Public Sector Equality Duty

The Public Sector Equality Duty requires all public bodies, including schools, to consider how their policies, practices and decisions affect people who are protected under the Equality Act 2010. It places a duty on us to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different groups.

At King’s Academy Rowner, we are proud to be an inclusive school where every child is known, valued and supported to achieve their very best. We believe that every member of our school community is of equal worth and deserves to feel safe, respected and able to flourish.

Equality, diversity and inclusion are woven throughout our curriculum, policies and everyday practice. We celebrate the richness of our community and actively promote respect, kindness and understanding of others. Through our curriculum, assemblies, personal development programme and wider school experiences, we help children develop an appreciation of different cultures, backgrounds, beliefs and perspectives, preparing them to become responsible citizens in modern Britain.

The Equality Act 2010 provides the framework that underpins our commitment to valuing diversity, removing barriers to learning, tackling discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity for all. We are committed to ensuring that every pupil, regardless of their background or individual circumstances, has the support and opportunities they need to succeed. By fostering positive relationships and embracing difference, we create a school community where everyone belongs and everyone can thrive.

Under the Equality Act 2010, schools are required to publish information demonstrating how they have due regard to the need to:

Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010.
Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

At King’s Academy Rowner, we are proud to be an inclusive school where every child is known, valued and supported to achieve their full potential. We place the well-being, achievement and personal development of every pupil at the heart of everything we do, recognising that every member of our school community is of equal worth.

The Equality Act 2010 provides the framework for our commitment to celebrating diversity, promoting equality, challenging discrimination and ensuring that everyone is treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to removing barriers to learning, tackling disadvantage and creating an environment where all children, regardless of their background or individual circumstances, can flourish.

Through our curriculum, policies and everyday practice, we actively promote inclusion, respect and positive relationships, preparing our pupils to become compassionate, responsible citizens who value and celebrate the diverse society in which they live.

Our approach to equality is based on the following key principles:

All learners are of equal value
We recognise and respect difference
We foster positive attitudes and relationships and a shared sense of cohesion and belonging.
We observe good equalities practice in staff recruitment, retention and development.
We aim to reduce and remove inequalities and barriers that already exist.
We have the highest expectations of all our children.

Information on pupils by protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics. Every person has several of the protected characteristics, so the Act protects everyone against unfair treatment.
In order to ensure that all pupils are protected from discrimination, the school collects information on protected characteristics.

Information on other groups of pupils

In addition to pupils with protected characteristics, we gather further information on the following groups of pupils:

Pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM)
Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
Disadvantaged group
Pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL)
Young carers
Looked after children
Other vulnerable groups

Through tracking and monitoring of individuals and of all the groups of children, including progress and attainment, and by providing equal opportunities to access the curriculum and activities, we aim to ensure that any gap in attainment for pupils within any of the above different groups is removed or at least remains less than the gap nationally.

Eliminating discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Act

The information provided here aims to demonstrate that we give careful consideration to equality issues in everything that we do at Rowner. ‘Due regard’ ensures that we work towards eliminating discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act.

We are committed to working for equality for all our staff, parents/carers and children to meet our duties under the Equality Act 2010.

We eliminate discrimination by:

Reporting, responding to and monitoring any racist incidents.
Regularly monitoring the curriculum to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of our pupils and that it promotes respect for diversity and challenges negative stereotyping e.g. Show Racism the Red Card.
Teaching is of the highest quality to ensure children reach their potential and all pupils are given equal entitlement to success.
Tracking pupil progress to ensure that all children make good progress, and intervening when necessary.
Ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to access extra-curricular provision.
Listening to and monitoring views and experiences of all our stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of our policies and procedures.

Advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

We advance equality of opportunity by:

Using the information we gather to identify underachieving groups or individuals and plan targeted intervention.
Ensuring participation of parents/carers and pupils in school development.
Listening to parents/carers.
Listening to pupils at all times and ensuring they have a voice in the school

The care of children with health needs who cannot attend school

KGA schools work with children, their families and where appropriate the local authority to make arrangements for education for children with health needs who cannot attend school. This includes ensuring as far as possible continuous and consistent provision and maintaining contact with peers and the KGA school.

In assessing need and setting up provision:

the needs of the child are prioritised
liaison with the family, takes place through the Inclusion Team
as appropriate Google Classroom and other online learning tools are utilised
the child is able to, and encouraged as appropriate to maintain communication with their classmates through online learning platforms.

As appropriate, close partnership working with The Local Authority ensures the child / young person is able to access their learning and make progress. If a child is under the care of a hospital and attending provision through a hospital school, KGA schools will liaise directly with the hospital school.

An individually tailored reintegration plan is designed with the child/young person and their family and other relevant agencies at an appropriate point,. The plan may include reasonable adjustments, progress and learning planning and reintegration with peers.

Fostering good relations across all characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

We foster good relations by:

Ensuring that Rowner has a good profile within our local community
Ensuring that equality and diversity are embedded in the curriculum, which includes collective worship and extends beyond the school day.
Equality Objectives
At Rowner, we are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers, irrespective of race, gender, disability, belief, religion or socio-economic background. In order to further support pupils, raise standards and ensure inclusive teaching, we have set the following objectives:-
Objective 1: To monitor and analyse pupil achievement by race, gender and disability and act on any trends or patterns in the data that require additional support for pupils.
Objective 2: To raise levels of attainment in core subjects for vulnerable learners.
Objective 3: To review levels of parental and pupil engagement in learning and school life, across all activities to ensure equity and fairness in access and engagement. Our behaviour policy ensures that all children feel safe at school and addresses prejudicial bullying.

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