Public Sector Equality Duty
Aims
Our school aims to meet its obligations under the public sector equality duty by having due regard for the need to:
- Eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
- Foster good relations across all characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
What is the Public Sector Equality Duty (the PSED)?
The Equality Act 2010 introduced a single, general duty for public bodies, including schools, and which extends to all ‘protected characteristics’ – race, disability, sex, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment.
Legislation and guidance
This document meets the requirements under the following legislation:
- The Equality Act 2010, which introduced the public sector equality duty and protects people from discrimination
This document is also based on the Department for Education (DfE) guidance: The Equality Act 2010 and schools.
Roles and responsibilities
The governing board will:
- Ensure that the equality information and objectives as set out in this statement are published and communicated throughout the school, including to staff, pupils and parents
- Delegate responsibility for monitoring the achievement of the objectives on a daily basis to the headteacher
The SLT will:
- Promote knowledge and understanding of the equality objectives amongst staff and pupils
- Monitor success in achieving the objectives and report back to governors
How does St James' Catholic Primary School comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty?
The school has a range of policies which make explicit the school’s commitment to actively promoting equality of opportunity for all. The main policies that deal with equality of opportunity are:
- British Values Policy
- SMSC Policy
- Accessibility Policy
- Equality and Objectives Policy
- SEND Policy
- Behaviour Policy
- Religious Education Policy
- Relationships and Sex Education Policy
St James' Catholic Primary School prides itself on being an inclusive school that cares for every individual child. In doing so, we promote and deliver a range of strategies to ensure that we comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty. It is through our school curriculum, assemblies and wider learning experiences that our pupils are afforded the opportunity to discuss and explore the values that underpin equality.
Equality objectives
Under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) the school is required to set Equality Objectives and our published information must be updated annually.
Objective 1: To ensure staff are appropriately delivering RSE (Relationships Sex and Health) statutory requirements from Summer 2021. With specific reference to the teaching of the protected characteristics.
Objective 2: To ensure that all pupils are more aware of the ethnic and cultural backgrounds of their peers and also have an increased understanding of the need to treat others fairly in line with our school beliefs.
Objective 3: To ensure fair access to the curriculum for those with different abilities/disabilities through promoting inclusive approaches to teaching and learning.
