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Sir James Smith's School

Sir James Smith's School

Equality Duty

Sir James Smith’s School welcomes our duties under the Equality Act 2010. The General Equality Duty requires all public authorities to have due regard to the need to:

  1. Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act
  2. Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it
  3. Foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it

We understand the principle of the Act and the work needed to ensure that those with protected characteristics are not discriminated against and are given equality of opportunity.  A protected characteristic under the act covers the groups listed below:

  • Age (for employees not for service provision)
  • Disability
  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Gender reassignment
  • Maternity and pregnancy
  • Religion and belief
  • Sexual identity
  • Marriage and civil partnership (for employees)

As a school we are also required to follow the specific duties. This means we need to:

  • Define one or more equality objectives that support the aims of the general duty (by 6 April 2012 and at least every four years thereafter)
  • Ensure the objectives are specific and measurable
  • Publish the objectives so that they are accessible to the public

To do this we will collect data related to the protected characteristics above and analyse this data to determine our focus for our equality objectives. The data will be assessed across our core provisions as a school.

The data will include:

  • Admissions
  • Attendance
  • Attainment
  • Exclusions and behaviour
  • Prejudice related incidents

We also welcome our duty under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to promote community cohesion.

Core Statements

In fulfilling our legal obligations we will be guided by seven core statements:

  • All people are of equal value
  • We recognise, welcome and respect diversity
  • We foster positive attitudes and relationships, and a shared sense of belonging
  • We observe good equalities practice, including staff recruitment, retention and development
  • We aim to reduce and remove existing inequalities and barriers
  • We consult and involve widely
  • We strive to ensure that society will benefit

Our Equality Objectives

Our equality objectives are based on our analysis of data and other information and focus on those areas where we have agreed to take action to improve equality and tackle disadvantages.

The objectives, which we identify, represent our school priorities and are the outcome of a careful review of and analysis of data and other evidence. They also take into account national and local priorities and issues.

We evaluate our success in meeting the General Equality Duty by the extent to which we achieve improved outcomes for the different groups.

We recognise our duty in setting specific, measurable equality objectives and have identified the following four objectives from September 2025:

  1. Improve outcomes for disadvantaged students eligible for the Pupil Premium and significantly narrow the gaps between them and their peers
  2. Undertake a full review to ensure that the provision for SEND and EAL students meets their learning needs
  3. Use data analysis tools regularly to identify and address any gaps in learning for specific groups eg. gender, CIC, FSM, SEND K
  4. Further develop the assembly and character curriculum to actively promote fundamental British values and tolerance of all people

We will regularly review the progress we are making to meet our equality objectives.

Information about our students:

There are currently 595 pupils on roll.

Gender:

  • Male:              50%
  • Female:          50%

Ethnicity:

  • White British: 47.56%
  • White Cornish: 46.45%
  • Romany or Gypsy: 0.17%
  • White & Black African: 0.17%
  • Any other Mixed Background: 1%
  • Any Other Asian Background: 0.17%
  • Any Other White Background: 2.87%
  • Black African: 1%
  • Chinese: 0.17%
  • Any other Ethnic Group: 0.17%

First Language:

  • English: 98.7%
  • Other:   1.3%

Pupils with Special Education Needs and/or Disability:

  • Statements/EHC Plan: 21
  • SEN support: 126
  • Hearing Impairment: 2
  • Visual Impairment: 1
  • Physical Disability: 2
  • Other Disability: 2

 

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