Equalities

Introduction

This policy sets out Caldercuilt approach to promoting equality, as defined within the Equality Act (2010). It covers age*, sex, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment. This policy should be read in conjunction with other school policies and guidelines particularly the school’s anti-bullying policy, which should take account of the guidance in the   Revised Anti Bullying Strategy 2019 [2Mb]. Our policy will set out how the school aims to remove barriers to learning for children and young people as individuals or groups.

Caldercuilt will adhere to the technical guidance on how to apply the Equality Act 2010 in Scottish schools as outlined in the following link; https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/technical-guidance-schools-scotland

 Rationale

Caldercuilt Primary School and Nursery Class Primary School is committed to creating an environment for the whole school community that demonstrates shared values of inclusion, equality, fairness and respect.

Our children and young people live in a diverse society and Caldercuilt recognises and celebrates difference within a culture of respect and fairness, and aims to meet the needs of every child in line with the principles of Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC).

Our Equality and Diversity Policy is rooted in our vision statement at Caldercuilt Primary School and Nursery:

At Caldercuilt Primary School and Nursery our vision is to provide a happy, welcoming, safe, inclusive and stimulating learning environment for children, families and staff. We have mutual trust and respect for one another. We provide opportunities within the curriculum that promotes skills for life on our journey to excellence. We are a caring school and we thrive on developing co-operative, independent learners who can achieve their full potential socially and academically in preparation for life and work.

We collectively agreed that each child’s individuality will be recognised and nurtured; their enthusiasm and confidence will be encouraged; and they will be supported to become successful learners who reach their full potential.

This Equality and Diversity Policy reflects the School and Nursery Core Values that underpin all our experiences in the life of school and nursery: Respect, Honesty, Responsibility, & Cooperation, together with our agreed Aspirations:

  • Aim high and never give up.
  • Respect everyone’s rights, belongings and property.
  • Use kind hands, words and feet.
  • Listen, show good manners and be considerate to others

 We work together with our children, families and staff to ensure that inclusion, diversity and equality are part of all our activities.

Our policy aims to:

  • Promote positive attitudes and behaviours towards equality and diversity
  • Promote understanding of equality and diversity through the school and nursery curriculum and ethos
  • Help the school and nursery to meet these aims and fulfil our legal obligations

 

Related Legislation

Equality and Diversity

  • Equality is about creating a fairer society, where everyone can take part and where everyone has the opportunity to be all they can be. Equality of opportunity has a legal framework to ensure protected groups are not discriminated against.
  • Diversity is about recognising and valuing difference, where everyone is respected for who they are.

Equality Act 2010

We ensure we meet the statutory duties of the Equality Act 2010 and this policy includes information about how we will comply with our duties and also provides guidance about our approach to promoting equality and diversity.

The Act protects people from discrimination on the basis of the following protected characteristics:

  • Age*
  • disability
  • gender reassignment
  • marriage and civil partnership*
  • pregnancy and maternity
  • race
  • religion or belief;
  • sex
  • sexual orientation.

 *Age and marriage and civil partnership are not protected characteristics for our establishments provision. However, in general, the Act applies across all the protected characteristics in a consistent way.

 The Act, and the principle of non-discrimination, covers all the activities in the life of a school including:

  • Admissions
  • Provision of education
  • Access to any benefit, facility or service
  • Exclusions
  • It is also unlawful to harass or victimise a pupil or applicant

 

The Act also introduces a single Public Sector Equality Duty (the general duty).  As a school this means we have to give “due regard” to the 3 elements of the duty in all our activities:

  • Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
  • Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and
  • Foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Rights of the Child

We recognise that these duties also reflect international human rights standards as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNRC), the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and the Human Rights Act 1998. We also have equality commitments to our staff under Glasgow City Council policies.

The UNCRC is an international human rights treaty that covers all aspects of children’s lives. It includes civil, political, economic and cultural rights.

Additional Support Needs:

  • The additional support for learning (ASL) framework (Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act, 2004 and 2009);
  • Accessibility strategies (The Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils’ Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002)

Children’s Rights

  • Human Rights Act 1998
  • United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was endorsed by the UK in 1991 and became part of Scottish Law in 2021. It aims to recognise the rights of all children up to age 18 and ensure that children grow up in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity.
  • Children and Young People’s (Scotland) Bill was agreed in February 2014. It introduces new duties for Ministers and public sector to promote children’s rights.
  • Objectives
  • Caldercuilt Primary School and Nursery is committed to enable our pupils to:
  • Consciously take ownership and responsibility for their relationships;
  • Respect everyone’s right to learn; and
  • Display positive relationships consistently.

