Promoting the Protected Characteristics at Brockley Primary School

We work to ensure that our children understand that:

There are no outsiders at Brockley

Everyone is different

We celebrate our differences

We are all equal in our differences

The Equality Act became law in 2010. It covers everyone in Britain and protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Everyone in Britain is protected. This is because the Equality Act protects people against discrimination because of the protected characteristics that we all have. Under the Equality Act, there are nine Protected Characteristics:

1. Age
2. Disability
3. Gender reassignment
4. Race
5. Religion or belief
6. Marriage or civil partnership
7. Sex
8. Sexual orientation
9. Pregnancy and maternity

At , we actively promote these in our curriculum and work to embed them into our ethos.

Under the Equality Act you are protected from discrimination:

• When you are in the workplace
• When you use public services like healthcare (for example, visiting your doctor or local hospital) or education (for example, at your school or college)
• When you use businesses and other organisations that provide services and goods (like shops, restaurants, and cinemas)
• When you use transport
• When you join a club or association (for example, your local rugby club)
• When you have contact with public bodies like your local council or government departments

The Brockley Way – ‘Only my best is good enough’

Only my best is good enough’

Brockley Primary School’s vision statement was originally written during the spring term of 2015 following our headteacher’s arrival and an early Ofsted inspection. As a community we feel our statement reflects our overarching aims, ethos and values and we plan to use it to chart our journey and to inspire on-going progress and developments for all our community.

We regularly review our statement to ensure it accurately reflects and embodies our school’s ethos.

School Aims Vision Statement…

‘The Brockley Way – Only my best is good enough’

Set in fantastic and amazing external grounds Brockley Primary School is able to offer exceptional and delightful outdoor learning opportunities for all children. With our very own forest area, sports fields and wooded space beyond the internal play areas Brockley really is the jewel in Shuttlewood’s crown.

We thoroughly enjoy and take every opportunity to be outside exploring and enjoying the natural outdoor spaces we are lucky to own. We encourage children to be resilient and use the spaces to our curriculums advantage.

At Brockley we take pride in developing outstanding teaching and learning by holding the highest expectations of all our pupils and knowing the children well. We challenge all children to strive for academic, creative, sporting and personal accomplishment within a broad, vibrant and enriched curriculum. Our students are given time to explore subjects and develop deep understanding. We celebrate perseverance; resilience and risk taking, ensuring children welcome challenge and are not frightened to make mistakes. We encourage children to take ownership of and responsibility for their learning, so they have the confidence and curiosity to ask questions, solve problems and respond to quality feedback. Children are praised for hard work, determination and having a positive attitude.

In order to create an inclusive school where everyone can flourish, whatever their background, we promote an ethos of respect and empathy, where diversity is valued and celebrated – both within school and the wider world. Safeguarding and welfare is extremely important and pupils are taught the virtues of kindness, appreciation and what it means to be courageous. Special care is taken to educate everyone in the Brockley community about the needs of others and how best to meet them. We foster open and honest communication with parents, carers and specialists and actively seek to engage with all members of the Brockley community in a positive and supportive manner.

High quality teaching is a key priority at Brockley and the relationship between staff and children underpins inspirational, supportive and effective teaching and learning. Staff are actively involved in identifying their support and training needs and this leads to careers with clear progression. We ensure that there is a wide range of quality training available and that staff are able to learn from each other and share good practice.

It is our aim for all children to leave Brockley as independent learners with self-belief and an abiding respect for others. We aim to instil a lifelong love for learning and a strong grounding for future success.

Brockley Primary School Equality Information and Objectives

Public Sector Equality Duty (Updated December 2022)

Public Sector Equality Duty

The Equality Act 2010 requires us to publish information that demonstrates that we have due regard for the need to:

• Eliminate unlawful  discrimination, harassment, victimisation  and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
• Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

Brockley Primary School is an inclusive school where we focus on the well-being and progress of every child and where all members of our community are of equal worth.

We believe that the Equality Act provides a framework to support our commitment to valuing diversity, tackling discrimination, promoting equality and fostering good relationships between people. It also ensures that we continue to tackle issues of disadvantage and underachievement of different groups.

Our approach to equality is based on the following key principles:

Information on pupils by protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics. Every person has several of the protected characteristics, so the Act protects everyone against unfair treatment.

In order to ensure that all pupils are protected from discrimination, the school collects information on protected characteristics.

Information on other groups of pupils

In addition to pupils with protected characteristics, we gather further information on the following groups of pupils:

• Pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM)
• Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
• Disadvantaged group
• Pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL)
• Young carers
• Looked after children
• Other vulnerable groups

Eliminating discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Act

The information provided here aims to demonstrate that we give careful consideration to equality issues in everything that we do at Brockley Primary School. ‘Due regard’ ensures that we work towards eliminating discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act.

We are committed to working for equality for all our staff, families (parents/carers) and children to meet our duties under the Equality Act 2010.

We eliminate discrimination by:

• Adoption of the single Equality Scheme
• Our behaviour policy ensures that all children feel safe at school and addresses prejudicial bullying
• Reporting, responding to and monitoring all racist incidents
• Regularly monitoring the curriculum to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of our pupils and that it promotes respect for diversity and challenges negative stereotyping
• Teaching is of the highest quality to ensure children reach their potential and all pupils are given equal entitlement to success
• Tracking pupil progress to ensure that all children make rapid progress, and intervening when necessary
• Ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to access extra-curricular provision
• Listening to and monitoring views and experiences of pupils and adults to evaluate the effectiveness of our policies and procedures.

Advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

We advance equality of opportunity by:

• Using the information we gather to identify underachieving groups or individuals and plan targeted intervention
• Ensuring participation of  parents/carers and pupils in school development
• Listening to parents/carers
• Listening to pupils at all times

Fostering good relations across all characteristics - between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

We foster good relations by:

• Ensuring that Brockley Primary School is seen as the central hub within our local community
• Ensuring that equality and diversity are embedded in the curriculum and in collective worship.

Equality Objectives

At Brockley Primary School and Nursery, we are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers, irrespective of race, gender, disability, belief, religion or socio-economic background.

In order to further support pupils, raise standards and ensure inclusive teaching, we

have set the following objectives:

Objective 1: To monitor and analyse pupil achievement by race, gender and disability

and act on any trends or patterns in the data that require additional support for pupils.

Objective 2: To raise levels of attainment in core subjects for vulnerable learners.

Objective 3: To review levels of parental and pupil engagement in learning and school life, across all activities to ensure equity and fairness in access and engagement.