Equality at Bretherton

Bretherton Endowed CE Primary School is committed to ensuring we adhere to the Equality Act 2010.

Full details can be found in our Equality Policy and our Equality Action plan.

Purpose of the Policy:

On the 1st October 2010, the Equality Act 2010 replaced all existing equality legislation such as the Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act.

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 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” requires us to:

Publish information to show compliance with the Equality Duty

Publish Equality Objectives at least every 4 years which are specific and measurable

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.’

We are totally committed to ensuring that equality is a fundamental part of our drive to improve and that all members of the Bretherton Endowed CE Primary School Community should expect the best…to be the best.’

Our Equality Policy aims to demonstrate our compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

In 2022 2023 and 2024 2025 we completed the Linking Partnership, (https://www.theeducationpeople.org/our-expertise/equality-inclusion/schools-linking-the-linking-network/ ) a collaboration with two schools - English Martyrs and Balderstone CE Primary to celebrate diversity and learn about others and their lives and customs and in 2024/5 with Eldon Primary, Preston.

In addition, Bretherton will continue to focus on our work on Diversity and Equality and will commence the Lancashire County Council Equality and Diversity Award. Over 12 month, we will audit and plan to maximise our children's knowledge and understanding of this important area.

The Lancashire Equality Mark is awarded to schools who have taken measures to embed Equality throughout their practice with the goal of enabling all pupils to thrive in a supportive learning community. It has been developed by a working group in Lancashire and provides a clear framework to guide schools through the process of auditing, developing and consolidating good practice in different areas of Equality. It builds on and extends the good practice of the Lancashire Race Equality Mark

The Equality Mark comprises now comprises of six individual Equality Badges:

Race Equality Badge ACHIEVED 2023
Gender and Gender Variance Equality Badge ACHIEVED 2024
Disability Equality Badge ACHIEVED 2024
Socio-economic Equality Badge
Sexual Orientation Equality Badge
Religion and Belief Equality Badge ACHIEVED 2023

We have been awarded the Race and Religion and Belief Equality Badge on July 2023 and will be working towards the Gender and Disability badges next year.

Our letter is attached but a summary is here:

Lancashire Equality Mark – Race Equality and Religion and Belief Equality Mark
Badges
Thank you for inviting us to have a look at the fantastic work that is going on in your school. With special thanks to your pupils – for impressing us with their singing and signing skills and being so enthusiastic about the work they have covered in School. And also thanks to Pam and Brian for taking time out of their day to speak with us to tell us about their roles as Governor and Worship Lead, respectively. During the accreditation visit we were impressed with the way the whole School works to promote Equality. We have therefore decided to award your school the Race Equality and Religion and Belief Equality badges.

Congratulations!
We could see that promoting Equality is embedded in School and your curriculum. Your use of yearly events such as Faith Week, and texts such as The Windrush Child extend your pupils' understanding of the world around them. In your learning environment are displays which evidence the different religions and visits to places of worship that have taken place. It was inspiring to hear your pupils speak about these areas of Equality, with passion and understanding, and to learn that your pupils take an active role in these areas too.I particularly like the steps you have put in place to allow pupils, and all school staff to be aware of, and be able to report, any incidents or concerns - from staff training to creating a pupil online report button. Pupils are further supported in School by Peer Mediators, and Yr5 and Reception buddies. I also appreciate the links School has made with the community, and wider communities.
I am pleased to hear the children have enjoyed the School Linking this year and that they are looking forward to meeting their new friends again soon, when they visit School. Other examples include The Archbishop Challenge, Yr6 planning and cooking a meal for invited local guests and a High School Art project. The certificates are attached for you to display in school along with logos you may use on your letterhead and school website. If you would like us to come in to school to present your certificate, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Yours faithfully
Sam Hoban and Zainab Sye

We were awarded another 2 Equality Awards in 2024. The congratulation letter is below:

Lancashire Equality Mark – Sex Equality and Disability Equality Badges
Thank you for inviting me to have a look at the fantastic work that is going on in your school. When reading your detailed accreditation summaries and during the accreditation visit, I was very impressed with how equality is promoted throughout the whole school. The passion for equalities and pride in the approach to equalities ran through all conversations. I have therefore decided to award your school both the Sex Equality and Disability Equality Badges.
There were three key areas that stood out during my visit – meeting the needs of the pupils, evolving your curriculum, and leadership of the equality work in school. I was able to speak to your Chair of Governors who highlighted how embedded Equality work is across the school. It was good to learn how involved your Governors are within school and this area of work, and the plans to develop the Equality and Diversity Group to include parents. Your Chair of Governors mentioned the pupils being "amazing ambassadors to school", and I agree. It was a pleasure to meet with them and have them show me around school. It was lovely to hear how involved they are in school life, about their leadership roles, their interests, the book, related to Disability Equality, they had chosen for their classroom and how inspired they were from visits and visitors. I felt that your approach focusing on the children's individual abilities and needs was strong. Pupils use of wobble cushions in class, use of visuals for a nonverbal child, flexible uniform policy, acting on pupils needs in the most appropriate ways etc.
I particularly like how you have reviewed your curriculum to see how the protected characteristics are covered for each year group, and that you will continue to do so to ensure that your curriculum is enriched to meet the needs of the pupils. You have invested in your curriculum resources, and books which have been chosen to reflect positive representations with regards to Sex Equality and Disability Equality. Pupil experiences are further enhanced by participating in the School Linking programme, visiting the Rainbow Hub, transition visits to Hutton, and visitors into School, such as the wheelchair basketball player. It is clear that you know your families and communities well and go above and
beyond in supporting them. It was great to hear about the many and varied experiences that your pupils have the opportunity to access during their time in school.

To further embed equality across whole school -
• Continue with your plans to focus on embedding during the next academic year
• Continue with your plans to participate in School Linking during the next academic year
Certificates are attached for you to display in school along with logos you may use on your letterhead and school website. If you would like me to come in to school to present your certificate, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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When a school achieves all six badges they will be awarded the Equality Mark. Schools determine their own pathway through the framework by identifying meaningful priorities that will make a difference in the area of equality in their school community and willsupport their wider development plans. Schools can work at their own pace and they can choose from a range of packages of support to meet their individual requirements.

We are an inclusive school and work hard to ensure there is equality of opportunity for all our children. Whilst this underpins all that we do, we do also have systems and events in place that highlight this value through the year.

A variety of Bible stories have been used in school to demonstrate our Christian Value of Equality. These include:

The lost sheep – Luke 15

The Lost Coin – Luke 15

The Lost Son – Luke 15

Jesus and the Tax collector – Luke 19:1-10

Each year we celebrate Black History Month in October- each class will focus on a famous person from history and children will learn about the role of Equality and Prejudice in our past.

In 2021 2022 we included a diversity project through Prags through Cultural Education where our children designed a piece of artwork that emphasised our inclusivity. Our brilliant canvas is displayed in our school hall.