At Brightwalton Primary School, we are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers, irrespective of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender reassignment, religion or belief, sexual orientation or social-economic background.  We aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity, in which all those connected to the school feel proud of their identity and are able to participate fully in school life. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. The achievement of pupils will be monitored by ethnicity, gender and disability and we will use this data to support pupils, raise standards and promote inclusive teaching.  We will tackle discrimination by the positive promotion of equality, challenging bullying and stereotypes and creating an environment which provides respect for all. 

We consider the needs of all individuals in their day to day work, in developing policy, in delivering education to our pupils and in relation to our own employees. These commitments apply to our pupils, staff, governors, parents, visitors and other stakeholders, and relate to the protected characteristics above. Discrimination can take many forms: direct, associative, discrimination by perception, indirect discrimination, harassment, harassment by a third party, victimisation and, in the context of disability, by failing to make reasonable adjustments. As a school we must be alert to this and act accordingly.

It is our intention that everyone is treated fairly and respectfully. Recognising that people have different needs, we understand that treating people equally does not always involve treating them the same and some need extra support or adjustments made to help them achieve and be successful.

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation of people on the grounds of protected characteristics –

• age
• disability
• ethnicity, colour or national origin
• gender
• gender reassignment
• marital or civil partnership status
• pregnancy and maternity
• religion or belief
• sexual identity or orientation

This act also requires public bodies such as schools to have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination
• Advance equality of opportunity
• Foster good relations between people of different equality groups

This is called the public sector Equality Duty and its purpose is to promote equality for all.

The extent to which all pupils prosper is indicated by an analysis of the standards particular groups of pupils achieve, a measure of the progress they make and their responses to wellbeing surveys. This is reported to Governors.

We review our approach regularly in our continued pursuit of the goal that our school is a safe and secure place for everyone.