At St Leo’s and Southmead Catholic Nursery and Primary School we welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010.
The school’s general duties, with regards to equality are:
- Eliminating discrimination
- Fostering good relationships
- Advancing equality of opportunity
We will not discriminate against, harass or victimise any pupil, prospective pupil, or other member of the school community because of their:
- Gender
- Race
- Disability
- Religion or belief
- Sexual orientation
- Gender reassignment
- Pregnancy or maternity
Our Equality Statement is guided by some core principles and vision:
- We provide a safe, warm and welcoming environment where everybody is valued
- We develop the whole child through our pastoral approach where inclusive attitudes are modelled every day
- We celebrate the skills, talents and natural abilities of everybody in our school community
- We recognise and respect differences
- We show understanding, compassion and care to all
- We foster positive attitudes and relationships and a shared sense of community and belonging
- We observe good practice in recruitment and staff development
- We aim to reduce and challenge barriers to equality that already exist
- We are all God’s children and he loves us all
St Leo’s and Southmead Catholic Nursery and Primary School aims to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development, with special emphasis on promoting equality, diversity and eradicating prejudicial incidents for pupils and staff. Our school is committed to not only eliminating discrimination, but also increasing understanding and appreciation for diversity.
General Duty
Public bodies including schools and settings have a general duty to have due regard when making decisions and developing policies, to:
– Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation 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 protected characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
Specific Duty
To help schools and maintained EYFS settings in England meet the general equality duty, there are two specific duties that they are required to carry out. These are:
– To publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the equality duty
– To prepare and publish one or more specific and measurable equality objectives.
As a Catholic School, we place a strong emphasis on creating and sustaining an ethos based on Christian principles. Care, understanding and respect for each other are paramount, and we aim to nurture and develop positive spiritual, moral, social and cultural attitudes within our school community. Religious education and collective worship are central to the life of our school, whilst reflecting the rich variety of religious traditions and diversity of our society.
Aims to Eradicate Discrimination
St Leo’s and Southmead Catholic Nursery and Primary School believes that a greater level of success from pupils and staff can be achieved by realising the uniqueness of individuals, creating a prejudice free environment where individuals feel confident and at ease is a commitment of the school. This environment will be achieved by:
- Ensuring equal access and treatment for everyone
- Being respectful of everyone and their views – promoting mutual respect
- Being responsive to changing needs
- Valuing our health and wellbeing and looking after each other
- Always treating all members of the school community fairly
- Developing an understanding of diversity and the benefits it can have
- Adopting an inclusive attitude
- Adopting an inclusive curriculum that is accessible to all
- Encouraging compassion and open-mindedness
- Having high aspirations for our children, families and our school and church communities
- Persevering in all that we do
- Championing our school at every opportunity
We are committed to having a balanced and fair curriculum. We believe that our pupils should be exposed to ideas and concepts that may challenge their understanding to help ensure that pupils learn to become more accepting and inclusive of others. Challenging and controversial concepts will be delivered in a way that prevents discrimination, and instead promotes inclusive attitudes. We will also respect the right of parents to withdraw their children from classes which pose conflicts to their own beliefs.
St Leo’s and Southmead Catholic Nursery and Primary School does not tolerate any form of prejudice-related incident. Whether direct or indirect, we treat discrimination against all members of our school with the utmost severity. When an incident is reported, through a thorough reporting procedure, our school is devoted to ensuring appropriate action is taken and a resolution is put into place which is both fair and firm. At St Leo’s and Southmead Catholic Nursery and Primary School, our pupils are taught to be:
- Understanding of others
- Celebratory of cultural diversity
- Eager to reach their full potential
- Inclusive
- Aware of what constitutes discriminatory behaviour.
The school’s employees will not:
- Discriminate against any member of the school
- Treat other members of the school unfairly.
The school’s employee’s will
- Promote diversity equality
Equality and dignity in the workplace
St Leo’s and Southmead Catholic Nursery and Primary School does not discriminate against staff with regards to their:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marital or civil partner status
- Pregnancy or maternity
- Race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
- Religion or belief
- Sex or sexual orientation
Equality of opportunity and non-discrimination extends to the treatment of all members of the school community. All staff members are obliged to act in accordance will the school’s various policies relating to equality. We will guarantee that no redundancy is the result of direct or indirect prejudice. All disciplinary procedures are non-prejudicial, whether they result in warnings, dismissal, or any other disciplinary action.
Prejudice is not tolerated at St Leo’s and Southmead Catholic Nursery and Primary School and we are continuously working towards a more accepting and respectful environment for our schools community.
Equality and Diversity Policy 2022
Access Policy and Plan 2021-2024
For more information and guidance on the Equality Act 2010, please click here
