Ensure that all of out of school activities promote the ideal that anyone can participate regardless of gender. | We are aware of particular needs – some parents drive down the slope for certain activities. Some granparents have different chairs/more space for carol concerts etc. Some steps have been painted with yellow edges – the remainder need addressing. Space available near the hall if required. Almost all – there are girls football festivals so may be a girls football club in preparation. | This needs to be advertised on the website and potentially have a sign, although parking will always be accompanied by a member of staff due to the gates. |
Objective 4: Sharing information · Review information to parents/ carers to ensure it is accessible. · Publish and promote the Equality Plan through the school website, newsletter and staff meetings. | Translators have been used for some texts and for some Early Help meetings. The plan is on the website. |