Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Equal opportunities for all
Differences and similarities celebrated
Involved, valued, welcomed and safe

 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are the key elements required to ensure a fair and culturally rich society. At Lindens Academy we are totally committed to ensuring that we provide such an environment, so all our children are able to thrive and live happy successful lives.

At Lindens Academy we strive to treat each member of our community as an individual; to make each individual feel valued and to teach our pupils to do the same. Trying to achieve this for all our pupils involves us learning what we all have in common as well as celebrating our many differences. We recognise that children learn best in an environment where everyone feels safe, valued, and welcome in an inclusive way. We believe everyone has the same rights but have individual needs and it is vital to ensure that all aspects of school life are ‘fair’ and appropriate and not necessarily always the same for everyone. 

We teach the children about equality, diversity and inclusion embedded throughout the curriculum, through regular opportunities in assembly, School Council, educational visits, visitors and we aim to reflect these values in our day to day interactions with the children.

We teach children about insults and suitable language and the impact of prejudicial language.  We make every effort to make our playgrounds safe and enjoyable places to be.  We place a high priority on regular training of staff in areas such as first aid and positive handling techniques. We value our ‘Pupil Voice’ input and their views and opinions are regularly sought in a variety of ways, including School Council with equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything we do.

Equality

Equality is all about providing equal opportunities and protecting people from being discriminated against and/or victimised.

Schools are required to comply with all aspects of the Equality Act 2010, and in April 2011 a single public sector Equality Duty was introduced. The purpose of this is to protect people with the protected characteristics as determined in the Equalities Act 2010. These are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race and culture, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

The Equality Act 2010 requires schools to publish information to show how we are working to:

• Eliminate discrimination
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
• Foster good relations between groups of people

The protected characteristics – which relate to a primary school are:

• Disability
• Gender questioning
• Gender
• Sexual orientation
• Race
• Religion and belief

 

Other groups of pupils we believe it is also important to consider are:

• Children Looked After
• Young carers
• Pupils eligible for free school meals or living in poverty

 

Equality Duty

Under the Equality Act 2010 we are also required to have an Accessibility Plan. Lindens Academy is committed to providing an accessible environment that values and includes all pupils, staff, parents and visitors regardless of their education, physical, sensory, social, spiritual, emotional and cultural needs.

Click here to read the Equality Objectives and Policy

Our approach to achieving this is detailed on our Accessibility Plan.

Click here to read the Accessibility Plan

Diversity

Diversity is about recognising, accepting and celebrating difference and appreciating that these differences result in a society that is culturally richer and more creative. It also drives innovation and productivity.

At Lindens Academy we embrace diversity and celebrate difference. We teach the children that everyone has a valuable contribution to make, and valuable experiences to share.

Inclusion

Inclusion is the means by which diversity is embraced and it gives people in a community a sense of belonging.

Lindens Academy is fully committed to achieving the maximum inclusion of all children, whilst meeting their individual needs. This includes vulnerable learners who have Special Educational Needs (SEN), those children that use English as an Additional Language (EAL) and those children with ethnic minority heritage. We provide access to the curriculum for all children and this is achieved through the delivery of differentiated learning opportunities.

Disability Equality at Lindens Academy

What this means to us:

• We celebrate different abilities in many ways whilst also supporting the specific needs children may have. We teach children to celebrate difference and that difference is not about lack or less but about rights, needs, attitude and access. We teach the children that equality is not about everyone getting the same but about everyone getting what they need and what will help them the most.
• Each child is unique and we prioritise the time to consider their bespoke needs.  We value and act upon the contribution from parents/carers and from specialist professionals to ensure a child’s needs are fully met. 
• We recognise that SEND can affect a child’s achievement or social experience in very different ways and we strive to support individuals and remove barriers to their development wherever possible. Through social development and interaction our aim is to increase confidence and self-esteem to enable our children to achieve their fullest potential. 

How we promote disability equality and help all children get on well together:

• We teach children about disability equality through the curriculum and it is embedded in our wider school ethos. 
• Staff and children use Makaton as an aid to communication.  This is shared in the wider school, for example in assemblies, concerts and presentations to foster good relations between those with protected characteristics and those without.
• We use symbolised resources (Inprint) to aid written communication and understanding throughout the school.
• We celebrate the successes of all our children and encourage peer support.  As appropriate, with parental/carer consent/involvement, we support children with disabilities to teach their peer group about their specific needs. Difference is often obvious to children and this benefits from being discussed and accepted openly to support positive relationships.
• All children have equal opportunities to access all areas of school life. This includes clubs (support or adaptions are offered as appropriate) and trips including residential trips.
• Children may become diagnosed with a learning disability during their time at school. We have clear pathways to diagnosis of specific learning difficulties/disabilities and parents/carers and outside agencies will be involved with this process and fully supported. Parents and carers are welcome to discuss any concerns about their child’s development at any time and will receive information about additional support regularly.

