St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Equality Information 2021
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 St Mary’s Catholic 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.
