Check list for College staff and governors

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Equality
Unlocking Potential Changing Lives
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Is information collected on race, disability and gender with regards to both students and
staff e.g. student achievement, attendance, exclusions, staff training? Is this information used
to inform the policies, plans and strategies, lessons, additional support, training and activities
the College provides?

How has your Equality Scheme been shaped by the views, input and involvement of staff,
parents and students?

Is student achievement analysed by race, disability and gender? Are there trends or
patterns in the data that may require additional action, and has action been taken to address
these?

Does the curriculum include opportunities to understand the issues related to race, disability
and gender?

Are all students encouraged to participate in College life? Are students who make a positive
contribution reflective of the Colleges diversity e.g. through class assemblies / College council?

Is bullying and harassment of students and staff monitored by race, disability and gender,
and is this information used to make a difference to the experience of other students? Are
racist incidents reported to the governing body and local authority on a termly basis?

Are visual displays reflective of the diversity of your College community? How are minority
ethnic, disabled and both male and female role models promoted positively in lessons, displays
and discussions such as circle time and class assemblies?

Does the College take part in annual events such as Black History Month, Deaf Awareness
Week and One World Week to raise awareness of issues around race, disability and gender?

Is the College environment as accessible as possible to students, staff and visitors to the
College? Are open evenings and other events which parents, carers and the community attend
held in an accessible part of the College, and are issues such as language barriers
considered?

Are the accessibility needs of parents, students and staff considered in the publishing and
sending out of information, in terms of race, disability and gender?

Are procedures for the election of parent governors open to candidates and voters who are
disabled?


Darton College

Equality Scheme

1. Mission statement
2. Mainstreaming equality into policy and practice
3. Equal Opportunities for Staff
4. Employer Duties
5. Definitions
6. Roles and Responsibilities
7. Review of Progress and Impact
8. Publishing the plan
9. Action Plan


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1. Mission statement

At Darton College, we are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for
all students, staff, parents and carers receiving services from the College, irrespective of
race, gender, disability, faith or religion or socio-economic background. We aim to develop
a culture of inclusion and diversity in which all those connected to the College feel proud of
their identity and able to participate fully in College life.
The achievement of students will be monitored by race, gender and disability and we will
use this data to support students, raise standards and ensure inclusive teaching. We will
tackle discrimination by the positive promotion of equality, challenging bullying and
stereotypes and creating an environment which champions respect for all. At Darton
College we believe that diversity is a strength, which should be respected and celebrated
by all those who learn, teach and visit here.

Aims and Objectives

The college will seek to ensure compliance with relevant legislation. It is believed that when
individuals are treated fairly; motivation increases, teaching and learning performance
improves and a healthy and positive working environment can be maintained.
The college aims to ensure that no-one receives less favourable treatment for reasons
relating to:

Disability
Health
Sexual Orientation
Religion and Belief
Age Race, colour, nationality or ethnic origin
Gender and transgender identity
Marital status, civil partnership status, family circumstances or caring
responsibilities.
Income, employment status or housing circumstances
Trade Union Activity or Political Belief
Social Class


Staff within the college have a duty to:

Comply with and promote the Equality and Diversity Policy.
Be aware of their behaviour and its impact on others.
Report suspected discriminatory actions.
Report suspicions of harassment taking place.
Maximise the development of each child and young person and ensure access to all
aspects of the curriculum.
Operate an equal opportunities policy in relation to the recruitment, selection and
promotion of staff.
Enable staff to have equal access to personal and professional development
courses.
Ensure that individuals who have made a complaint or have been involved in a
complaint of harassment or discrimination are not victimised against.
Seek guidance on matters of equality and best practice when unsure of the
appropriate course of action.





The college should ensure this is done by:

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Not discriminating against any individual member of staff or student on the grounds
of their gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion, belief, or age.
Ensuring that all students have equal access to the full range of educational
opportunities provided by the college and that the taught curriculum reinforces the
principle of equality.
Removing any forms of indirect discrimination which may form barriers to learning.
Ensuring that all recruitment, selection, promotion, training and development
systems are fair and accessible to all.
Challenging stereotyping and prejudice whenever it occurs.
Celebrating the cultural diversity of our community and showing respect for all
minority groups.
Respecting individual differences.
Recognising and valuing the contribution of all staff and students.
Providing positive educational experiences and support for all students in an attempt
to promote positive social attitudes.
Acknowledging that every member of our college community is entitled to a learning
environment that promotes dignity and respect for all.
Not accept any forms of intimidation, bullying, harassment or victimisation.
Providing positive action measures where appropriate and permissible by
legislation.
Providing appropriate in-service training for all staff to ensure they are aware of their
role and responsibility in relation to the equalities agenda.


