Equality Statement & Objectives 2024-25

Article 14 (freedom of thought, belief and religion) Every child has the right to think and believe what they choose and also to practise their religion

Introduction

At Co-op Academy Broadhurst, we’re committed to promoting equality and preventing discrimination in both employment and education provision. As a Rights Respecting Gold School, we respect differences and promote equality and equity. We create an inclusive environment, where everyone can contribute their best work and develop to their full potential. We celebrate the fact that everyone is different yet valued, and make sure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

You can read more about this below, including the actions we have already taken to advance equality, diversity & inclusion in our academy and our community, and to comply with our equality duty. We’ve also set out our equality objectives, which are the things we’re going to be focusing on this year.

Equality Statement

At Co-op Academy Broadhurst, we are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers irrespective of race, gender, disability, belief, sexual orientation, age or socio-economic background. We aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity in which all those connected to the school feel proud of their identity and ability to participate fully in school life.

We tackle discrimination through the positive promotion of equality, by challenging bullying and stereotypes and by creating an environment which champions respect for all. This is lived through our Rights Respecting Schools work where we promote the rights of all our pupils.

At Co-op Academy Broadhurst we believe that diversity is a strength which should be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit us. We are a learning community with the children very much at the heart of everything that we do. Our main aim is to encourage the children to develop a life-long love of learning whilst giving them the skills and values to become positive citizens of the future.

We believe that a strong partnership between home and school is the foundation for a successful education and we value the contributions that parents and carers make to the life of the school. It is important to us that the children have an excellent start in our Early Years Foundation Stage and we recognise the significant role of parents in helping their child to progress.

Our ethos is inclusive and caring and we aim to support and nurture every child to achieve their best. All our children have talents and strengths and we believe it is vital to provide them with the opportunities to develop their strengths, behave well, support each other and grow in confidence. In order to do this we have developed an exciting and stimulating curriculum to fully engage the children to enjoy learning and make excellent progress. We aim to adapt our teaching and learning around the needs and abilities of all our pupils.

• We value each child as a unique individual.
• Each child is supported and encouraged to achieve their best in a nurturing and caring environment
• We have high expectations in a ‘can do’ culture where the children rise to the challenge
• Our curriculum is stimulating and develops the children’s, enjoyment, confidence, ability to think and reason, ability to cooperate and share ideas, resilience and independence
• Our curriculum reflects the society in which we live, including, using the latest technology, awareness of cultural diversity, developing tolerance and global responsibility
• We develop the children’s experience of nature and outdoor spaces by using it as a teaching resource
• We foster a sense of community amongst parents, staff, pupils and the local area
• Every child has a voice and a feeling of ownership of the school

Actions Taken - 2023-2024

During the last year we have taken the following actions to advance equality, diversity & inclusion; eliminate discrimination; improve equality of opportunity for people with protected characteristics; consult & involve those affected by inequality in the decisions that Co-op Academy Broadhurst takes to promote equality and eliminate discrimination and to comply with our equality duty:

Pupils / Students

• Children are involved in Pupil Voice through our Academy Councils and Academy Parliament
• We have reviewed how diversity is reflected in our curriculum and made amendments to resources as necessary

Colleagues

• Track students with Persistent Absences (PA) or at risk of becoming PA by all key student groups and to take positive action to avoid any and all instances of this, regarding student characteristics.
• Monitor their use of images/ resources to ensure that they represent diversity and promote tolerance of difference.
• Specific needs are identified that may be a barrier to attendance and put specific plans in place to address these barriers
• Analyse achievement data by all key student groups.
• Identify and address any issues of under-achievement at student group level.

Equality Objectives - 2024/25

Objective 1: to achieve the Anti Racist School Award

We will work towards the award by:

• being inclusive - all pupils and staff are welcomed and valued
• showing respect for and appreciation of one another as individuals
• preparing pupils for life in a diverse society by encouraging respect for linguistic, cultural and religious diversity that exists in local communities and the wider world
• developing personal and cultural identity in all pupils
• being proactive proactive in tackling discrimination and challenging stereotypes
• promoting benefits of diversity
• decolonising our curriculum
• ensuring our academy environment reflects diversity
• increasing diversity in the staff body and Academy Community Council
• being a safe place for all our families including those seeking asylum

Objective 2: to achieve  the rainbow flag award

We will work towards the award by:

• ensuring everyone has a feeling of belonging
• ensuring our curriculum reflects our diverse community
• ensuring our curriculum is LGBTQ+ inclusive
• ensuring our resources are LGBTQ+ inclusive
• celebrating LGBTQ+ through rainbow days and pride
• ensuring our academy environment is inclusive

Objective 3: to improve the progress and attainment of all pupil groups including those who receive pupil premium grant, learners with SEND, children who are new to English  so that the difference between their outcomes and those of pupils not in these groups, within the academy, decreases.

We will work together to achieve this objective by:

• analysing achievement data by all key student groups, identifying support and interventions to narrow gaps
• monitoring and analysing the progress of boys and girls and different ethnic groups, identifying support and interventions to narrow gaps
• identifying and addressing any issues of under-achievement at student group level.
• reviewing and publicising PP spending plan
• ensuring that decisions on PP spending are based on effective self-evaluation/research
• promoting positive attendance and reducing the attendance gap for key groups