EQUALITY AND DIVERISTY

Information and Objectives

The following information draws on our Equalities Policy which can be found in the policies section of our website.

Aims and rationale

Our school aims to meet its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) by having due regard to the need to: 

• Eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act 2010 

• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it 

• Foster good relations across all characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it  

This is important because eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity, and fostering good relations are essential to achieving our wider aims of educational excellence and transformational personal development. 

These aims are in full alignment with the vision, ethos, and values of the Moorlands Learning Trust. 

Our underlying principles

In fulfilling the legal obligations cited above, we are guided by 10 principles which will help us to achieve our aims (above):

1. All learners, staff and members of our communities are of equal value
2. We respect, value, and celebrate difference
3. We are committed to maintaining positive relationships and developing a shared sense of belonging with all stakeholders
4. We observe best-practice in relation to staff recruitment, retention, and professional development
5. We aim to actively reduce and remove inequalities and barriers that already exist
6. We engage with all stakeholders and make sure we consult on decision-making and significant changes to practices or policies
7. Our policies and activities should benefit wider society in the immediate and longer term.
8. Our approaches and practices are evidence-informed
9. Our aims and objectives are evidence and stakeholder informed, and SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound)
10. We review and formulate curricula which develop and promote equality, diversity, and community cohesion.

As required by the equality duty, each year we publish updated information to demonstrate how we are complying with these obligations (i.e., outlining how we put our policy into practice.)

We eliminate discrimination by:

• Offering a broad and inclusive curriculum that meets the needs of all students.
• Delivering a carefully designed and sequenced PSHE curriculum to students in years 7-13 which works responsively to address all forms of discrimination.
• Delivering a varied assembly curriculum that celebrates diversity and equality in relation to religion, race, sexuality, and gender.
• Offering a Personal Development curriculum, delivered weekly in ‘Personal Best Time (PBT)’ and in tutor time that is designed around the School Values and informed by the Fundamental British Values.
• Creating displays around school that celebrate and promote people’s right to be themselves which are informed by the protected characteristics.
• Using key dates in the year, for example religious festivals, to celebrate and enrich our student’s knowledge and understanding of their own, and wider cultural diversity
• Taking all available opportunities to promote our school Vision & Values that actively endorse the qualities of kindness, respect, and pride.
• Establishing student iLeader roles within school which promote the qualities of Respect, Equality and Diversity.
• Systematically recording any incidents of hate, abuse, and discrimination and challenging all forms of bullying
• By running focus groups with students from different social groups and backgrounds as well as those with protected characteristics to ensure their voice is heard.

We advance equality of opportunity by:

• Providing training for all staff on meeting the needs of all learners, being mindful of unconscious bias and considering the language we use.
• Systematically monitoring indicators such as student progress, attendance at school and behaviour by learner group, in order to identify any gaps and implement effective interventions.
• Providing a broad, balanced curriculum which is open to all students and enabling students to decide their individual pathways through an options process in year 8 as well as in year 9 and 11.
• Ensuring that the PSHE curriculum is accessed by all students, with particular care taken regarding access of students in vulnerable groups who may be particularly vulnerable to equality issues and who may not access the curriculum in the same way at the same time as other students.
• Providing an enhanced transition programme for Year 7 students with additional needs or vulnerabilities.
• Creating iLeader roles throughput all key stages offering the opportunity for students to lead on projects that involve protected characteristics as well as promote good citizenship (E.g., Anti-bullying iLeaders, Diversity iLeaders, LGBTQ+ iLeaders and Eco-iLeaders,)
• Providing additional support for students who experience barriers to learning, including those with protected characteristics via the SRP (School Resourced Provision) and the Nurture Centre.
• Maximising the participation of all students in trips, visits, and extra-curricular activities through the targeted use of Pupil Premium funding and the PTA bursary. This includes strengthening systems to monitor rates of participation in extra-curricular activity and actions to address any gaps.
• Encouraging a diverse workforce including through the wording of recruitment adverts and through use of anonymous recruitment software.
• Gathering data about the makeup of our workforce and recruitment and retention rates for different groups.