2. Equality into Policy and Practice

This Single Equality Scheme aims to integrate equality into the Colleges core priorities and
functions. It will inform our College Development Plan and this will enable us to:

Demonstrate how promoting equality and eliminating discrimination can help raise
standards
Ensure that equality and diversity are part of the Colleges core business both as a
College and as an employer
Promote community cohesion and good relations between people of different
backgrounds through education
Inform the overall evaluation of our effectiveness in our self-evaluation form for
future Ofsted inspections
Ensure that our equality objectives complement the Every Child Matters outcomes
for children
Place the College in a position which is regarded by everyone as an environment
that affords respect and fair treatment of all.

This Scheme aims to bring together equality strands in one harmonised document and set
out Darton Colleges commitment to promotion of race, disability and gender equality as
well as incorporating the newer legislation on age, sexual orientation, religion and belief and
transgender. Our Equality Action Plan will bring together all our existing work as well as
enabling us to introduce developments. Our Equality and Diversity Policy promotes fairness
and equality of opportunity as well as celebrating diversity for all people.
As well as the specific actions set out beneath this Scheme, the College operates equality
of opportunity in its day-to-day practice in the following ways:






Teaching and learning

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We aim to provide all our students with the opportunity to succeed, and to reach the highest
level of personal achievement. To do this, we will:

Use contextual data to improve the ways in which we provide support to individuals
and groups of students;
Monitor achievement data by ethnicity, gender and disability and action any gaps;
Take account of the achievement of all students when planning for future learning and
setting challenging targets;
Ensure equality of access for all students and prepare them for life in a diverse
society;
Use materials that reflect the diversity of the College, population and local community
in terms of race, gender and disability, without stereotyping;
Promote attitudes and values that will challenge racist and other discriminatory
behaviour or prejudice;
Provide opportunities for students to appreciate their own culture and celebrate the
diversity of other cultures;
Seek to involve all parents in supporting their childs education;
Encourage classroom and staffroom discussion of equality issues which reflect on
social stereotypes, expectations and the impact on learning;
Include teaching and classroom-based approaches appropriate for the whole College
population, which are inclusive and reflective of our students.


Admissions and exclusions

Our admissions arrangements are fair and transparent, and do not discriminate on race,
gender, disability or socio-economic factors.

Exclusions will always be based on the Colleges Behaviour Policy. We will closely monitor
exclusions to avoid any potential adverse impact and ensure any discrepancies are
identified and dealt with.


3. Equal Opportunities for Staff

This section deals with aspects of equal opportunities relating to staff at Darton College.

We are committed to the implementation of equal opportunities principles and the
monitoring and active promotion of equality in all aspects of staffing and employment.

All staff appointments and promotions are made on the basis of merit and ability and in
compliance with the law. However, we are concerned to ensure wherever possible that the
staffing of the College reflects the diversity of our community.


4. Employer duties

As an employer we need to ensure that we eliminate discrimination and harassment in our
employment practice and actively promote equality across all groups within our workforce.

Equality aspects such as age, gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender re-
assignment and faith or religion are considered when appointing staff and particularly when
allocating Teaching and Learning Responsibilities (TLR) or re-evaluating staff structures, to
ensure decisions are free of discrimination.



Actions to ensure this commitment is met include:
Monitoring recruitment and retention including bullying and harassment of staff;
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Continued professional development opportunities for all staff;
Senior Leadership Team support to ensure equality of opportunity for all.


Equality and the law

There are a number of statutory duties that must be met by every College in line with the
Equality Act 2010. The action plan at the end of this Equality Scheme outlines the actions
Darton College will take to meet the general duties detailed below.



