2021-2024

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At the Co-op Academy Smithies Moor, we are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers, with a particular focus on those who share a protected characteristic. The nine protected characteristics are all aspects of a person's identity that makes them who they are. These are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We recognise that treating people equally does not necessarily involve treating them all the same. We aim to include a culture of inclusion and diversity in which all those connected to the school feel proud of their identity and able to participate fully in school life.

Through our curriculum, we prioritise pupils’ moral development. We are passionate about our children having the courage to make the right moral choices, regardless of who is watching. Our community will work together to value everyone, to challenge prejudice, and to speak out for what we believe in: a world where we are all valued and where everybody can succeed.

At the heart of our curriculum, our children will have opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding in order to show tolerance of others beliefs, religions and life choices. Our children will be kind. They will show empathy  and compassion and above all they will have the integrity to make a positive contribution to the world around them. Our children will have healthy minds, showing they are emotionally happy and resilient learners and they will stay true to themselves, valuing their own identity. They will learn how to build positive, respectful relationships with other people.

We are a diverse community of pupils and colleagues from many backgrounds, from different places, speaking different languages, with different beliefs, who have experienced a wealth of different things, but we are united by our belief in inclusion, equality, compassion, empathy and humility, and we are not afraid to speak up for what is right, and to work together to make a positive difference.

Our children will understand their local community and feel proud of where they live. Through our curriculum, we will develop a sense of unity within our community and beyond. Our curriculum will deepen their understanding of  their identity in the wider world and the children will develop a curiosity and knowledge,  which will enable them to become ethical, global and responsible citizens.Things happen in the world, and happened in the past, that are not just or fair, but by talking about things, we can learn to make the world a better place, and we can learn to take responsibility for shaping the future we hope for, for all of us.

Our academy community fosters high expectations for all; this helps us to make sense of issues and inequalities in the world, helps us to grow our own perspective and identity, and empowers us to build a better future, where we feel proud of who we are. Our programmes of study support the tackling of stereotypes of all kinds, whilst celebrating the learning available to us, and promoting learning from each other.

We’ll celebrate our success, we’ll accept where we have fallen short, and we will plan to make ourselves and our community better.

We’re guided by our Co-op Values in everything we do. Our Ways of Being behaviours are how we demonstrate these principles.

• Do what matters most
• Be yourself, always
• Show you care
• Succeed together

Action Taken

We have worked hard over the past year to implement the actions identified in our revised Action Plan for 2022 - 2023. The following is a summary of key steps:

• The school has taken a proactive approach to recruitment, ensuring that there are opportunities to add diversity to our team that reflects the community we serve.

• Our curriculum is under development to ensure that there is a breadth of representation of learning material, texts, role models and themes within each subject.
• Through different  aspects of the curriculum assemblies and character curriculum actions have been taken to promote equality for all pupils.

Equality Objectives

1. To ensure that pupils have consistently high levels of attendance with a focus on Disadvantaged, SEN and EAL pupils.

2. To ensure that children belonging to a protected group are not disadvantaged academically by the use of tracking and assessment data.

3. Eliminate any discrimination and promote the equality of pupils with SEND.

4. To create opportunities in the curriculum to challenge children’s thinking.

5.  For children to have the opportunity to study the lives, work and achievements of a range of people from a wide range of Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and to celebrate diversity.
6. Ensure that children explore identity and that all pupils' identities are reflected in their learning environment.

7. To ensure that those with management responsibility and individual staff accept responsibility for planning, organisation and delivery of appropriate educational material to ensure that this policy for equity and diversity is woven into all we do

8. To ensure that learners and parents are fully involved in the provision made by the Academy, including through opportunities for consultation and discussion

9. To ensure that financial planning takes account of addressing equality and diversity

        and fundamentally underpins this policy, providing the means to affect change over time.

Equality Strategies

• The Academy will continue to push forward an agenda of revision in relation to the curriculum which keeps all stakeholders focussed on the importance of equality and diversity in the breadth of the Academy’s work.

• Leadership and Management activity will ensure that procedures and practices within the academy reflect the objectives of this policy

• Teachers will ensure that their planning, teaching and learning takes account of this

policy and ensures that equity underpins all their work

• Parents and Pupils will be involved and consulted about the provision being offered by the school

• Opportunities for demonstrating diversity and celebration of differences will be recognised as a rich and valuable resource for learning and driving equality standards

• Training opportunities for staff will be planned and delivered to ensure a focus on equitable teaching and learning and making use of resources that are fit for our purpose

• Assemblies will focus regularly on key themes in relation to Protected Characteristics, promoting understanding.

• Monitoring, evaluation and review carried out by the leaders  will ensure that procedures and practices within the academy reflect the objectives of this policy

Equality Outcomes

This document will promote Equality and Diversity throughout the academy, by achieving the following outcomes:

1. The curriculum will have been redeveloped, and equality, diversity and inclusion will be woven through. This will be completed in liaison with the Academy’s Equality Link Governor, and Subject Directors

2. The school will have no recorded incidents of prejudicial, racist or homophobic incidents

3. Independent scrutiny will identify Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as a significant aspect of the Academy’s curriculum.

4. The impact of the policy will be measured annually by the Leadership team, and an assessment will be made of the difference the policy is making in practice.

5. Termly consultation will have taken place with parents and pupils, and these meetings will be recorded, with actions set and reviewed.