Equality and Diversity

The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 replaced nine major Acts of Parliament, as well as almost a hundred sets of regulations, dealing with equality and discrimination. The Act provides a single, consolidated source of discrimination law, covering all the types of discrimination that are unlawful.

The Act covers all aspects of school life; everything a school does must be fair, non-discriminatory and not put individuals or groups of people at a disadvantage. In particular, a school must not discriminate, harass or victimise a pupil or potential pupil in relation to:
• Admissions.
• The way it provides education for pupils.
• How it provides pupils access to any benefit, facility or service.
• Excluding a pupil or subjecting them to any other detriment.

The Act defines a number of types of unlawful behaviour, including:
• Direct discrimination.
• Indirect discrimination.
• Failing to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils or staff.
• Discrimination arising from disability.
• Harassment related to a protected characteristic.
• Victimisation of someone because they have made, or helped with, a complaint about discrimination.

The Act uses the term “protected characteristics” to refer to aspects of a person’s identity. Treating a person less favourably because they have one or more of these characteristics would be unlawful. The protected characteristics are:
• Age.
• Disability.
• Gender reassignment.
• Marriage and civil partnership.
• Pregnancy and maternity.
• Race.
• Religion or belief.
• Sex.
• Sexual orientation.

The protected characteristics of age and marriage and civil partnership apply to schools as employers, but not in relation to their provision for pupils.

Public Sector Equality Duty

The new Equality Duty has two parts: the “general” duty and “specific” duties. The general duty is the overarching legal requirement for schools and means they must consider how their policies, practices and day-to-day activities impact on pupils and staff. Poppy Hill Church of England Multi Academy Trust is committed to and will continue to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
• Advance equality of opportunity.
• Foster good relations.

Equality Statement

Poppy Hill Church of England Multi Academy Trust is committed to:

ensuring equality of education and opportunity for all students, staff, parents and carers receiving services from the Trust, irrespective of race, gender, disability, religion and belief, or socio-economic background.
developing a culture of inclusion and diversity in which all those connected to the Trust feel proud of their identity and are able to participate fully in academy life.
monitoring the achievement of students by: race, gender and disability and the academy uses this data to support students, raise standards and ensure inclusive teaching.
tackling discrimination by the positive promotion of equality, challenging bullying and stereotypes, and creating an environment which champions respect for all.
making diversity a strength, which should be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit the Trust.

Equality Objectives

Poppy Hill Church of England Multi Academy Trust is dedicated to ensuring that:

All members of the school community and the wider community are treated equally, fairly, and with respect by the school and by each other;
Prejudice, discrimination, and victimisation are not tolerated;
Our pupils a strong understanding of right and wrong, including the importance of inclusion, acceptance, and compassion towards others;
We provide the best education and care that we can, and establish a cooperative working relationship between home and school, so as to aid the development, progress, and needs of all the children in our care;
We satisfy the duties under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate all discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other behaviour prohibited by the act.
We foster good relations between persons with and without protected characteristics and promote equality of opportunity regardless of whether a person has a protected characteristic (such as race, gender, transgender, disability, age, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief and sexual orientation).