Dallam Community Primary School

Equality Information and Objectives Statement 2016

1. Context

Dallam is and traditionally has been a highly diverse school, reflecting the diversity in both the local community and the wider Warrington area:

• Boys and Girls across the age range 2 – 11 years, with a slight weighting towards boys
• Multi-faith
• Multiple ethnic groups
• A specific Designated Provision unit
• High proportion of children eligible for Free School Meals
• Growing population of non UK nationals (in particular Polish) 

2. Vision for Equality & Diversity

Dallam Primary School has a school vision which is rooted in an unwavering commitment to ensure the success of every pupil (see vision document at the bottom of this webpage).  Equality of opportunity is at the heart of this vision, with an insistence that all pupils will do well regardless of their age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Our qualities statement is guided by our core values which we apply to all children regardless of background:

• We persevere, push ourselves to improve and work hard to make it happen for our children and families
• We respect everyone and their views 
• We have high aspirations, for our children, families and school community
• We are compassionate and caring and help each other to be the best that they can
• We are fair, we understand others and treat each other respectfully
• We champion our school at every opportunity
• We value our health and wellbeing and look after each other

3. Data relevant to Equality and Diversity

In line with the Public Sector Equality Duty (Equality Act 2010), we publish the following data:

4. School Development plan: Our Equality Objectives 2016/2017 -

The following objectives have been reflected in the school Strategic Development Plan 2016-2017. Due regard is given to the Equality Duty aims outlined in the Equality Act 2010 when decision-making, developing and reviewing policies and delivering services.

General (whole school):

• Further improve staff knowledge and skills to meet the needs of pupils with Special Education Needs. Accreditation of Inclusion Award by July 2017 
• Improve pupil knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them to appreciate and value difference and diversity – for example increasing understanding between pupils from different faith communities. This will be done through whole school assemblies focusing on the ‘Super Hero’ value per ½  term e.g. respect / Collective Worship / display / RE / PHSE
• Pupil surveys indicate instances of bullying are rare and that staff deal with incidents effectively. We aim to further reduce the number of prejudice-related bullying/ use of derogatory language incidents through pupil engagement via the School Council, Assemblies, PHSE etc.  
• Build staff confidence so that by July 2017, 90% of the staff will feel confident in responding effectively to prejudice-related bullying, as shown by staff survey. through further staff training
• To celebrate diversity and equality through teaching and displays around school e.g. different families; same love displays
• To ensure children have an understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law through direct teaching and Collective Worship

Specific (sub groups to be targeted, as identified by our data):

• Ensure that pupils with high prior attainment make outstanding progress and as a result a 20% of each cohort achieve greater depth in reading and maths and 10% in writing by the end of 2016/2017. Our data suggests that boys are a particular focus area in this regard. To be achieved through quality T&L and performance management
• Continue to diminish the difference between pupils eligible for pupil premium funding and their peers (see Strategy for Pupil Premium 2016-2017) so that it is never greater than 10% in each class by the end of 2016/2017 through quality T&L and performance management
• Continue to diminish the difference between girls and boys so that it is never greater than 10% in each class by the end of 2016/2017 through quality T&L and performance management
• Continue to improve attendance for pupils eligible for pupil premium funding year-on-year to meet a target of 96% attendance by the end of 2016/17 through monitoring and daily contact with attendance officer
• Encourage the participation of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding in before and after school activities to increase to 50% per activity by the end of 2016/17 through focused pupil engagement and performance management
• In the plan, driven by our data and daily experience with the children, there are no specific prioritised E&D actions in relation to race, disability, religion or sexual orientation. 

The role of the governing body

The Dallam School Governing Body is the “responsible body” for ensuring that the school meets the requirements of equality legislation. At Dallam the Governing Body will:

• Ensure that the school takes all reasonable steps to ensure that its employees do not carry out unlawful discriminatory actions or behaviour
• Support and guide the school to have “due regard” for equality in all its functions
• Ensure the school complies with the Equality Duty and meets the two “specific duties” for schools
• Support and challenge the school in the achievement of the E&D related School Development Plan actions outlined above.