EQUALITY INFORMATION AND OBJECTIVES School Policy Statement on Equality and Community Cohesion

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1 EQUALITY INFORMATION AND OBJECTIVES School Policy Statement on Equality and Community Cohesion The Equality Act 2010 requires us to publish information that demonstrates that we have due regard for the need to: Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it. Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it. Part 1: Information about the pupil population Number of pupils on roll at the school: 151 (excluding Acorn pre-school) Information on pupils by protected characteristics The equality act 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. Disability The Equality Act defines disability as when a person has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on that person s ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Number of pupils with disabilities: 3 (As these numbers are typically very low, the school feels it would be inappropriate to publish more detailed information in this category). Pupil Special Educational Needs (SEN) Provision Number of pupils Percentage (%) of school population No Special Educational 74 49% Need School Support 71 47%

2 Statement/Education Health Care Plan 6 4% Ethnicity and race Asian or Asian British Boys Girls Total Mixed Boys Girls Total Bangladeshi heritage Other mixed 1 heritage Indian heritage White and Asian Other Asian heritage Pakistani heritage Black or Black British Black African heritage White and Black African White and Black Caribbean Any other Ethnic Group White Caribbean heritage British heritage 162 Other heritage Irish heritage Chinese Traveller of Irish heritage Gypsy/Romany Any other white background Information Information not yet withheld obtained The above information is for children aged 3 and over on Gender Boys 93 Girls 78 Religion and Belief Buddhist 0 Sikh 0 Christian 55 No religion 115 Hindu 0 Other religion 0 Jewish 0 Unknown 0 Muslim As the numbers of other ethnic groups are low, they have not been identified by gender to help protect the identity of the individuals concerned.

3 Information on other groups of pupils OfSTED inspections look at how schools help all pupils to make progress, including those whose needs, dispositions, aptitudes or circumstances require additional support. In addition to pupils with protected characteristics, we wish to provide further information on the following groups of pupils: Number of pupils eligible for free school meals Pupils from low-income backgrounds Boys Girls Total Percentage of school population % Looked after children There are currently no looked after children in the school. Young carers There are a small number of carers identified across the school Other vulnerable groups The school does not collect any information in this area

4 Part 2: HOW WE HAVE DUE REGARD FOR EQUALITY The information provided here aims to show that we give careful consideration to equality issues in everything we do. Schools are required to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act The information below is a summary of how we are aware of this particular requirement and how we respond to it. Please contact us if you would like to see copies of any of our school policies. We deal promptly and effectively with all incidents and complaints of bullying and harassment related to disability or special educational need, ethnicity and race, gender, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, religion and belief and sexual orientation. We keep a record of all such incidents and notify those affected of what action we have taken. Our complaints procedure sets out how we deal with any complaints relating to the school. We have adopted North West Academies complaints procedure. Under the Equality Act 2010, we are also required to have due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations. This includes steps we are taking to tackle disadvantages and meet the needs of particular individuals and groups of individuals.

5 DISABILITY We are committed to working for the equality for people with and without disabilities. Summary information (including data on gaps in attainment, inequalities that need to be addressed and relations between different groups of pupils) The school building is mainly compliant with the current DDA legislation requirements, although each year, remedial works are taken across the premises to make the facilities even more accessible to people with a disability. How we advance equality of opportunity: We support disabled learners by meeting their individual needs, through meeting with parents and carers with specialists to draw up individual educational/action for inclusion plans (whichever is most appropriate). These needs are then shared with all staff who come into contact with the child to ensure that their needs are fully met. The school has opened its own resource provision to help meet the needs of some learners within the school. The school looks favourably on applicants with disabilities for any advertised post. The school actively encourages parent helpers, some of which may have a disability. How we foster good relations and promote community cohesion: The school works in close partnership with several local agencies including health, social care and children s services. The school is also a member of the Winsford Education Partnership, working successfully together on projects with other local Winsford schools. The school is also a partner with the Sandstone Trail partnership and this gives our children the opportunity to compete with good/outstanding schools regularly in the areas of PE, sport and the Arts and non-sporting competitions. The school works with the local GGO getters and the local allotments to improve the local environment through litter picking and bulb planting activities. What has been the impact of our activities? What do we plan to do next? Participation in local events is helping to raise the positive image of the school in the local community. Our children s smartness and good behaviour is regularly commented on by people visiting the school and by members of the public who we meet on visits out of school.