5. DEFINITIONS

Equality

It is understood that Equality has taken place when there is a fair society in which everyone
can participate and is given the opportunity to achieve. Equality is also about eliminating
discrimination and promoting fair and equal treatment for all. This means that employment
opportunities and educational inclusion should be free from irrelevant barriers and
accessible to all. Equality is about:

Widening life chances, not restricting them
Fostering talents, not suppressing them
Ensuring no child is disadvantaged or discriminated against
Creating a better and more efficient working environment


Diversity

It is understood that Diversity is about recognising and valuing differences between
individuals, groups and communities to create a positive and inclusive culture for the benefit
of the college. Diversity is also about promoting good relations between staff and the
community to attract and retain talented individuals to reflect the social and ethnic mix of
the local community. This will allow the college to deliver education and services that meet
the needs of the local people.


Discrimination

The college should recognise that discrimination occurs when someone is treated unfairly
or less favourably than another person. There are several ways in which discrimination can
occur:


Direct Discrimination When someone is treated less favourably than someone else
because of a protected characteristic, e.g. their race, gender, gender reassignment,
disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, age, marital status, pregnancy or maternity.


Indirect Discrimination When a provision, criterion or practice (PCP), which when
applied to all, puts those having a particular protected characteristic at a particular
disadvantage, and that PCP is not a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. For
example it can occur when you have a rule or policy that applies to everyone but
disadvantages a particular protected characteristic. In employment law this applies to:
age, race, religion, belief, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation and gender
reassignment.

Associative Discrimination Associative discrimination is a form of direct discrimination
which occurs against someone because they are associated with another person who
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possesses a protected characteristic.


Discrimination by Perception Discrimination by perception is a form of direct
discrimination which occurs against someone because the others think they possess a
protected characteristic.


Tackling discrimination

Harassment on account of race, gender, disability or sexual orientation is unacceptable and is
not tolerated within the College environment.

All staff are expected to deal with any discriminatory incidents that may occur. They are
expected to know how to identify and challenge prejudice and stereotyping; and to support
the full range of diverse needs according to a students individual circumstances.

Racist and homophobic incidents and other incidents of harassment or bullying are dealt with
by the member of staff present, escalating to a class teacher / headteacher where necessary.
All incidents are reported to the headteacher and racist incidents are reported to the governing
body and local authority on a termly basis.


What is a discriminatory incident?

Harassment on grounds of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or other factors such as
socio-economic status, can take many forms including verbal or physical abuse, name calling,
exclusion from groups and games, unwanted looks or comments, jokes and graffiti.

A racist incident is defined by the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report (1999) as:

any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.


Types of discriminatory incident

Types of discriminatory incidents that can occur are:

Physical assault against a person or group because of their colour, ethnicity,
nationality, disability, sexual orientation or gender;
Use of derogatory names, insults and jokes;
Racist, sexist, homophobic or discriminatory graffiti;
Provocative behaviour such as wearing racist, sexist, homophobic or discriminatory
badges or insignia;
Bringing discriminatory material into College;
Verbal abuse and threats;
Incitement of others to discriminate or bully due to victims race, disability, gender or
sexual orientation;
Discriminatory comments in the course of discussion;
Attempts to recruit others to discriminatory organisations and groups;
Ridicule of an individual for difference e.g. food, music, religion, dress etc;
Refusal to co-operate with other people on grounds of race, gender, disability or
sexual orientation.


Victimisation This has a very specific meaning in discrimination law. It does not just
mean singling someone out. Victimisation makes it unlawful for one person to treat another
less favourably than they would treat other people because that person has raised a
complaint under discrimination legislation, or given evidence, or been involved in
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proceedings resulting from a complaint under discrimination legislation. For example it can
occur when someone is treated badly because they have made or supported a complaint or
grievance.


Harassment Conduct which violates a persons dignity and creates an intimidating,
hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment and may be intentional or
unintentional. Harassment may occur as a result of persistent treatment or an isolated
incident. Harassment can be related to a person's age, disability, gender, gender
reassignment, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation. The Equality Act 2010 brought
in changes to harassment legislation meaning that employees can now complain of
behaviour they find offensive even if it is not directed at them. For example a member of
staff who does not have a protected characteristic is now able to claim harassment on the
grounds that the actual harassment of another member of staff has lead to an offensive
environment to work in.


