Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy (policy under review)

This policy is presented in HTML to support accessibility needs and to work across multiple platforms. A full PDF copy is also available below.
Date Approved - February 2023
Approved By - Full Governing Body
Review Frequency - Annually
Date of Next Review - February 2024
Full PDF Policy

History of Recent Policy Changes

Version

Date

Page

Change

Origin of Change

Version
V1.0
Date
Sep 2023
Page
Whole Document
Change
No changes made
Origin of Change
Transferred policy onto new template
Contents

1 Scope and Purpose of this Policy

Tewkesbury School recognises, and celebrates diversity, including that which exists within our student and staff populations and the communities we serve. We are committed to advancing equal opportunities for all and eliminating discrimination on any basis, including disability, ethnicity, sex, gender reassignment, age (except pupils), marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, and religion or belief.

2 Legal Framework

At Tewkesbury School we recognise the following duties under the Equality Act 2010:-

  • Eliminating discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Act
  • Advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
  • Fostering good relations across characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
  • Regardless of the statutory responsibilities Tewkesbury School recognises the positive impact that a cohesive and inclusive EDI strategy can achieve.

The nine protected characteristics are: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.

We do this by:

  • Ensuring that all students maximise their potential regardless of their background or characteristics.
  • Responding to the changing diversity of our students, communities or colleagues and the opportunities this presents.
  • Addressing underrepresentation within the workplace and in particular within leadership positions. Broad representation is key to ensuring that both pupils and staff have positive role models to provide inspiration and ambition. d) Deliberately pursuing strategies to ensure fair and equal pay opportunities for different groups, including addressing the gender pay gap.
  • Harnessing the power and leverage of leadership within the Academy
  • Celebrating the opportunities created through EDI

3 Aim

Equality and Diversity is about making a difference to the lives of the people we serve, treating all people with dignity and respect, and recognising the value of each individual. We are committed to ensuring that our services meet the varied and individual needs of children and young people in our school, that our employment practices are fair and promote equality and that we respect the wide variety of lifestyles and cultures, locally and nationally.

We aim to prepare children and young people for living within a diverse society with increasing global connections and a wide variety of values, beliefs and cultures.

We work hard to build strong and trusting relationships with our pupils and their families in order to harness their engagement and enjoyment in all aspects of school life. We recognise that pupils and family members may experience a range of different needs during different times in their lives and we endeavour to meet these needs by working in close partnership with relevant agencies.

4 Our Ethos

At Tewkesbury School we recognise that supporting a diverse organisation is a continuous process where long term and sustainable plans are key. We recognise that attracting, advancing, developing, engaging and retaining a diversity of talent is important; alongside delivering equality of opportunity for our pupils whilst fostering an inclusive culture where differences are valued and enhanced. Tewkesbury School holds a long and deep commitment to welcoming diversity, examples of which are demonstrated on a day-to-day basis throughout the school. The culture of Tewkesbury School has supported the aim to positively encourage EDI.

5 Guiding Principles

Principle 1: All learners are of equal value

All learners and potential learners are of equal value and benefit equally from school policies, practices and programmes, whatever their ability, ethnicity or national identity, religious background, gender or cultural identity.

Principle 2: Relevant differences are recognised

Treating people equally can mean treating them differently. Policies, practices and programmes do not discriminate, but may be differentiated to take account of differences of life experience, outlook and background, and in the kinds of barriers and disadvantage which people may face, in relation to:

  • Disability – so that reasonable adjustments are made
  • Ethnicity – so that different cultural backgrounds and experiences of prejudice are recognised
  • Gender – so that the different needs and experiences of all gender identities are recognised
  • Religion, belief or faith background
  • Sexual identity
  • marriage and civil partnership
  • pregnancy and maternity
  • sexual orientation

Principle 3: We foster positive attitudes, relationships and a shared sense of belonging

Policies and programmes promote:

  • Positive attitudes towards disabled people, good relations between disabled and non-disabled people, and an absence of harassment of disabled people
  • Positive interaction, attitudes, good relations and dialogue between groups and communities different from each other in terms of ethnicity, culture, religious affiliation, national origin or national status, and an absence of prejudice-related bullying and incidents
  • Mutual respect and good relations between all genders within our school community and an absence of sexual and homophobic harassment.

Principle 4: Staff recruitment, retention and development

Steps are taken to positively promote equality, especially where there is evidence of inequality and to ensure that policies and procedures benefit all employees and potential employees in recruitment, professional development and promotion:

  • Whether or not they are disabled
  • Whatever their ethnicity, culture, religious affiliation, national origin or national status
  • Whatever their gender and sexual identity, and with full respect for legal rights relating to pregnancy and maternity

Principle 5: Reducing and removing inequalities and barriers that already exist

In addition to avoiding or minimising possible negative impacts of policies and programmes, we take opportunities to maximise positive impacts by addressing, reducing and removing inequalities and barriers that already exist between:

  • Disabled and non-disabled people
  • People of different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds
  • All genders

We recognise that the actions resulting from a policy statement such as this are what make a difference.

