At St. Patrick’s, we are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers irrespective of race, gender, disability, belief, sexual orientation, age or socio-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 ability to participate fully in school life.We tackle discrimination through the positive promotion of equality, by challenging bullying and stereotypes and by creating an environment which promotes respect for all.
At St. Patrick’s, we believe that diversity is a strength which should be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit us.
Equality in Teaching and Learning
We provide all our pupils with the opportunity to succeed and to reach the highest level of personal achievement. We do this by:
- Ensuring equality of access for all pupils and preparing them for life in a diverse society
- Using materials that reflect the diversity of the school and local community
- Promoting attitudes and values that challenge any discriminatory behaviour or prejudice
- Providing opportunities for pupils to appreciate their own culture and celebrate the diversity of other cultures
- Seeking to involve all parents in supporting their child’s education
- Utilising teaching approaches appropriate for the whole school which are inclusive and reflective of our pupils.
Equality Information
On the 1st October 2010, the Equality Act 2010 replaced all existing equality legislation such as the Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act.
The Equality Act 2010 was introduced to ensure protection from discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the grounds of specific characteristics (referred to as protected characteristics). This means that schools cannot discriminate against pupils or treat them less favourably because of their age, gender, gender-identity, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity.
The General Duty covers all protected characteristics and has three main aims requiring public bodies to have due regard to the need for:
- Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010.
- Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
- Foster good relations between persons who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
St. Patrick’s Catholic Primary Academy is committed to:
- Dealing with and eliminating prejudiced based incidents
- Closing the gap in attainment for all children
- Engagement with local communities
- Policies and practices that promote equality and address inequalities
The Leadership Team and Local Governing Body will annually review how well we achieve these aims with regard to the protected groups under the Equality Act. For information about how our school is complying with the Capital Public Sector Equality Duty, please refer to our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy which can be found on our policies page.
Please see below our Equality Objectives:
- To promote cultural understanding and awareness of different religious beliefs between different ethnic groups within our school community.
- We celebrate the cultural diversity of our community and show respect for all groups.
- To monitor and promote the involvement of all groups of pupils in the extra-curricular life of the school, including leadership opportunities, especially pupils with special educational needs.
- To close gaps in attainment and achievement between pupils and all groups of pupils; especially boys and girls, disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, and children in care.
- To endeavour to ensure that the staff body and representation of staff in leadership roles is reflective of the local community.
- To ensure there are no incidents of the use of homophobic, sexist and racist language by pupils in the school.
- To improve accessibility for all pupils, staff and visitors across the school.
European Day of Languages