6 ETHNICITY AND RACE (including EAL learners) We are committed to working for the equality of all ethnic groups. Summary information (including performance against national and local benchmarks, data on gaps in attainment, inequalities that need to be addressed and relations between different groups of pupils). Analysis of assessment trends between 2015 and 2016, indicate that children from most ethnic backgrounds perform at least as well, and frequently better than, national comparatives at the end of each key stage. Where this is not the case, this is due to individual educational needs rather than race. How we advance equality of opportunity: As our class sizes are small, children with EAL tend to make rapid progress due to the individualised attention that they receive. How we foster good relations and promote community cohesion: Positive role models from different races are displayed around the school. Visitors from different ethnic backgrounds are invited to attend the school to develop the children s understanding and experience of people from a variety of cultures. Any incidents of name-calling are taken seriously and dealt with immediately. Our assembly themes celebrate successful people from different races and ethnicities. We take the children out of Cheshire, where possible, to visit places that reflect the ethnic diversity of the UK. What has been the impact of our activities? What do we plan to do next? Our children understand that any form of name calling including racist names will not be tolerated. There has been a significant reduction in such incidences. We continue to educate our children about positive role models from a range of ethnic backgrounds and about people from around the world and from history who have had a significant impact on the world we live in.

7 GENDER We are committed to working for the equality of women and men. Summary information (including performance against national and local benchmarks, data on gaps in attainment, inequalities that need to be addressed and relations between different groups of pupils). Analysis of assessment trends between 2015 and 2016, indicate that the patterns of difference in boys attainment when compared to girls at the end of KS1 is related to their individual needs and abilities (75% boys in this cohort have SEND). By the end of KS2, boys attainment is in line with all children nationally in reading and maths but is lower in writing. How we advance equality of opportunity: We monitor the attainment and progress of all our pupils every half term including groups of pupils such as boys and girls and take action to address any negative trends that materialise. The Talk for writing programme and phonics programme (RWInc) is enabling boys progress in writing to accelerate. Texts are chosen that interest boys throughout the school to engage them in the writing process. How we foster good relations and promote community cohesion: Through our PSHCE curriculum, we challenge stereotypes. This is also covered through w/s assemblies from time to time and in class when the need arises. What has been the impact of our activities? What do we plan to do next? Pupils see other people: male or female as equals. Boys are now more keen to write across the school as a result of the Talk for Writing project.

8 RELIGION AND BELIEF We are committed to working for the equality of all ethnic groups. Summary information (including performance against national and local benchmarks, data on gaps in attainment, inequalities that need to be addressed and relations between different groups of pupils). The majority of children in the school are from a non-religious background. Religion and belief is not a factor in relation to attainment and progress in the school. There have been no instances of bullying/name calling related to religion or belief since the school converted in How we advance equality of opportunity: Through the RE curriculum and assembly themes, the children learn about a range of festivals in school. We also celebrate these where they fit in with the school calendar and the RE curriculum. The majority of children come from a non-religious background although there are a third who are Christian. In some cohorts there are individuals with other beliefs. Where possible these are celebrated with the class/whole school. How we foster good relations and promote community cohesion: World religions are taught respectfully throughout the school in accordance with the new Cheshire Agreed Syllabus for RE. What has been the impact of our activities? What do we plan to do next? Pupils are learning to understand and respect the beliefs of others. We plan to take children to visit places of worship from a variety of religions including the local church as many children have not been inside any places of worship.

9 Part 3: CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT We aim to engage and consult with pupils, staff, parents and carers, and the local community so we can develop our awareness and information, learn about the impact of our policies, set equality objectives and improve what we do. Our main activities for consulting and engaging are: Pupil group interviews annually (or more frequently) Parental questionnaire annually Pupil questionnaire annually Informal discussions in assemblies Equality questionnaire bi-annually Record of consultation and engagement Date Who we consulted Summary Action taken October 2016 Parental/staff/visitor Equality Questionnaire 1. No parents/staff/ visitors are dissatisfied with the way in which the school deals with equal opportunities for pupils, visitors or incidents of bullying or harassment. 1. Continue to deal with equality issues and incidents of bullying or harassment following the school policies. July 2016 Pupil group interviews October 2016 Parental questionnaire 1. To further improve lunchtimes with more outdoor equipment. 2. To reduce the incidents of use of bad language amongst the small minority on the playground parents say that there is nothing to improve parents wanted more out of school activities including in the local area parents wanted the lunchtime menu to be updated/ reviewed. 4. To improve lost property arrangements. 5. For parents evenings not to be held in the school hall. 1. Additional play equipment installed Sept 16. Further equipment to be purchased. 2. Perpetrators warned. 1. Continue to seek feedback. 2. Y1 visits to the local area. 3. Feedback on the menu passed on to NWAT catering supervisor. 4. Clear signposting to lost property. 5. Trial in Spring 17 in classrooms.