Gender Equality at Lindens Academy

What this means to us:

• Stereotyping means expecting girls and boys to behave or look a particular way. We recognise that there is still incredible pressure in society to conform to gender specific roles/looks and we need to teach children about this.
• We value individuality and this includes individuality in children who don’t want to act or dress in a way that is ‘typically like a boy’ or ‘typically like a girl’.
• We respect and support children's gender identities and will follow the DFE guidance on Gender Questioning and RSE guidance, working closely with parents/carers. 

How do we promote gender equality?

• The school community carefully consider the way pupils are organised and the language used to avoid inadvertent segregation. We encourage everyone to be respectful to all our community and visitors. 
• Staff do not ask children to get into boy and girl groups/teams in PE.
• Staff do not line up children in boy/girl lines e.g. for lunch and assemblies.
• We give careful consideration to certain gender specific clubs or activities e.g. we do run girl-only sports clubs because research has shown these sporting activities are often dominated by boys and so we positively discriminate.
• We make sure that there is a gender balance to our pupil surveys; school councils, etc., so that we hear the voice of boys and girls equally.
• We teach the children about stereotyping within the curriculum and we are conscious about checking toys/displays/book corners.
• We challenge stereotypes through the books we read children; choices of images we present, etc.
• We analyse all our data by gender to check if there is an issue we need to address (e.g. improving the attainment of boys in writing).

Race and Heritage Equality at Lindens Academy

What this means to us:

• We value all our children as individuals and recognise the diversity of racial and cultural heritage within our community. 
• Through our curriculum planning, we find as many opportunities as possible to teach the children about other cultures and ethnicities.
• We make sure toys, displays, books etc., reflect a range of people from different cultures and avoid stereotypes.
• We have themed assemblies and teach the children about diversity as part of the curriculum.
• We celebrate Black History Month in assemblies and are developing a more diverse/hidden history curriculum.

Religious or Belief Equality at Lindens Academy

What this means to us:

• We value the diversity of religious belief and other philosophical beliefs within our local and wider community. We also respect the right to have no religion or belief.
• We recognise that an understanding of religious/belief education plays an important role in helping to keep our community a tolerant and inclusive place in which to live.
• Our Religious Education curriculum gives young people the opportunity to develop an understanding of their own and other people’s beliefs and therefore helps young people live in a diverse society.
• We regularly invite representatives from different faith communities to speak in our RE lessons and assemblies. Children also make visits to different places of worship within our community.
• Children are encouraged to ask questions and explore the big ideas raised in stories from a range of faiths.
• We respect the right of families to celebrate key religious festivals and authorise absences accordingly.
• We respect the religious wishes of families regarding participation and exclusion in school celebrations (for example Christmas performances and birthday assemblies).

Family Equality at Lindens Academy

What this means to us:

• We value all family types as equally special and recognise that children need to be proactively taught that other children’s families can be different to their own family type.
• We will celebrate the diversity of our families in our PSHE Curriculum. Our hope and experience is that celebrating family diversity encourages children to share and therefore educate other children about the variety of family types in our community.
• We use resources that include a variety of family types.
• We realise that there are financial inequalities between families at school and we ensure no family or child is excluded from a school event or activity for financial reasons and we ensure that we do not add stress or embarrassment to families. 
• In Relationships and Sex Education, we teach the children that babies are conceived in different ways (conception teaching formally happens in key stage 2 but questions can begin before then and will be answered in an age-appropriate way) – parents/ carers are notified by letter before RSE education lessons.
• We recognise that children who are adopted into families or fostered often have specific needs and may need additional care. We employ a Pastoral Leader and staff are trained in attachment theory. We are sensitive to areas of the curriculum/the calendar year that may affect children.
• We know that change and transition are sensitive times for children with attachment difficulties and will work with parents/carers to support this.
• We teach children about homophobia and homophobic insults. The casual use of ‘gay’ as a negative adjective is never tolerated and children are taught why this can never be acceptable.

 Staff Equality at Lindens Academy

What this means to us:

• School is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all staff and job applicants.  We aim to create a working environment in which all individuals are able to make best use of their skills, free from discrimination or harassment and in which all decisions are based on merit.
• We do not discriminate against staff based on the protected characteristics: age, disability, gender re-assignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
• In respect of staff recruitment we reiterate our commitment to equal opportunities in all adverts and monitor our recruitment process.
• We have undertaken relevant training and highlighted equality expectations and responsibilities. This has provided all staff with the opportunity to reflect on and consider equality, equity and inclusion issues for all staff and pupils including those with any protected characteristic.
• We are committed to ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion expectations are included in the induction process of all staff.

For more information please read the following policies

• Accessibility Policy and Plan
• Anti-Bullying Policy
• SEN Policy
• Equality Statement and Equality Objectives
• Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy