Equality Duty
Equality Duty
The Equality Policy for Oakwood Junior School brings together all previous policies, schemes and action plans around equality including those that we had previously for Race, Gender and Disability. It includes all the protected characteristics covered under the Equality Act (2010) as well as other aspects which have the potential to discriminate against or to devalue any individuals within our community.
We are committed to the development of cohesive communities both within our school’s physical boundaries and within our local, national and global environments. Our school embraces the aim of working together with others to improve children’s educational and health and wellbeing outcomes,
Under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) we are required to publish information about how the school addresses equality issues. The Equality Act 2010 states that the following protected characteristics must be considered when making decisions or formulating policy:
Disability
Gender
Race
Pregnancy and Maternity
Religion and Belief
Sexual Orientation
Gender Reassignment
Age
At Oakwood Junior School we will:
Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.
Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not share it.
Due regard is defined as giving relevant and proportionate consideration to the duty, which in school means that:
Decision makers must be aware of the duty to have “due regard” when making decisions or taking an action and must assess whether it may have implications for people with particular protected characteristics
We must consider equality implications before, and at the time of, developing policy and taking decisions, not as an afterthought. These must be kept under review on a continuing basis
The Public Sector Equality Duty must be integrated into the carrying out of the school’s functions and the analysis necessary to comply with the duty must be carried out seriously, rigorously and with an open mind.
Schools cannot delegate responsibility to any other agency for carrying out this duty.
In line with our statutory duties we publish equalities information annually and publish and report on equalities objectives every three years. We have set ourselves specific and measurable objectives that will help us achieve the aims of the general equality duty: These will be interwoven into our School Improvement Plan, Subject Action Plans, and our Accessibility Plan, and will contribute towards our drive towards providing exceptional schooling for all pupils. Oakwood Junior School will publish information annually to demonstrate how we are complying with the duty, in the form of a review of the Equality Objectives.