What is the Public Sector Equality Duty (the PSED)?
The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies to promote equality. The relevant protected characteristics are-
- Age;
- Disability;
- Gender reassignment;
- Pregnancy and maternity;
- Race;
- Religion or belief;
- Sex;
- Sexual orientation;
Legislation and guidance
This document meets the requirements under the following legislation:
- The Equality Act 2010, which introduced the public sector equality duty and protects people from discrimination;
- The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011, which require schools to publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the public sector equality duty and to publish equality objectives.
This document is also based on Department for Education (DfE) guidance: The Equality Act 2010 and schools.
THE EQUALITY ACT 2010
The general equality duty is contained in S149 of the Act and requires schools to have “due regard” to the need to:
* Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act;
* Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, and;
* Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
At Ashleigh, our ethos that we are ‘All Different, All Equal and All Learning’ is integral to how our school runs. Every decision, every policy and every strategy is designed to make this ethos a reality for of our all of our stakeholders.
EQUALITY OBJECTIVES
The school’s current equality objectives are set out below. Our objectives are specific, measurable and achievable. They relate to people with protected characteristics and cross reference the three strands of the general duty. They represent our school’s priorities.
The school’s objectives are the outcome of a careful review and analysis of our school data and other information. We have chosen a combination of targets.
The Headteacher will report to the Governing Body in relation to the progress we have made towards achieving our objectives. The Governing Body will ensure the school’s equality objectives are reviewed annually and that they are updated at least every four years.
The school’s current Equality Objective is:-
To reduce the use of prejudice-related incidents and use of derogatory language specifically:
- Racist;
- Sexist;
- Homophobic.