Langland Community School

Equality

The Equality Act 2010 replaced all existing equality legislation such as the Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act, and provides a single, consolidated source of discrimination law, covering all the types of discrimination that are unlawful. It simplifies the law by removing anomalies and inconsistencies that had developed over time in the existing legislation, and it extends the protection from discrimination in certain areas. 

The Single Equality Act reflects the Government’s commitment, ‘to narrowing gaps, and to tackling the barriers to equal opportunities and social mobility which hold individuals back and bring heavy social and economic costs. Equality is central to building a strong economy and fairer society. It underpins the Coalition’s guiding principles of freedom, fairness and responsibility’. 

The Government believes that they need to reform education to tackle educational inequality, which has widened in recent years. They believe, ‘that too many children are held back by disadvantage and discrimination. We want to build a fair society where social mobility is unlocked; where everyone, regardless of background, has the chance to succeed.

We welcome the fact that the Equality Act gives us all an opportunity to do this in a more streamlined and effective way’. 

Equality

What is the Public Sector Equality Duty (the PSED)?

The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies to promote equality.  The relevant protected characteristics are-

• age
• disability,
• gender reassignment
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

Legislation and guidance

• The Equality Act 2010, which introduced the public sector equality duty and protects people from discrimination
• The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011, which require schools to publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the public sector equality duty and to publish equality objectives

This document is also based on Department for Education (DfE) guidance: The Equality Act 2010 and schools.

THE EQUALITY ACT 2010

• The general equality duty is contained in S149 of the Act and requires schools to have “due regard” to the need to:
• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act;
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, andØ foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
• Guidance is attached at Section A which provides a brief overview of the provisions of the Act, information about the Protected Characteristics and information about the different types of discrimination and other forms of unlawful behaviour. It is provided as part of our commitment to eliminating all forms of conduct and behaviour deemed unlawful by the Act.
• Information about how this school complies with its general duty and how we incorporate all three strands of the general duty into school life on a daily basis is detailed in Section B.
• We will assess equality implications in relation to all new school policies, procedures and projects as part of our on-going duty to have due regard to our general duty. This will help to ensure the school is not unlawfully discriminating against certain individuals or groups with protected characteristics in line with our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. 
• The Governing Body, the Headteacher and SLT (as appropriate) will keep written records of all relevant decisions and actions where equality issues have arisen. This will help us to show that equality implications have been considered and that the school’s equality duties have been actively considered before, and at the time decisions have been made.
• EQUALITY OBJECTIVES
• The school’s current equality objectives are set here. Our objectives are specific, measurable and achievable. They relate to people with protected characteristics and cross reference the three strands of the general duty. They represent our school’s priorities.
• The school’s objectives are the outcome of a careful review and analysis of our school data and other information. We have chosen a combination of targets.
• We have detailed the reasons why we have chosen each objective and the relevance to the school’s general equality duty. The overall aim is that the school achieves or makes significant progress towards each specific objective within a specified timeframe
• The Headteacher will report to the Governing Body in relation to the progress we have made towards achieving our objectives. The Governing Body will ensure the school’s equality objectives are reviewed annually and that they are updated at least every four years.

The school’s current Equality Objectives are:-

1. To further enhance the provision of British Values and Protected Characteristics in everyday life at school
2. To plan and deliver a Protective Behaviours Curriculum
3. To continue developing children’s Cultural Capital