Harassment by a third party This is where an employer can be potentially liable for
harassment of their staff by people they do not employ. This applies to Gender and, as a
result of the Equality Act 2010, also Age, Disability, Gender Reassignment, Race, Religion
or belief and Sexual Orientation.
The College also recognises that in respect of its staff, unlawful discrimination can occur
before, during or after the employment relationship. The college will not tolerate any form of
discrimination or harassment from employees, students or the public and will work to
improve attitudes and actions.


Responding to and reporting incidents

It should be clear to students and staff how they report incidents. All staff, teaching and
non-teaching, should view dealing with incidents as vital to the well-being of the whole
College.

A suggested procedure for responding and reporting is outlined below:



Incident
Member of staff to investigate further (if incident
reported) or challenge behaviour immediately
Response to victim and family Response to perpetrator and family
Incident form to be completed and filed.
Incidents to be reported to Governing body and
local authority on a termly basis.
Action taken to address issue with year group / College
if necessary e.g. through circle time / assembly
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Disability

Disability Equality Duty

This section should be read in conjunction with the Colleges Special Educational Needs
Policy and Accessibility Strategy.

Definition of Disability under the Equality Act 2010

In the Act, a person has a disability if:
they have a physical or mental impairment
the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to
perform normal day-to-day activities
For the purposes of the Act, these words have the following meanings:

'substantial' means more than minor or trivial
'long-term' means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for
at least twelve months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating
conditions)
'normal day-to-day activities' include everyday things like eating, washing, walking
and going shopping.
People who have had a disability in the past that meets this definition are also protected by
the Act.





Progressive conditions considered to be a disability

There are additional provisions relating to people with progressive conditions. People with
HIV, cancer or multiple sclerosis are protected by the Act from the point of
diagnosis. People with some visual impairment are automatically deemed to be disabled.


Conditions that are specifically excluded

Some conditions are specifically excluded from being covered by the disability definition,
such as a tendency to set fires or addictions to nonprescribed substances.

The Disability Equality duty is a legal requirement for public bodies and education providers
to have due regard to the general duty to:

Promote equality of opportunity for disabled people
Eliminate unlawful discrimination
Eliminate disability-related harassment
Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
Encourage participation by disabled people in public life
Take steps to meet disabled peoples needs, even if this requires more favourable
treatment.

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The College will publish and promote any relevant policies, action plans/equality schemes
in order to demonstrate its adherence to the Disability Equality duty.
The College will strive to eliminate discrimination and harassment against disabled people
and make sure that they have equal access to education, services and employment
opportunities. The College will furthermore be committed to making reasonable adjustments
to allow individuals an equal chance of accessing the education, services or employment
opportunities that the college offers.
The College will operate within the framework of the Equality Act 2010, but also recognises
that some individuals are still currently unprotected by the legislation and may face
disadvantage and/or segregation as a result of their inability to access education, services
or employment opportunities. Therefore, the College will seek to support all employees with
health conditions or resulting disabilities whether covered by the Act or not.


Race Equality Duty

The Race Equality duty is a legal requirement for public bodies and education providers to
have due regard to the general duty to:
Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination
Promote equality of opportunity
Promote good relations between people of different racial groups

The College will publish and promote any relevant policies, action plans/equality schemes
in order to demonstrate its adherence to the Race Equality duty.
The College is aware of the racism and stereotypical attitudes that many minority ethnic
people face and is committed to challenging racism and ensuring equal access to
education, services and employment regardless of race or ethnic origin.

The college encourages community engagement activities and open communication in an
attempt to improve understanding of cultural differences and be more able to meet the
needs of black and ethnic minority communities.
The college will make staff, students, parents and governors aware of any relevant
procedures explaining how racial harassment or discrimination will be dealt with.

The College is also committed to eliminating institutional racism as defined in Sir William
Macphersons report of 1999, into the investigation of the death of Stephen Lawrence. He
defined institutional racism as: The collective failure of an organisation to provide an
appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic
origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to
discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist
stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.


Religion and Belief

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment and training on the
grounds of religion or philosophical belief or lack of such.
The community in which we live and work includes people of many different religions and
beliefs as well as people who do not practice any religion or hold such beliefs.