10 Part 4: RECORD OF HOW WE HAVE CONSIDERED EQUALITY ISSUES WHEN MAKING DECISIONS The Equality Act 2010 requires us to show due regard to equality issues when we make significant decisions or changes in our policies. This means we need to consider what the impact of those decisions or policies will be on pupils and staff with protected characteristics before a decision is made or a policy is finalised. Date Policy or decision Equality issues we considered 2014 Relocation of Nursery Impact of the presence to upstairs. of the rest of the school on our youngest 2014 Changes in school uniform. children. Impact of increased costs for low income families. Action taken or changes made Nursery lunch at 11.45, Reception at with the rest of KS1. Parents consulted about the costs, materials and style. 1 st uniform was provided free of cost. 1 st uniform for children in Acorn preschool and 1 st PE kit for Juniper class provided free of charge Extension to the length of the school day. Impact on the youngest children and on working parents. Impact on children with special educational needs. Free breakfast club provided from 8am for working parents. Compulsory clubs for all children from pm Mon-Thurs. This was reduced to pm Mon-Thurs in 2015 as the children were tired Juniper class not stay to clubs for 1 st half term so the days are not too long. (Parents offered the use of a classroom to wait in). Some children with SEN allowed to go home at 3pm if they are unable to cope with the transitions and change to work within another room/other staff.

11 2014 A child with a disability applied for a place at the school Setting up of a resource provision Improved car parking facilities 2016 Relocation of Year 1 and Year 2 classes. Disability access. Medical issues. Inclusion of children with Special educational needs. Access to education for all children. Personalised curriculum for children with specific learning difficulties. Disability access. Safety issues. Accessibility for disabled children. Ease of access to the Resource provision for children in Year 1. Accessible toilet facilities improved to allow better access for children in wheelchairs. February 2015: resource provision set up for individual children in upper KS2. February 2016: resource provision extended to meet the needs of children in FS2/KS1. An additional disabled parking bay was added to the school car park and dropped kerbs to allow easier access from the school car park. Classrooms swapped from September 2016.

12 Part 5: OUR EQUALITY OBJECTIVES The Equality Act 2010 requires us to publish specific and measurable equality objectives. Our equality objectives are based on our analysis of data and other information. Our equality objectives focus on those areas where we have agreed to take action to improve equality and tackle disadvantages. We will regularly review the progress we are making to meet our equality objectives. Equality objective 1: To improve outcomes in reading, writing and maths for all children regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Progress we are making on this objective In 2016, there was a significant increase in the number of children achieving the expected levels at the end of KS2 in reading, writing and maths. We increased the percentage of children achieving the combined expected level from 10% in 2014 to 68% in The children were in the top 5% for progress in reading and the top 30% for progress in writing and maths in Equality objective 2: To implement the equality scheme. Progress we are making on this objective We have asked the parents, visitors and staff to complete an Equality questionnaire and have been acting on feedback received.

13 Part 6: INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EMPLOYEES If we have more than 150 employees we are required to publish information about them. The school has 37 employees at present. Additional information Policies and procedures Absence management policy Appraisal policy Capability procedure Code of Conduct Staff disciplinary policy Grievance procedure Pay Policy Professional relations policy Whistleblowing policy Recruitment and selection of staff Safer recruitment procedures are adopted. The Headteacher and the vice-chair of Governors have received and updated their safer recruitment training. Information on disabilities and personal data is not looked at when a short list is being created. All applicants are judged against the job spec for the post. Activities that promote equality for our employees Appraisal process. One page personal profiles. Grievances and disciplinary procedures The school have adopted North West Academies grievance and disciplinary procedures. What our employees say about equality issues No equality issues have been identified by staff in the questionnaire (Oct 16). Equality and diversity training for staff Equality and diversity issues highlighted during INSET day 1 st Sept 2016.