We foster good relations by:

• Delivering an inclusive and diverse curriculum which celebrates diversity and promotes equality (for example, reading lessons based on a diverse range of texts in KS3 English).
• Engaging with award schemes, organisations and programmes which encourage an appreciation of diversity (for example, the Red Kite Alliance RED Award and the Stonewall School & College Champion Award).
• Inviting in external speakers for assemblies from a variety of communities
• Providing timely training and information for staff on gender identity and fully inclusive practice regarding non-binary students
• Providing a wide range of international visits for students, with at least ten overseas visits on offer each year.
• Giving students opportunities to take part in international partnership projects with schools in other countries, for example the French and Spanish exchanges and World Challenge.
• Holding an annual Year 9 Diversity Day each year with representatives from the 6 world religions, the deaf community as well as workshops that explore the protected characteristics so that staff and students are informed and enriched.
• Inviting ‘role models’ from diverse backgrounds to work with our students to counter misconceptions, raise awareness and build empathy (for example, MESMAC and our links with Ilkley Pride and Ilkley Youth to promote and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community).
• Providing opportunities for students to engage with the wider community (for example, through community volunteering programmes: the Ilkley Carnival, litter picking, Ilkley Pride and local charities.)

School Equality Objectives 2025-26

OBJECTIVE	ACTION
1. Increase the feeling of belonging by eliminating discrimination	Ensure behaviour policies, sanctions and exclusions are applied fairly, with reasonable adjustments and do not disproportionately affect students in vulnerable groups. Further develop systems and response to all types of bullying and abuse by strengthening whole-school systems and staff responses to all forms of child-on-child abuse, ensuring early identification, consistent intervention, and restorative support where necessary. Continue to refine and improve the PSHE curriculum so it is responsive to local intelligence; raises awareness of the risks; empowers students to seek help; encourages students to speak out and avoid bystander behaviour; and promotes a culture of respect and safety across the school community.
2. Enhance the experience of belonging by advancing equality of opportunity	Inclusion and SEND: Ensure teachers have the expertise, tools and confidence to identify, understand and meet the needs of students with SEND, enabling them to deliver consistently high-quality teaching, make powerful adaptations and reduce barriers to learning. SEND Transition: Ensure students with SEND experience successful transitions, particularly into year 7, by coordinating curriculum, support and transition strategies that swiftly identify needs and enable students to achieve and thrive across all areas of school. Strengthen collaboration between the Specialist Resource Provision and teaching colleagues to ensure students with complex or co-occurrent needs can access high-quality education. Ensure strong foundations for all students in language, reading, writing, and mathematics. Embed systems to accurately assess students’ English Language proficiency to allow for deliberate and careful upskilling and repetition of language. Ensure students who have English as an additional language have access to appropriate intervention and a wide range of literature to accelerate their understanding of English. Continue to improve disadvantaged students outcomes. Priorities include: (1) improving achievement for disadvantaged students in Basics measures (2) continuing to close the achievement gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged peers through high quality teaching and focussed interventions Continue to improve outcomes for students with an EHCP and those accessing alternative provision. Continue to improve the attendance of all students, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups. Strengthen attendance strategies to ensure all students, particularly those in vulnerable groups attend regularly. Embed proactive monitoring, personalised support, and family engagement to reduce persistent absence, close attendance gaps, and ensure equitable access to the school’s curriculum and enrichment opportunities. Analyse personal development participation data of all kinds to identify gaps in participation and work creatively and persistently to maximise the participation of all students, particularly those in vulnerable groups.
3. Further develop the experience of belonging by fostering good relations	Agency: Enable ALL students to make a strong positive contribution to the school's inclusive culture (co-creation) and to harness the power of ALL students as influential and reflective advocates who confidently debate issues, articulate their ideas and communicate the richness of their experience in a variety of contexts. Connection/recognition: Ensure that ALL students are 'seen/visible' and are empowered (the contact hypothesis) to thrive in contexts both in and beyond school. System-wide improvement: Further share learning and best-practice externally and secure appropriate accreditation and recognition for our work. Continue to develop opportunities which foster good relations between all members of the IGS and wider community. Continue to develop the profile of the Student Council to ensure ALL students are represented. Ensure even more students become involved in charities week through timely communication and through holding events in PBT. Act early to create a sense of connection through the year 7 belonging curriculum.