'School has provided and integrated learning for various abilities within the school system successfully.'

'I would strongly agree that the school has an Equality policy and is committed to promoting equality of respect and opportunity.'

^{Parent & Carers Questionnaire January 2024}

Single Equality Information Report Demonstrating compliance

with the Equality Objectives

Profile

As at September 2023, Asby Endowed School is primary mainstream school with 16 pupils currently enrolled and a strong British values ethos which develops the whole child.  There is a ratio of 7 boys to 9 girls, slightly above the national of 51% boys to 49% girls (DfE Jan 2020). We have 2 pupils on free school meals.

12.5% of our pupils have special educational needs. 

100% of our pupils enter school from private nurseries or settings other than the home, with attainment and maturity is wide-ranging.  To address this inequality, we have worked closely with pre-school settings building in regular visits by members of our staff.  In the term before starting school in September, all children who applied for a place were offered visits to the school.  This allowed them to settle into the school environment and allowed the EYFS staff to get to know them and make initial assessments of and form relationships with pupils ready for their start.

Our catchment area takes Asby parish, as well as several other hamlets and isolated farms.  There are few amenities available locally.  There is a varied mix of family backgrounds in terms of wealth and employment.  We offer an after-school club which operates to 5pm, Monday to Wednesday and 4.30pm, Thursday and Fridays.  Over an average week, over 95% of pupils use these facilities. 

We have several vulnerable groups including those with special educational and learning needs.

The Local Authority (LA) handles admissions to the school. When we are made aware of pupils who are joining the school with special educational needs or disabilities, we arrange to meet the pupil and parents or carers and involve professionals from the LA and Health Authority to ensure any adjustments required to our buildings or curriculum are made in readiness for them starting school.  The school has fully ramped access and is level throughout the building enabling access to wheelchair users.  Our reception area is accessible to people with disabilities.  We have one disabled toilet for use by those pupils who need personal care whilst at school.

Information for parents and others is provided in verbal and written form and we offer it in alternative formats on request e.g. another language, braille etc.

Recruitment procedures are based on those provided by our LA with all advertising being processed through the Council HR and Advertising Team. 

Note: If we do not provide actual figures in relation to pupils or staff from ethnic minorities or any other equality group with protected characteristics it is because they are a small number of people and we must maintain their privacy.  We are also not required to collect any statistical data which we do not already collect routinely e.g. RAISE online and other data.

Disability Equality Duties

Our commitment to achieving equality of opportunity for pupils with disabilities, their families, school staff, and other school users has a number of objectives. We promote equality by:

• removing barriers to the accessibility of education, employment, services, information and buildings;
• encouraging good practice by our partners by giving relevant advice or instructions;
• ensuring we take their needs into account when procuring goods and services from our providers;
• promoting positive images of people with disabilities;
• challenging patronising or discriminating attitudes;
• making the environment as safe as possible for and challenging antisocial or bullying behaviour against, or harassment of pupils, staff or other school users with disabilities.

We work with families to increase access to education for disabled pupils by:

• increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school curriculum;
• increasing the inclusion of positive images of disabled people across the curriculum;
• improving the environment of the school to increase the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of education and associated services;
• improving the delivery of information to disabled pupils, to the standard of which is provided in writing for pupils who are not disabled.

We welcome the requirements of the Disability Equality duty and this section sets out our commitment to meeting the duty.  Our Scheme shows how we promote disability equality across all areas of the school, to disabled pupils, staff, parents, carers and other school users.

Please see our School’s Accessibility Plan (plans to improve the physical layout of the building and the grounds and disability access to the curriculum, school website etc.).

Racial Equality Duties and Community Cohesion

We recognise that people of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) origin experience discrimination based on colour, race, nationality, religion, and ethnic origin.  Racial harassment and violence are the most serious consequences of racism, damaging people emotionally and physically and limiting life choices and opportunities. 

To ensure this school takes all necessary steps to prevent and tackle racial harassment and to help people of BAME origin live free from harassment, feel safe and enjoy and achieve throughout their education or working life at our school, we will take steps to:

• keep accurate records of all groups of faith or ethnicity, their backgrounds and needs and how we respond to them;
• encourage dialogue between different racial groups on the suitability of our educational provision;
• prevent racial discrimination, and promote equality of opportunity and good relations between members of different racial, cultural and religious groups;
• encourage pupils and their families of all ethnic groups to participate fully in all aspects of school life;
• use our support for the voluntary and community sector to promote good race relations;
• counter myths and misinformation that may undermine good community relations;
• ensure our staff and other adults working in our school, pupils and their families, as well as our partners and the wider community fully understand the principles of good race relations.