Age

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against individuals
on the grounds of age. The law covers age discrimination in most aspects of employment,
such as recruitment and selection, being considered for training or promotion as well as
redundancy and dismissal processes.
The College will seek to challenge and eliminate discrimination based on age, specifically
through adopting this Equality and Diversity policy throughout its recruitment, retention and
training processes.
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The Equality Bill is expected to bring additional legal duties on public bodies and education
providers in respect of Age. The College will publish and promote any relevant policies,
action plans/equality schemes in order to demonstrate their commitment to Age Equality in
preparation of expected additional requirements in line with the Equality Bill. Further
guidance will be provided to colleges from the Local Authority once guidelines have been
issued from Government.


Gender/Gender Equality Duty

The Gender Equality duty is a legal requirement for public bodies and education providers
to have due regard to the general duty to:
Eliminate unlawful sex discrimination
Eliminate harassment on the grounds of sex
Promote equality of opportunity between women and men
Eliminate discrimination and harassment towards current and potential transgender
staff and service users.

The College will publish and promote any relevant policies, action plans/equality schemes
in order to demonstrate its adherence to the Gender Equality duty.


Sexual Orientation

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment and training on the
grounds of sexual orientation. It covers people whether they are gay, lesbian, bisexual,
heterosexual or transgender.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 provides transsexual people with the opportunity to
obtain legal recognition in their acquired gender. For example, a male-to-female
transsexual will be legally recognised as a woman in English Law.


The College recognises that prejudiced attitudes and actions that result in discrimination,
harassment and violence towards lesbians, gay men and bisexual people still exist. The
College also recognises that transgender people face similar attitudes and discriminating
behaviour. The College strives to challenge and eradicate this type of behaviour by working
with partnership organisations to help understand the attitudes and actions that need to be
addressed and provide training and guidance to employees.


Equal Pay

Men and women should have equality of opportunity within employment and therefore
receive equal pay for the same work or work of equal value. The Local Authority has a job
evaluation scheme for support staff that will grade jobs by assessing the skills and
experience required to undertake the duties satisfactorily. The system will then correctly
place the job within the structure and apply an appropriate pay and grading system.


Legal duties

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005 placed a general duty on schools, requiring
them to have due regard for the following when carrying out and delivering services:
Promoting equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people;
Eliminating discrimination and harassment of disabled people that is related to their
disability;
Promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people;
Encouraging participation in public life by disabled people;
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Taking steps to meet disabled peoples needs, even if this requires more favourable
treatment.


Under our specific duty we will:

Prepare and publish an Equality Scheme which covers the requirements for a
Disability Equality Scheme identifying our disability equality goals and actions to
meet them;
Review and revise this Scheme every three years.


6. Roles and Responsibilities

The role of governors

The governing body has set out its commitment to equal opportunities in this plan and it
will continue to do all it can to ensure that the College is fully inclusive to students,
and responsive to their needs based on race, gender and disability.
The governing body seeks to ensure that people are not discriminated against when
applying for jobs at our College on grounds of race, gender or disability.
The governors take all reasonable steps to ensure that the College environment gives
access to people with disabilities, and also strive to make College communications
as inclusive as possible for parents, carers and students.
The governors welcome all applications to join the College, whatever a childs socio-
economic background, race, gender or disability.
The governing body ensures that no child is discriminated against whilst in our College
on account of their race, sex or disability.





The role of the Headteacher

It is the headteachers role to implement the Colleges Equality Scheme and s/he is
supported by the governing body in doing so.
It is the headteachers role to ensure that all staff are aware of the Equality Scheme,
and that teachers apply these guidelines fairly in all situations.
The headteacher ensures that all appointment panels give due regard to this plan, so
that no-one is discriminated against when it comes to employment or training
opportunities.
The headteacher promotes the principle of equal opportunity when developing the
curriculum, and promotes respect for other people and equal opportunities to
participate in all aspects of College life.
The headteacher treats all incidents of unfair treatment and any incidents of bullying or
discrimination, including racist incidents, with due seriousness.


The role of all staff: teaching and non-teaching

All staff will ensure that all students are treated fairly, equally and with respect, and will
maintain awareness of the Colleges Equality Scheme.
All staff will strive to provide material that gives positive images based on race, gender
and disability, and challenges stereotypical images.
All staff will challenge any incidents of prejudice, racism or homophobia, and record
any serious incidents, drawing them to the attention of the headteacher.
Teachers support the work of ancillary or support staff and encourage them to
intervene in a positive way against any discriminatory incidents.
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7. Review of progress and impact

The Plan has been agreed by our Governing Body. We have a rolling programme for
reviewing our College policies and their impact. In line with legislative requirements, we will
review progress against our Equality Scheme annually and review the entire plan and
accompanying action plan on a three year cycle.

