On the 1st October 2010, the Equality Act 2010 replaced all existing equality legislation such as the Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act.
The Equality Act 2010 was introduced to ensure protection from discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the grounds of specific characteristics (referred to as protected characteristics). This means that schools cannot discriminate against pupils or treat them less favourably because of:
The Act introduced requires all schools to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty and two specific duties.
Public Sector Equality Duty requires us as a school to:
The Two “specific duties” requires us to:
At St Vincent's Catholic Primary School we are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and the absence of unfair discrimination for all stakeholders in line with the Equality Act 2010. We aim to demonstrate this equality of opportunity through all aspects of school life by removing barriers to learning and success through our work in the classroom, our pastoral and inclusion support systems, out of hours learning opportunities, our links with the wider community and our recruitment and retention of staff.
We seek to demonstrate our commitment to providing equality of opportunity by:
· Ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and with respect.
· Making sure that our school is a safe, secure and stimulating place for everyone.
· Recognising that people have different needs, and understanding that treating people fairly does not always involve treating them all exactly the same.
· Recognising that some pupils need extra support to help them make progress and be successful.
· Aiming to ensure that people from different groups are consulted and involved in our decisions, for example through talking to pupils and parents/carers, and through our School Council.
· Aiming to make sure that no-one experiences harassment, less favourable treatment or discrimination because of:
- Gender re-assignment
- Religion and belief
- Sexual orientation
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Being pregnant or having recently had a baby