The school is committed to race equality action and is welcoming and accommodating of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds. Teachers take steps in personal development time, PHSE/RHSE, Religious Education and World Views and wherever possible in finding SMSC themes to present a wide and diverse view of the world. The school has a very flexible approach to this depending upon the needs and composition of the school at any given time. Information about our curriculum is made clear on our website and through termly Learning Overviews. Due to our predominately high percentage of white British backgrounds, we make a conscious effort to focus on more ethnically diverse examples across the curriculum. Parents/carers are always reminded to discuss with us if they have any concerns about the content of our curriculum.

Sex and Gender Reassignment Equality Duties

We are committed to combating sex discrimination and sexism and promoting the equality of women and men, and boys and girls. 

We are also committed to ensuring the rights under the Equality Act of people undergoing gender reassignment (defined as applying to anyone who is proposing to undergo, is undergoing, or has undergone a process or part-process, for the purpose of reassigning their sex by changing physiological or other attributes).  This means that in order to be protected under the Act, pupils or staff will not necessarily have to be undertaking a medical procedure to change their sex but must be taking steps to live in the opposite gender or proposing to do so.  So far, the law has not acknowledged non-binary or genderless individuals, but we want to act appropriately to safeguard and include all members of our communities. We will give due regard to the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation on the grounds of sex or gender reassignment, including domestic violence, sexual violence, bullying, and exploitation;
• promote equality of opportunity between women and men in all our functions.

When analysing our progress/attainment data we consider the sexes. We have more boys categorised as SEND and needing Learning Support. We recognise that there are more behaviour and attitude concerns particularly with older boys and plans have been made to tackle this. When selecting key texts, we consciously consider what themes and characters will appeal to boys that are more likely to underperform in English. Equally, we have a duty to expose them to new themes and ideas and this needs to be a considered balance.

When teaching across the curriculum, teachers will take the opportunity to explain for example the absence of women in history or science in an appropriate way and would tackle any negative views or perceptions amongst students and offer counter arguments or examples. Any incidents of sexism would be recognised and dealt with on an individual basis. We recognise that often these are a result of ‘ignorance’ or paraphrasing of opinions held at home and that ‘education’ is the best response.

Through our RHSE programme gender stereotypes are covered in detail (see RHSE scheme of work). Our RHSE programme is very comprehensive and age-appropriately covers sexual exploitation and sexual bullying/peer-peer abuse. PHSE and personal development time also cover aspirations and going for goals; there is a deliberate effort to show men and women engaging in a wide range of roles that break traditional stereotypes. These sessions are often revealing for teachers to address the kinds of ideas and opinions that some children hold.

Religion and Belief Equality Duties

This school recognises that people can face discrimination because of attitudes in society towards the religion, faith, or belief they hold or faith community they belong to.  Faith-based hate crime has a character that is distinct from race-based hate crime.  We also recognise that a person’s religious (or similar) beliefs may mean that they have different needs, demands and expectations, which require flexibility.  We understand this means we must assess the impact that our policies, functions and procedures have on promoting equality for people based on their religion, belief or non-belief.

In our school, which is a non-denominational school, we make sure that whilst complying with our statutory requirements relating to teaching Religious Education that we present a broad balanced view of faiths and world views and we work from the premise that many of our children do not identify with a faith or religion. We teach broad Christian values such as friendship, thankfulness, hope, forgiveness and respect, which are also key values of other faiths and world views.

Our personal development time programme ensures that different festivals and stories from world faiths are shared. Our Religious Education, also incorporates World Views to move away from some negative connotations of the subject but also because we want our pupils to be aware that there are different world views and religions that are all legitimate; that some people choose to follow a faith or may actively choose not to.

In a small school, we are in a fortunate position that we know our families well. We have an open-door policy and encourage parents/carers to talk to us about our curriculum or to share with us any feelings that they have about any topics we are covering. 