6 Implementation

6.1 Admissions

  • Tewkesbury School welcomes applications from the whole community.
  • We base our admissions policy on a fair system (refer to Admissions Policy).
  • We do not discriminate against a child or their family, or prevent entry to our school, on the basis of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, gender, marital status, responsibility for children or other dependents, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, age, political activities, socio-economic background, living situation, being a member of a travelling community or an asylum seeker or having spent convictions.
  • We discourage discriminatory behaviour by staff or Parents / Carers and will take appropriate action
  • Displaying of racist insignia, distribution of racist material, name-calling, or threatening behaviour are unacceptable on or around the school premises and will be dealt with in the strongest manner
  • We do not discriminate against a child with a disability or refuse a child entry to our school because of any disability
  • We have ensured that action plans are developed for children and parents/carers with disabilities so that they can participate successfully in the activities offered by Tewkesbury School and in the curriculum offered
  • We try to reflect the diversity of members of our society in all our publicity and promotional materials
  • We provide information in clear, concise language, whether written or spoken

6.2 School Curriculum

The curriculum offered at Tewkesbury School encourages children to develop positive attitudes about themselves as well as to people who are different from themselves.

Equality and diversity is embedded as far as possible in all areas of the curriculum and pupils are given opportunities to explore prejudice and discrimination, and to positively explore differences in relation to race/ethnicity, religion/belief, gender and disability.

We do this by:

  • Making children feel valued and good about themselves through the curriculum
  • Ensuring that children have equal access to learning
  • Recognising the different learning styles of children, making appropriate provision within the curriculum to ensure each child receives the widest possible opportunity to develop their skills and abilities
  • Regularly reviewing the teaching within each subject area as well as with the resources that are available to support this so that both the diversity of the school, local community and wider society as a whole are represented in this
  • Avoiding stereotypes or derogatory images in the selection of books or other visual materials
  • Creating an environment of mutual respect and tolerance
  • Helping children to understand that discriminatory behaviour and remarks are hurtful and unacceptable
  • Ensuring that the curriculum offered is inclusive of children with special educational needs and children with disabilities
  • Ensuring that children learning English as an additional language have full access to the curriculum and are supported in their learning
  • Ensuring data is collected with regard to the attainment and achievement of all pupils in order to inform the planning and provision of support to individuals and groups of pupils
  • Recognising the specific assessment needs of pupils with additional needs and also the importance of scrutinising assessment materials for cultural bias

6.3 Staff Training

All staff at Tewkesbury School will have their professional development needs met in relation to this agenda. This includes staff across all sections (teaching, associate and ancillary) and the support that will be provided to meet their training needs. New staff will be made aware of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and other practices in relation to this.

  • We seek out training opportunities for staff and volunteers to enable them to develop anti- discriminatory and inclusive practices, which enable all children to flourish
  • We review our practices annually to ensure that we are fully implementing our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

6.4 Staff

All staff have a duty to act in accordance with this policy and treat colleagues with dignity at all times, and not discriminate against or harass other members of staff, regardless of their status. This policy does not form part of any employee’s terms and conditions of employment and is not intended to have contractual effect. It is provided for guidance to all members of staff at the school. The school reserves the right to amend its content at any time.

This Policy applies to the school’s employees, whether permanent, temporary, casual, part-time or on fixed-term contracts, to job applicants and to individuals such as agency staff and consultant volunteers and governors who are not employees but who work at the school (collectively referred to as “Staff” in this policy).

All Staff must set an appropriate standard of behaviour, lead by example and ensure that those they manage adhere to the policy and promote the school’s aims and objectives with regard to equal opportunities. Any questions about the content or application of this policy should be referred to the HR Manager in the first instance.

This policy applies to all aspects of the school’s relationship with Staff and to relations between Staff members at all levels. This includes:

  • job advertisements
  • recruitment and selection
  • training and development
  • opportunities for promotion
  • conditions of service
  • pay and benefits
  • conduct at work
  • disciplinary and grievance procedures; and termination of employment

The school will take appropriate steps to accommodate the requirements of different religions, cultures, and domestic responsibilities.

6.5 Recruitment and Selection

The school aims to ensure that no job applicant suffers discrimination because of any of the protected characteristics above. The school’s recruitment procedures are reviewed regularly to ensure that individuals are treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Job selection criteria are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are relevant to the job and are not disproportionate.

Job advertisements will avoid using wording that may discourage particular groups from applying. The school will take steps to ensure that its vacancies are advertised to a diverse labour market and, where relevant, to particular groups that have been identified as disadvantaged or underrepresented in the School.

Applicants will not be asked about past or current pregnancy or future intentions related to pregnancy. Applicants will not be asked about matters concerning age, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or gender reassignment without first considering whether such matters are relevant and may lawfully be taken into account.