We make regular assessments of students learning and use this information to track
student progress. As part of this process, we regularly monitor achievement by ethnicity,
gender and disability, to ensure that all groups of students are making the best possible
progress, and take appropriate action to address any gaps.


8. Publishing the plan

In order to meet the statutory requirements to publish a Disability Equality Scheme and
Gender Equality Scheme, we will:
Publish our plan on the College website;
Raise awareness of the plan through the College newsletter, assemblies, staff
meetings and other communications;
Make sure hard copies are available.

10. ACTION PLAN

The duty to report racist incidents and the publication of the Equality Scheme to meet the Disability and Gender Equality legislation must be
included in the action plan below.

For further examples of actions please see Appendix A. You may also wish to cross reference the action plan with actions in other documents e.g.
College Improvement Plan / Accessibility Strategy / Special Educational Needs Policy.

Equality
Strand
Action How will the impact of the
action be monitored?
Who is
responsible for
implementing?
What are the
timeframes?
Early success
indicators
All MUST BE INCLUDED
Publish and promote the Equality Scheme
through the College website, newsletter and
staff meetings.
Question about parent
awareness of Equality
Scheme in annual survey?
Headteacher /
designated
member of
staff
Enter date
here -
Immediately
after Equality
Scheme is
agreed by
governing
body
Staff are familiar
with the principles
of the Equality
Scheme and use
them when planning
lessons, creating
class room displays

Parents are aware of
the Equality Scheme
Example: All Monitor and analyse student achievement by
race, gender and disability and act on any
trends or patterns in the data that require
additional support for students.
Achievement data analysed
by race, gender and
disability
Headteacher /
Governing
body
Analysis of teacher
assessments /
annual data
demonstrates the
gap is narrowing for
equality groups
Example: All Ensure that the curriculum promotes role
models and heroes that young people
positively identify with, which reflects the
Colleges diversity in terms of race, gender and
disability.
Increase in students
participation, confidence
and achievement levels
Humanities
lead, through
history lesson
plans
Notable increase in
participation and
confidence of
targeted groups
Example: All Recognise and represent the talents of disabled
students in Gifted and Talented programmes,
and ensure representation on the programmes
fully reflects the College population in terms of
race and gender.
Gifted and Talented
register monitored by race,
gender and disability
Member of
staff leading on
G&T
Analysis of the
Gifted and Talented
register indicates it
is changing to
reflect the Colleges
diversity
Example: All Ensure that displays in classrooms and
corridors promote diversity in terms of race,
gender and ethnicity.
Increase in student
participation, confidence
and positive identity
monitor through PSHE
Headteacher Ongoing More diversity
reflected in College
displays across all
year groups
10. ACTION PLAN

Equality
Strand
Action How will the impact of the
action be monitored?
Who is
responsible for
implementing?
What are the
timeframes?
Early success
indicators
Example: All Ensure all students are given the opportunity to
make a positive contribution to the life of the
College e.g. through involvement in the College
Council by election or co-option), class
assemblies, fund raising etc
College council
representation monitored
by race, gender, disability
Member of
staff leading on
College council
More diversity in
College council
membership
Race
Equality
Duty
MUST BE INCLUDED
Identify, respond and report racist incidents as
outlined in the Plan. Report the figures to the
Governing body / Local Authority on a termly
basis.
The Headteacher /
Governing body will use
the data to assess the
impact of the Colleges
response to incidents i.e.
have whole College / year
group approaches led to a
decrease in incidents, can
repeat perpetrators be
identified, are students and
parents satisfied with the
response?
Headteacher /
Governing
body
Teaching staff are
aware of and
respond to racist
incidents