Sexual Orientation Equality Duties

This school is committed to combatting unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation faced by people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ+) and we aim to ensure equality of opportunity in education, services, and employment.

We will respect the rights of individuals to be open about their sexual orientation, tackle homophobia, challenge stereotyping and improve knowledge about LGBTQ+ communities, both inside the community and across wider society.

We are committed to taking a proactive approach to preventing all forms of homophobia in the school community and will assess the impact of our policies, functions and procedures on promoting sexual orientation equality as part of the Equality Impact Assessment process.

Asby Endowed School is fully committed to combatting any discriminatory behaviours around sexual orientation. When teaching about relationships, it is made clear that this can be between different sexes and people of the same sex. We do not go into any specific details of gay sex at primary school because we focus on intercourse that results in the conception of a baby, although it is explained that sex is often for pleasure and part of a loving relationship with another individual (Years 5 & 6). Children are encouraged to raise their own questions in these sessions and these are dealt with either on an individual basis or in the whole class depending on the question. We respect and are sensitive to the fact that children are at different stages in their own understanding and curiosity around sexual matters. Occasionally, pupils have been told to ask their own parents/carers, if we feel that it is not the right forum for certain questions or we feel that this may go into territory that a parent may not wish us to go into. The school does not tolerate any homophobic language and this would be logged and dealt with seriously. Staff would report any cases and we would use an incident as a teaching and learning opportunity.

As much as we are comfortable to discuss information with pupils about a person’s sexuality if it was raised, we do not feel that it should define them. We encourage pupils to think about people’s achievements or experiences irrespective of their gender or sexuality. However, discussing how a person that is open about their sexual orientation may help other gay people to feel confident about their sexuality.

Pregnancy and Maternity Equality Duties

This school is committed to ensuring that staff who are pregnant or have recently given birth are protected from both direct and indirect discriminatory practices, disadvantage and unfavourable treatment.  We follow HR advice from Westmorland and Furness Council.

We are also committed to ensuring staff are protected from discrimination if they:

• are or have been pregnant;
• have given birth and unfavourable treatment occurred within 26 weeks of and including the day of the birth;
• are breastfeeding and unfavourable treatment occurs within 26 weeks of the birth as above;
• experienced a still birth, as long as the pregnancy reached 24 weeks.

Promoting the Nine Protected Characteristics

Under the Equality Act, there are nine protected characteristics:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Race -  including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
• Religion or belief
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Pregnancy and maternity

No form of discrimination is tolerated at Asby Endowed School and our pupils show respect for those who share the protected characteristics.  The curriculum is planned and delivered so that our pupils develop age appropriate knowledge and understanding of protected characteristics during their time at Asby Endowed  School. 

The nine Protected Characteristics are actively promoted in school through:

• Our school ethos and values
• Our school behaviour policy
• Conscious role modelling by all adults in the school community
• Active engagement and communication with parents and carers
• Personal Development time
• Discussion within curriculum subjects
• Promoting articulation by building appropriate language and a coherent vocabulary
• Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) sessions including RSE
• Religious Education and World View (RE&WV) lessons,
• Pupil Voice
• Educational visits.

Publication of the Single Equality Scheme

Our Single Equality Scheme (Part 1) is published in English and in pdf format with our Report (Part 2) and our Objectives Action Plan (Part 3) on our school website.  A printed copy is available on request from the school office.  It can also be made available in other formats e.g. another language, or braille.

We update and re-publish the detail of our Scheme (Part 1) as necessary, Part 2 annually to account for the September intake or staffing changes and how they affect diversity in school, and Part 3 no less than every 4 years.  We will also review Part 3 in brief annually in light of our new Part 2 to ensure our longer-term goals remain relevant.

Complaints

If a member of the public feels that they have suffered discrimination, harassment, or victimisation from this school because of their protected characteristic i.e. race (including nationality, ethnic group, regional or national origin), sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, age, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, disability, or religion or belief (including lack of belief), they should report it using our normal School’s Complaints Procedure.  For more information please see www.asby.cumbria.sch.uk/policies

Complaints by staff will be dealt with under the Grievance Procedure, as appropriate. 

We take all complaints seriously and will take appropriate action to eliminate discriminatory behaviour. 

We will monitor complaints to help establish whether we are meeting our equality duties and report regularly to the Governing Body about the nature of complaints made and action taken.