Equality
Southfields Primary School is proud to be a fully inclusive school where everyone is welcome and encouraged to be the best they can be. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity for all our pupils, parents and staff. We make sure that we consider equality and the possible implications for all pupils and especially those with protected characteristics. We expect all members of our community and everyone who enters our school to behave in a way which respects the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010.
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 their sex (gender), race, disability, religion or belief, gender reassignment, sexual orientation or pregnancy or maternity.
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:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
- Advance equality of opportunity between different groups
- Foster good relations between different groups
The two 'specific duties' require us to:
- Publish information to show compliance with the Equality Duty
- Publish Equality Objectives at least every 4 years which are specific and measurable
The action plan and statement demonstrate these two specific duties.
We recognise that these duties reflect international human rights standards as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and the Human Rights Act 1998.
Equality Statement:
Our Equality Statement is based on the principles above and aims to ensure that:
‘All pupils and members of staff at our School are provided with opportunities to fulfil their potential, whatever their sex, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, marital status, age, sexual orientation, disability or religious belief.’