Consistent nil
reporting is
challenged by the
Governing Body


Example:
Gender
Equality
Duty
Introduce initiative to encourage girls to take up
sport outside the curriculum requirements,
including offering dance and kickboxing
lessons, to make participation rates more
reflective of the College population.
Increased participation of
girls in sports clubs and
out of College sport
activities
Member of
staff leading on
sports / PE
More girls take up
after-College sports
clubs
Example:
Disability
Equality
Duty
Promote Governor vacancies with leaflets in
accessible formats, by involving disabled
young people / parents in design and
specifically welcoming applications from
disabled candidates.
Monitoring of applications
by disability to see if
material was effective
Lead Governor
on Special
Educational
Needs &
Disabilities
More applications
from disabled
candidates to be
College Governors
Example:
Community
cohesion
Celebrate cultural events throughout the year to
increase student awareness and understanding
of different communities e.g. Diwali, Eid,
Christmas.
PSHE assessments Member of
staff leading on
PSHE
Ongoing Increased
awareness of
different
communities shown
in PSHE
assessments

Appendix A

Examples of further actions you may want to include in your action plan to meet the
general duties


ENSURING EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND PARTICIPATION

The College will ensure that:

o Student achievement is monitored by race, gender and disability and any trends or
patterns in the data that may require additional action to narrow the gap are
addressed;

o All staff are aware of the Darton Colleges Equality Scheme;

o The talents of disabled students are recognised and represented in Gifted and
Talented programmes, and representation on the programmes fully reflects the
College population in terms of race and gender;

o There is an inclusive approach to ensuring all students are given the opportunity to
make a positive contribution to the life of the College e.g. through involvement in the
College Council by election or co-option); class assemblies; fund raising etc;

o Disabled children can take part in all aspects of the curriculum, including educational
visits and journeys; lunchtime activities; PE and dance and assemblies;

o Extended College activities such as breakfast and after-College clubs take into
account student needs and access issues and students attending reflect the diversity
of the College population in terms of race, gender, disability and socio-economic
status;

o Staff, students, parents and carers will continue to be involved in the future
development of the Equality Scheme through input and feedback from surveys, staff
meetings, College council meetings, parents evenings etc.


The College will provide:

o Extra and additional support for students who are under-achieving, in order to make
progress in their learning and their personal well being, e.g. ensuring that children
with visual impairment have accessible texts; that children with hearing impairment
have an enhanced acoustic classroom environment;

o Additional support for parents of under-achieving children (e.g. reporting progress;
discussing needs);

o Additional support for disabled parents/carers and staff to help them to play a full part
in the life of the College (e.g. providing a sign interpreter for a deaf parent; ensuring
that meetings are held in the most accessible parts of the College to support
wheelchair users).




PROMOTING POSITIVE ATTITUDES AND MEETING NEEDS

The College will:

o Promote positive images which reflect the diversity of the College and community in
terms of race, gender and disability, for example in assemblies, books, publications
and learning materials and in classroom/corridor display.

o Actively seek to recruit disabled people to the College and support them in their work
and career development, and try to reflect the diversity of the College community in
its workforce;

o Actively seek to recruit disabled people to the governing body and make reasonable
adjustments to ensure that they can fully participate and contribute;

o Provide reasonable means for children, young people, their friends and families to
interact with people from different backgrounds and build positive relationships,
including links with different Colleges and communities;

o Provide extended services, with opportunities for students, families and the wider
community to take part in activities and receive services which build positive
interaction and achievement for all groups;

o Supporting disabled students in the period of transition between primary and
secondary College to ease the stress of moving and increase familiarity with new
surroundings;

o Helping children and young people to understand others and value diversity;

o Promoting shared values, awareness of human rights and how to apply and defend
them;

o Developing skills of participation and responsible action for example through the
new Identity and Diversity: living together in the UK strand of citizenship education.


ELIMINATING DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT

The College will:

o Develop and adapt its procedures on anti-bullying to include equality perspectives;

o Support staff to challenge and address any bullying and harassment that is based on
a persons race, gender or ethnicity;

o Keep a record and report how these incidents are dealt with to the governing body
and local authority on a termly basis;

o Review its approach to race, gender and disability bullying and harassment
whenever it reviews its policy on behaviour.



MONITORING IMPACT

o The College will collect and analyse evidence and data on childrens achievement,
attendance and participation by race, gender and disability, and use this to inform
strategies to raise achievement;

o The governing body will report annually in the College Profile/and or annual report to
parents on the effectiveness and success of its Equality Scheme. We will place the
report alongside the plan on our website.