Introduction
This page sets out the Equality and Diversity Policy of our school. It explains:
- Why equality and diversity are important to us
- The basic principles we will follow
- How we intend to monitor and achieve this
Our school’s vision is to campaign to break down barriers to inclusion that enables people to reach their potential. Equality and Diversity are not optional extras as they form an integral part of our objectives.
Our school recognises that it is important to have a public statement of the organisation’s Equality and Diversity policy so that staff and users can be clear about their rights and responsibilities and so that there are clear criteria against which the performance of the organisation can be judged. However, we recognise that the creation of a genuine equal and diverse organisation is a continuous process.
SMSC Statement
Our school is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity to all people who work for us and with us. We will work to remove any discrimination by reason of gender, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, age or any other factor that is not directly related to the requirements of our work and the merit principle.
Our school is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity to all people who work for us and with us. We will work to remove any discrimination by reason of gender, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, age or any other factor that is not directly related to the requirements of our work and the merit principle.
Our school is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity to all people who work for us and with us. We will work to remove any discrimination by reason of gender, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, age or any other factor that is not directly related to the requirements of our work and the merit principle.
Responsibilities
The owner has overall responsibility for the implementation of this policy and for developing and reviewing the policy and the procedures associated with it.
Line managers are responsible for ensuring the policy is implemented in their part of the organisation, for ensuring staff understand the policy and their roles within it and for providing reports and monitoring information.
Everyone in our company has a responsibility to ensure proper implementation of the policy.
Principles
Our company will uphold Equality and Diversity:
- In recruitment and selection, by assessing people on their individual merits and ability to do the job and avoid subjective assumptions by individual panel members distorting objective judgement
- In employment, by developing polices which ensure that no job applicant or employee is unfairly discriminated against on the basis of their race, ethnic origin, culture, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age or religion
- In service delivery by striving to provide appropriate, sensitive and impartial services and being accessible to all people
- Promoting the values contained in the policy in our relationships with other organisations
In implementing these principles, we will ensure that it meets all the necessary legal requirements and strives to set standards of good practice that others will follow.
Policies and Procedures
Recruitment
As part of the implementation of this policy, we will review our recruitment procedures on a regular basis.
Work-life balance
Our company recognises the need for staff to achieve a satisfactory balance between home and work and will incorporate flexible working practices wherever possible.
Monitoring and Review
Our company will undertake appropriate monitoring and evaluation to ensure the policy is enacted by:
- Reviewing the policy as a whole, annually
- Keeping and acting on recruitment, training and other employment information with a view to broadening the talent base by developing people’s abilities and creating the potential for new and flexible approaches
- Reminding employees of the equality and diversity policy during induction and before interviewing.
Protected Characteristics
The Equality Act became law in 2010. It covers everyone in Britain and protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. The Equality Act protects people against discrimination because of the protected characteristics that we all have.
Under the Equality Act, there are nine protected characteristics:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Race – including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
- Religion or belief
- Marriage or civil partnership
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
- Pregnancy and maternity
No form of discrimination is tolerated at St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School and our pupils show respect for those who share the protected characteristics.
View our Equality and Diversity Policy on our Policies page.
View our Equality Information and Data on our Policies page.