Equality Objectives

We believe that that diversity enriches our community and all people are of equal value and are entitled to equality of opportunity. Consequently, Bordesley Green Girls' School and Sixth Form is committed to advancing and achieving equality of opportunity for all our students, parents/carers, staff, governors, and visitors.

Everyone is equal

This means that we see all learners and potential learners, and their parents and carers, as of equal value regardless of their race, gender, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

Our policies, procedures, and activities must not discriminate but must nevertheless take account of differences of life-experience, outlook and background, and in the kinds of barrier and disadvantages which people may face in relation to their race, gender, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

We promote equality

BGGS will promote race equality and have due regard to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and promote good relations between people of different racial groups.

BGGS will promote disability equality throughout the school, ensuring the equality of opportunity, eliminating unlawful discrimination, eliminating disability-related harassment and encouraging participation by disabled people in the life of our school and wider public life.

BGGS will promote gender equality by eliminating unlawful discrimination and harassment, and promote the equality of opportunity between men and women, girls and boys.

BGGS is opposed to all forms of prejudice and recognises that children and young people who experience any form of prejudice related to discrimination may fare less well in the education system.

BGGS will ensure that all staff comply with the appropriate equality legislation and regulations.

Roles:

The governing board will:

Ensure that the equality information and objectives as set out in this statement are published and communicated throughout the school, including to staff, pupils and parents
Ensure that the published equality information is updated at least every year, and that the objectives are reviewed and updated at least every 4 years
Delegate responsibility for monitoring the achievement of the objectives on a daily basis to the Headteacher

The Headteacher will:

Promote knowledge and understanding of the equality objectives amongst staff and pupils
Monitor success in achieving the objectives and report back to governors

The designated member (DHT) with responsibility for equality will:

Support the Headteacher in promoting knowledge and understanding of the equality objectives amongst staff and pupils
Meet with the equality link governor every [frequency] to raise and discuss any issues (delete if not applicable)
Support the Headteacher in identifying any staff training needs, and deliver training as necessary

All staff will:

have regard to this document and to work to achieve the objectives as set out in section 8.

Eliminating Discrimination

The school is aware of its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and complies with non-discrimination provisions.. Where relevant, our policies include reference to the importance of avoiding discrimination and other prohibited conduct.

Staff and governors are regularly reminded of their responsibilities under the Equality Act, for example during meetings. Where this has been discussed during a meeting, it is recorded in the meeting minutes. New staff receive training on the Equality Act as part of their induction, and all staff receive regular refresher training during the course of their employment. Training is delivered through a blend of live briefing sessions, online awareness webinars/materials and via line manager support as required.

Equality issues are appropriately explored and discussed with students via the School Council and via student surveys.

Advancing Equality

The school aims to foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not share it by promoting tolerance, friendship and understanding of a range of religions and cultures through different aspects of our curriculum.

This includes teaching in RE, citizenship and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, but also activities in other curriculum areas. For example, as part of teaching and learning in English/reading, pupils will be introduced to literature from a range of cultures as part of our decolonised curriculum.

Other things we routinely do:

Ensure all students have access to the mainstream curriculum
Ensure the curriculum builds on students’ starting points and is differentiated appropriately:
- for students with English as an additional language
- for students from minority ethnic groups, where necessary
- for students with SEND
Ensure the content of the curriculum reflects and values cultural diversity
Ensue the curriculum encourages students to explore bias and to challenge prejudice and stereotypes
Provide extra-curricular activities and special events cater for the interests and capabilities of all students and take account of issues related to religion and culture
Hold a range of informal events are designed to include the whole-school community and at times will target minority or marginalised groups
Hold assemblies dealing with relevant issues. Students will be encouraged to take a lead in such assemblies and we will also invite external speakers to contribute
Work with our local community. This includes inviting leaders of local faith groups to speak at assemblies, and organising school trips and activities based around the local community

We also:

Encourage initiatives to deal with tensions between different groups of students within the school. For example, our school council has representatives from different year groups and is formed of pupils from a range of backgrounds. All students are encouraged to participate in the school’s activities, such as sports clubs. We also work with parents to promote knowledge and understanding of different cultures
Hold special events and awareness weeks to celebrate diversity and showcase the contributions those with protected characteristics have made to school, local, national and international life

We have developed links with people and groups who have specialist knowledge about particular characteristics, which helps inform and develop our approach

Objectives

Identify and close any gaps in student achievement

Objective 1 Identify and close any gaps in student achievement (achievement = attainment and progress)
Why we have chosen this objective:	The school is a diverse community within one of the most diverse cities in the UK, however, this diversity is represented unevenly in our student population. We want to be sure we have identified the achievement of ALL groups and that appropriate actions are in place.
To achieve this objective we plan to:	· monitor and analyze achievement by ethnicity, gender, and disability · act on any trends or patterns in the data which identify the need for additional support. · This will include analyzing achievement data for SEND students and HRB students.
Progress towards this objective:	To be completed at next annual review (Jan 2022)
Date of most recent progress review	To be completed at next annual review (Jan 2022)

Base teaching resources on a range of experiences & heritages

Objective 2 Resource the curriculum with a wide range of texts and teaching materials that reflect a diverse range of groups, cultures and heritage.
Why we have chosen this objective:	Cultural and individual identity is contested with showcase the rich cultural
To achieve this objective we plan to:	· systematically review and refine our curriculum so that it a) promotes diverse cultures and experiences and b) draws on that diversity to deliver high quality outcomes for students · ensure reading materials and online resources available to students are diverse and reflect global cultural heritage and not just euro-centric, non-disabled, hetrosexual norms.
Progress we are making towards this objective:	To be completed at next annual review (Jan 2022)
Date of most recent progress review	To be completed at next annual review (Jan 2022)

Secure Rights Respecting School Gold status

Objective 3 Become known as a beacon of tolerance and diversity by securing Rights Respecting School status at gold level
Why we have chosen this objective:	The Rights Respecting School award supports our intent to equip students with a moral framework, based on equality and respect for all that lasts a lifetime, as they grow into engaged, responsible members of society. Children and adults.– this all has a huge impact on relationships and well-being. Children and young people get very involved in raising awareness about social justice issues, both at home and abroad. They become ambassadors for rights and take part in campaigns and activities to help to bring about change.
To achieve this objective we plan to:	· actively promote the RRS scheme amongst students, staff and parents. · develop an explicit ethos and language of rights and respect around the school which builds on current good practice at BGGS (for instance by further developing the RESPECT awards system) · use the Rights and principles of the UN Convention on the Right of the Child to put moral situations into perspective and to provide a framework for students and adults alike to consider rights-respecting solutions/ approaches. · achieve bronze, silver and then gold status.
Progress we are making towards this objective:	To be completed at next annual review (Jan 2022)
Date of most recent progress review	To be completed at next annual review (Jan 2022)

Improve workforce diversity

Objective 4 Ensure our workforce comprises diverse range of staff where members of groups with protected characteristics are able to apply, work well and progress.
Why we have chosen this objective:	We believe that our students and the local community are best served by a workforce which brings a wide range of diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds which avoids ‘group-think’ and provides numerous positive role models for students.
To achieve this objective we plan to:	Train all members of staff and governors involved in recruitment in awareness of unconscious bias and provide refresher training equal opportunities and non-discrimination by the beginning of the next academic year. Training evaluation data will show that 100% of those attending have a good understanding of the legal requirements In addition we will review our recruitment and selection materials to ensure they proactively encourage a diverse range of applicants to apply for roles at BGGS
Progress we are making towards this objective:	To be completed at next annual review (Jan 2022)
Date of most recent progress review	To be completed at next annual review (Jan 2022)

Monitoring arrangements

These arrangements were first adopted in February 2021. They will be reviewed in 48 months’ time by the Curriculum and Standards Committee. A PDF version of this text with enhanced detail is available to download in the Policies section of this website.

The Headteacher will update the equality objectives and report on progress at least every year.