The school is required by law to ensure that all members of Staff are entitled to work in the UK. Assumptions about immigration status will not be made based on appearance or apparent nationality. All prospective members of Staff, regardless of nationality, must be able to produce original documents (such as a passport) before employment starts, to satisfy current immigration legislation.

6.6 Recruitment of ex-offenders

The school is an organisation that uses the Disclosure and Barring Service to assess candidates’ suitability for positions of trust working in an environment with children and young people. The school complies fully with the DBS code of practice and undertakes to treat all candidates fairly.

The school undertakes not to discriminate unlawfully against any candidate who is required to provide information (a Disclosure) through this process. Having a criminal record will not necessarily prevent a candidate from working with the school. Whether or not it does will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of the offences.

As a disclosure is part of the school’s recruitment process, the school encourages all candidates called to interview to provide details of any criminal record at any early stage of the application process. The school guarantees that only those who need to see it as part of the recruitment process will see this information.

Unless the nature of the position is such that the school may ask questions about an individual’s entire criminal record, the school will only ask about “unspent” convictions as defined in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

The school will ensure that it discusses with the candidate the relevance of any offence to the job in question. A candidate’s failure to reveal information directly relevant to the job could result in withdrawal of an offer of employment.

6.7 Staff training, promotions and conditions of service

Staff training needs will be identified through informal and formal performance management.

All Staff will be given appropriate access to training to enable them to progress within the school and all promotion decisions will be on the basis of merit.

The composition and movement of Staff at different levels will be reviewed from time to time to ensure equality of opportunity at all levels of the organisation.

Where appropriate the school will take steps to identify and remove unnecessary or unjustifiable barriers and provide appropriate facilities and conditions of service to meet the special needs of disadvantaged or underrepresented groups.

The school’s conditions of service, benefits and facilities will be reviewed from time to time to ensure that they are available to all Staff who should have access to them and that there are no unlawful obstacles to accessing them.

6.8 Termination of employment

The school will ensure that redundancy criteria and procedures are fair and objective and are not directly or indirectly discriminatory.

The school will also ensure that disciplinary procedures and penalties applied are without discrimination and are carried out fairly and uniformly for all Staff, whether they result in disciplinary warnings, dismissal or other disciplinary action.

6.9 Disability Discrimination

If a member of Staff is disabled, or becomes disabled, in the course of their employment with the school, they are encouraged to tell us about their condition. This is to enable us to support the member of Staff as much as possible.

If a member of Staff experiences difficulties at work because of their disability, they may wish to contact their Line Manager to discuss any reasonable adjustments to their working conditions or duties which they consider to be reasonable and necessary or which would assist in the performance of their duties.

The Line Manager may wish to consult with the member of Staff and their medical adviser(s) about possible adjustments. Careful consideration will be given to any such proposals and they will be accommodated where reasonable, practicable and proportionate in all the circumstances of the case. Nevertheless, there may be circumstances where it would not be reasonable for the school to accommodate a particular adjustment and in such circumstances it will ensure that it provides the member of Staff with its reasons and try to find an alternative solution where possible.

The school will monitor the physical features of its premises to consider whether they place disabled Staff, job applicants or service users at a substantial disadvantage compared to other Staff. Where reasonably practicable and proportionate the school will take steps to improve access for disabled Staff and service users.

6.10 Complaints of Discrimination, Victimisation and Harassment on the Protected Characteristics

The school will treat seriously and will take action where appropriate concerning all complaints of discrimination, harassment or victimisation on any of the protected characteristics made by any of its staff, students or other third parties.

Any member of staff who considers that they may have been unlawfully discriminated against, victimised or harassed within the meaning of this policy should discuss the matter in the first instance with their Line Manager or, if inappropriate under the circumstances of the case, with the HR Manager. In some cases, it may be possible to resolve the matter informally and reach a satisfactory resolution.

If an employee is accused of unlawful discrimination, victimisation or harassment, the school will investigate the matter fully. In the course of the investigation the employee will be given the opportunity to respond to the allegation and provide an explanation for their actions.

If the School concludes that the claim is false or malicious then the complainant may be subject to disciplinary action.

If on the other hand the school concludes that the employee’s action amounts to unlawful discrimination, victimisation or harassment they may be subject to disciplinary action under the School’s Disciplinary Policy and Procedure, up to and including summary dismissal for gross misconduct.

7 Monitoring Arrangements

  • The Board of Governors will review the equality information we publish every year (as required by the Public Sector Equality Duty).
  • The Board of Governors will review the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy every two years.

8 Policy Links

1 Statutory Policies

  • Admissions Policy
  • Accessibility Plan / Disability Equality Scheme

Contact Us

Tewkesbury Academy
Ashchurch Road
Tewkesbury
Gloucestershire
GL20 8DF
Contact Us
Tewkesbury Academy is proud to be part of the Cabot Learning Federation. 
Registered Company: Cabot Learning Federation
Company No: 06207590