Equality & Inclusion / British Values

Equality & Inclusion Statement 

The Governors and Staff of White Ash school ensure that equality of opportunity is available to all members of the school community.

For our school this means, not simply treating everybody the same but, understanding and tackling the different barriers which could lead to unequal outcomes for different groups of pupils in school, celebrating and valuing the equal opportunity achievements and strengths of all members of the school community.

Equality Objectives 2024-2025

1. To embed equality objectives throughout the school day.
2. To plan and deliver half-termly assemblies for all children & staff linked to the equality badges.
3.To enhance staff knowledge of the Equality strands.

Equality Badge Leaders

• Equality Lead - Natasha S
• Race – Lisa B
• Religion & Belief – Natasha S
• Sexual Orientation – Jacqui P
• Holistic Diversity – Natasha S
• Sex – Danielle J
• Disability  - Jude R and Angela F

Equality Governor - Amanda O

Equality Committee - Bridget H & Jill H

Equality Act 2010:

The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.

It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone.

Protected Characteristics:

The Equality Act 2010 has brought together all the current discrimination laws into one and sets out the “protected characteristics” that qualify for protection from discrimination as:

• age (relevant in considering our duties as an employer, but not in relation to pupils)
• disability
• gender reassignment
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion or belief
• socio-economic background
• sex; and
• sexual orientation

Equality Blog

Autumn 2024

In Autumn, we have been exploring and learning about equality and diversity by following our rolling programme.

We started the academic year with Jeans for Genes day (disability focus), we discussed ways in which we are different how each person is unique. We promoted kindness and wellbeing and thought about what makes us special. We also raised money for charity.

In October, we celebrated Black History Month (race focus) and looked at art from a number of artists, we then had a go at recreating our own pieces and celebrated different people from around the world.

We explored different faiths and delved into Diwali and Christmas - It was so good to learn about other cultures and what is important and special to different people.

Spring 2025

In the Spring term, we continued to develop our understanding by celebrating Eid by listening to music, trying on religious dress, trying foods and was visited by a parent who designed henna patterns/art on our hands.

We learnt about International Women's Day at the end of February and had a selection of famous Women to research and learn about before an assembly learning about the history of International Women's Day

We celebrated Easter as a whole school day and event, making Easter crafts, learning about the Easter Story and even receiving an Easter egg/toy that was donated from a local shop.

For Race Equality Day,  classes focused on what makes us unique, differences in our communities, trying different foods and comparing our cultural differences.

Summer 2025

During the summer term, we have been learning about different types of families (Sexual Orientation). We listened to stories, explored images of our families and different families, and created a beautiful rainbow that showed all of our families with lots of bright colours.

Coming up, we have our yearly MATP Event (Disability) and cannot wait to show you all the fun we have had with our friends and show our parents and family members what we have been working on throughout the school year.

Check out the badges below to see what wonderful things we have been up to!

Promoting Fundamental British Values

In accordance with The Department for Education we aim to actively promote British values in schools to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils are encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance and understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law.

The Key Values are: