Equalities & Additional Intervention
At Gable Hall, we wholeheartedly embrace the principle that every student is valued equally. Our unwavering commitment is to foster an environment free from prejudice and discrimination, where each student can not only thrive but also find solace in their sense of safety.
Our dedication to inclusion is a fundamental aspect of our strategic planning. We are steadfast in our mission to cultivate a culture, enact policies, and implement practices that encompass the needs of all our students. Our ultimate goal is to nurture a strong sense of community and belonging while opening new doors of opportunity for those who may have faced challenges in the past. It's important to note that our commitment to inclusion doesn't mean treating all students uniformly. Instead, we strive to tailor our approach to accommodate their diverse life experiences and individual needs.
Inclusion, for us, signifies providing equal opportunities to all learners, regardless of age, gender, demographic, ethnicity, additional needs, academic achievements, or background. We place a special emphasis on addressing the needs and achievements of various student groups, including:
- Students from economically disadvantaged families (Pupil Premium - PP).
- Students entering with below nationally expected proficiency in any subject area (Lower Ability Students - LAS).
- Students from diverse faiths, ethnic backgrounds, travellers, asylum seekers, and refugees.
- Students with English as an additional language (EAL).
- Students with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND).
- Gifted and Talented students (G&T).
- Looked After Children (LAC).
- Young carers, students dealing with illnesses, and those from families under stress.
Our commitment to inclusion goes beyond words; it is a driving force behind every decision and action we take at Gable Hall. Together, we create an environment where every student can truly flourish.
Equality and Diversity Statment
Gable Hall School is proud to present its annual Single Equality Plan, a testament to our commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion within our school community. This plan reflects our dedication to identifying and addressing the challenges associated with discrimination while continually striving for progress and improvement.
At Gable Hall School, we understand the importance of effectively implementing and scrutinizing our Single Equality Plan to meet the obligations set by the equality duty. We firmly believe that promoting equality is an ongoing process, and we are fully committed to pursuing these goals in partnership with our school community.
The three primary aims of the general equality duty guide our efforts:
- Eliminate Unlawful Discrimination: Our objective is to tackle prejudice, promote understanding, and eradicate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimization.
- Advance Equality of Opportunity: We are dedicated to ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their protected characteristics, have equal opportunities. This includes minimizing disadvantages, addressing specific needs, and encouraging participation in public life and activities amongst groups with disproportionately low representation.
- Foster Good Relationships: Building positive relationships amongst individuals with shared protected characteristics and those without is essential in creating an inclusive and harmonious school environment.
Compliance with the general equality duty may sometimes necessitate treating certain groups more favourably to achieve these aims. We recognize and embrace the nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Our dedicated team of Governors and Staff at Gable Hall School understand that complying with the general equality duty is not just a legal obligation but a fundamental aspect of informed decision-making and policy development. Achieving the three aims outlined in this duty will enable our school to better serve our diverse student population, drawing on the talents of our local community to ensure that our staff and governors reflect the wider community we proudly serve.
We have critically assessed our current achievements regarding the aims of this duty concerning protected equality groups. Based on the information gathered, we have established our equality objectives. We will diligently monitor our progress towards these objectives on an annual basis.
Our process for compiling equality information includes:
- Reviewing the school's equality data, policies, and practices to identify gaps.
- Examining how our school engages with protected groups and identifying areas for improvement.
- The outcomes of this process are detailed in our Single Equality Plan, which has received the approval of our Governing Body. In accordance with legislative requirements, we will review our progress against this plan annually and conduct a comprehensive review of the plan and accompanying action plan every four years.
Responsibilities related to the plan are as follows:
Governors:
- A named Governor will take the lead on equality matters.
- The Governing Body as a whole is responsible for ensuring compliance with relevant equality legislation and monitoring progress towards equality objectives, reporting annually.
Head of School:
- Implementing the school's stated equality objectives and ensuring access plans are readily available.
- Ensuring all staff are aware of their responsibilities and providing training and support.
- Taking appropriate action in cases of harassment and discrimination.
- Facilitating reasonable adjustments for disability-related needs.
All Staff:
- Advancing equality in their work.
- Fostering positive relationships and addressing prejudice-related incidents.
- Recognizing and addressing bias and stereotyping.
- Participating in training and learning opportunities.
All Students:
- Following relevant policies and procedures.
- Engaging with the PSHE/SMSC curriculum to enhance their understanding of equality.
- Reporting incidents of bullying, harassment, or prejudice-related incidents.
- (Visitors and contractors are also expected to follow relevant school policies.)
At Gable Hall School, we are committed to ensuring that our school community is a place where every individual is valued, respected, and given equal opportunities to thrive. This Single Equality Plan reflects our dedication to this mission, and we will continually strive to create a more inclusive and harmonious environment for all.
|
Protected Characteristic |
Aim |
Target groups |
Action |
Progress Including impact assessment |
|
Gender and sexual orientations |
To eliminate transphobic, homophobic and biphobic language and prejudices amongst the students |
All Students |
• Staff training on supporting LGBT students in the . To include training on recognising and tackling homophobic, biphobic behaviour and language. • To become Stonewall Champions • To work with outside agencies such as Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence and Mermaids to produce excellent resources for the SMSC programme. • Faculty assemblies directly relating to different types of bullying. • Faculty assembly on transgender transition and transphobia. • SMSC activities to address the key issues. • Involvement of the student council and bullying ambassadors about LGBT bullying. • Academy behaviour policy to recognise LGBT bullying. • Celebrate special events such as LGBT History month. • Update LRC resources for LGBT fiction |
• Reduction in and kind of LGBT bullying • More students and staff open and comfortably honest about their orientation without fear of bias. • GH policies to support LGBT • LGBT student support groups • The curriculum to address different sexual orientations, gender identities and issues that affect LGBT students. • LRC contains fiction featuring LGBT characters. • Celebration of special events such as LGBT History month. • All staff to consistently implement behaviour policy |
|
Race, religion or belief and disability |
To ensure the content of Academy meals and the dining environment meets the needs of faith groups and those with specific health needs |
All Students |
• Review school meals policy • Person responsible for healthy schools to liaise with the student council • Priority in catering tender process • To involve the student voice through student surveys. |
• The GH menu meets the needs of all of health and religious needs of all our students • Positive results in student surveys. |
|
Race |
To reduce and then eliminate racist language and racist incidents |
All Students |
• Staff training on recognising and tackling racist and other language against protected characteristic groups. • Faculty and whole academy assemblies tackling the issues. • Learning guidance for the curriculum adapted to tackle this. • Behaviour policy robustly followed. • Celebration days/weeks/campaigns for example Black History week or ‘Lets Kick it out’ Campaign. |
• Reduction in number of incidents. • Positive results in student surveys • More students open and honest about any incidents that have occurred. |