 Roles and Responsibilities

Within Caldercuilt Primary School and Nursery there is a sense of collective responsibility, consistency and high expectations from all members of staff and of each child by:

  • Reinforcing our vision statement and school values;
  • Using Rights Respecting Schools resources to build confidence and self-esteem;
  • Being proactive in the implementation of positive relationships strategies and restorative approach
  • Applying consequences in line with this policy.

Everyone should be a good role model:

  • Being consistent, fair, calm and patient;
  • Showing respect to everyone in school and the schools/others property

Headteacher and Depute Headteacher

It is the responsibility of the Headteacher and Depute Headteacher to:

  • Ensure local and national policy is implemented in a manner which leads to all staff being clear about their roles and responsibilities;
  • Create a climate of mutual respect and of feeling valued, where achievement is celebrated;
  • Ensure equality and fairness, tolerance and understanding in a consistent manner;
  • Ensure children’s needs are met through a clear policy for Staged Intervention and Additional Support Needs;
  • Communicate with parents and external agencies when appropriate; and
  • the school takes appropriate action in cases of harassment and discrimination towards learners and staff and follows appropriate procedures. For learners these are outlined in Chapter 7 of Glasgow’s revised Anti-Bullying Strategy.  Revised Anti Bullying Strategy 2019 [2Mb]. For staff the procedures are outlined in the employees Bullying and Harassment policy.
  • Ensure that finances and resources are available to allow the full implementation of this policy.
  • The school has appropriate channels and processes in place to encourage all voices to be listened to so that we can support children and young people’s confidence in reporting bullying incidents on Seemis.

All school staff are responsible for:

  • promoting equality and a collaborative ethos in the classroom/playroom
  • developing school/class rules which challenge discriminatory behaviour
  • modelling good practice and being positive role models
  • proactively supporting learners if they face discrimination or inequalities linked to a protected characteristic
  • reporting discriminatory incidents following recording and reporting procedures as outlined in Chapter 7 of Revised Anti Bullying Strategy 2019 [2Mb]
  • recognise and tackle bias and stereotyping
  • promote equality and social justice
  • undertake CLPL opportunities to keep up to date with the law and practice on equality
  • providing differentiated activities to meet the needs and allow access for all children

Children and young people are responsible for:

  • supporting the school’s equality ethos
  • treating everyone in the school community with respect
  • supporting students who being treated unfairly, bullied and disrespected
  • sharing concerns or issues with a member of staff
  • Embrace the school/nursery values by following the rules for expected relationships within school and nursery;
  • Develop and increase awareness of how their actions may impact upon the safety of themselves and others;
  • Treat everyone in a fair and considerate way;
  • Be tolerant;

Parents/Carers are responsible for:

  • supporting the school’s equality ethos
  • sharing concerns or issues with senior staff
  • encouraging their children to uphold equality values and principles outside of the school environment
  • Communicate positively with staff in matters affecting attendance, punctuality, homework and pastoral care;
  • Reinforce this Equality and Diversity Policy by promoting high standards of conduct and expectation;
  • Engage positively in the life of the establishment through attendance at reviews, parents’ meetings, and school / nursery events or activities;
  • Implement the strategies for Restorative Approach, Rights Respecting, Emotion Works and Bounce Back at home to encourage resilience and positive social interactions;
  • Support teaching / nursery staff and senior managers in encouraging their children to behave well, in order to create a positive learning environment; and Work in partnership with all staff to help address the needs of their children and develop strategies for ensuring high levels of success.

Partners and visitors are responsible for:

  • supporting the school’s equality ethos
  • sharing concerns or issues with senior leadership team

Management, Leadership and Quality Assurance

Our school aims are shared with staff, children and parents through the Equality and Diversity Policy. Curriculum Planning ensures that learning and teaching meet the principles of Curriculum for Excellence. Tracking and monitoring meetings are carried out each term between the Headteacher and every class teacher to allow professional dialogue on progress and attainment of each child. Senior management is involved in classroom observations, which include promoting a positive climate for learning. Self-evaluation of the quality of the learning environment is the responsibility of all staff and the Senior Leadership Team. Quality indicators described in ‘How Good is Our School 4’ will be used to evaluate the on-going effectiveness of this policy.

Please see list of resources on Appendix 1

Appendix 1 Resources, Organisations and Policies

 https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/technical-guidance-schools-scotland

 Revised Anti Bullying Strategy 2019 [2Mb].

www.crer.scot                       Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights

www.stephenlawrenceday.org      Stephen Lawrence Foundation website

www.respectme.org.uk                   Anti-bullying service

www.tie.scot                                      LGBT inclusive education charity

www.lgbtyouth.org.uk                     Supports LGBT young people

www.gda.scot                                   Glasgow based charity run by and for disabled people

www.enableglasgow.org.uk           Works with people in Glasgow with disabilities and their carers

www.glasgowwomensaid.org.uk  Supporting women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse

We will continue to add to this list over time.