Our Inclusive School

All children and adults are welcome and fully supported at Goathland school.

Please click on the link below to find out about our approach to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Click here to view the SEND Page

Public Sector Equality Duty

Public bodies, including schools, have a duty, under the 2010 Equality Act, to ensure that they promote equality within their organisation and this statement sets out how we try to achieve this at Goathland Primary School.  We fundamentally believe that it is the right of every person to be treated with equal dignity and respect which is integral to our school ethos and underpins all that we do.

The Equality Act 2010 makes it explicit that we have a responsibility to have due regard to the need to:

  • eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Act
  • 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

A protected characteristic could be one of a multitude of factors that are shared by particular groups of people, but will include characteristics such as sex, age, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity.  Central to a commitment to fulfil our responsibility is a recognition that all groups with protected characteristics fall within the human race as a whole and therefore have equal status and equal rights in light of this.  As a result, we believe that success can be achieved by realising the uniqueness of individuals.  As far as we possibly can, we ensure that we have a prejudice-free environment where no one will discriminate against, harass or victimise any member of our community or the wider human race for any reason linked to their individual characteristics, circumstances or beliefs.

Our governors, in their work to uphold their responsibility will:

  • Ensure that equality information and objectives are explicit in our policies and procedures and that these are communicated clearly with all members of the school community and beyond
  • Monitor, review and evaluate the effect and impact of these regularly and often (at a minimum, every four years)
  • Seek ways to address physical or environmental barriers that get in the way of equality and inclusion
  • Work closely with the Head Teacher, delegating responsibility to her for the day to day implementation of policies and procedures and for monitoring their effectiveness

Our head teacher will:

  • Promote knowledge and understanding of equality amongst staff, pupils and parents
  • Monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum in promoting equality and tackling inequality in order to encourage and develop learners who are understanding, accepting, tolerant, respectful and inclusive of others
  • Ensure good support systems, including staffing, are in place for cohorts, groups or individuals in order to ensure that everyone has the potential to achieve highly
  • Put in place and monitor support mechanisms to tackle inequalities that may impact on the education and life chances of our pupils for whole cohorts, groups and individuals

Our classroom staff will:

  • Teach a balanced and fair curriculum that challenges knowledge and promotes understanding
  • Support every individual to achieve highly and progress well from their individual starting points
  • Promote a culture of mutual trust and support where everyone feels valued, comfortable and listened to in all aspects of school life, including when sharing concerns or worries, no matter how small
  • Work effectively with a range of people who support our children eg. parents, medical colleagues and education support staff, to maximise potential and to overcome barriers to progress

Our whole staff group will:

  • Promote equality and inclusivity
  • Lead by example

Our pupils will:

  • Be encouraged, taught and supported to understand one another and to accept respect and celebrate individual difference
  • Be encouraged and supported to include everyone
  • Be reminded of what to do if someone is unkind to another person in order to effectively support one another

Goathland Primary School prides itself on being a school where inclusion and equal opportunity is central to our work with every individual.  Evidence of our impact can be seen in our monitoring and assessment outcomes, including statutory assessment outcomes at the end of Key Stages, Ofsted reports, local authority visits outcomes and pupil, staff and parent questionnaires.

Examples of our compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty can be seen in, but are not limited to, the following examples:

  • Policies that deal with equality issues eg. Single Equality Scheme and Accessiblity plan; SEND policy, Behaviour Policy & Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Policy, Curriculum Policy.
  • Promotion of understanding, respect, individual liberty and tolerance in assemblies, religious education lessons and through our curriculum
  • Clear and consistent application of our Behaviour Curriculum
  • Equal access to the curriculum
  • Monitoring and evaluating the attainment and progress of cohorts, groups and individuals and support mechanisms and strategies to address underperformance or vulnerability
  • Effective working with outside agencies
  • Equal access to wider school activities such as clubs, visits and residential trips
  • Charitable support and fundraising

 

British Values

Value

How We Promote it
Democracy

  • One of the benefits of a very small school is the capacity for all children to talk about issues that affect them. We know that not everyone will get their own way, but every voice is heard and is of equal value.

    In our research into ancient civilisations we will look at the foundations of democracy (History). We provide pupils with a broad general knowledge of, and promote respect for, public institutions and services by discussing these whenever appropriate in curriculum work.  

    Our school council is democratically elected and works to address issues that affect the whole school.
The Rule of Law

High expectations of pupil conduct are reflected in our Behaviour Policy and ‘Golden Rules’ which are displayed in every classroom and used consistently across both classes to ensure that our rules are used fairly. We help children distinguish between right and wrong in everyday interactions.

 

Our school vision and values are discussed as part of our Assembly programme and we know these help us live well together.

 

We help pupils to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals including the vulnerable in society. We include visits from the Police, Community Police Officers, the Fire Service, Childline and other agencies in our curriculum and community safety work.
Individual Liberty

We support pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence through every aspect of teaching and learning in school. Pupils take responsibility for their behaviour, as well as knowing their wider rights and responsibilities. We implement a strong anti-bullying culture through our family ethos and actively challenge stereotypes.

 

Through the inclusion of SMSC in our curriculum planning, children build an awareness of the ways of living, beliefs, values and attitudes of others and know that all people are of equal worth.
Mutual Respect

We promote respect for individual differences and help pupils to acquire an understanding of, and respect for, their own and other cultures and ways of life through our curriculum.  We challenge prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour. We organise visits to diverse places of worship and study other world religions in addition to Christianity.

We develop critical personal thinking skills throughout our curricular work. This includes discussion at an appropriate level on the differences between people, including; faith, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexuality, and different family situations.