Equality and Diversity

At Balshaw , we take our equality and diversity responsibilities seriously and are focused on embedding both across the curriculum, alongside protecting children from discrimination and harassment. We teach children about the protected characteristics within our curriculum.

Our school leader for equality matters is Mrs Hodgson.

Our school governor for equality matters is Mrs Gibson.

We also have an Equality Team in school who act as a sounding board for equality matters, for example when introducing or amending policies or procedures. 

At Balshaw Lane, we take our equality and diversity responsibilities seriously and are focused on embedding both across the curriculum, alongside protecting children from discrimination and harrassment.

Our Equality Policy includes objectives for 2022-26.

The governors and leadership team use this webpage to publish information in line with the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty. We fulfil the three priorities of the Duty:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
• Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

At Balshaw Lane, we ensure that our children grow up to be respectful citizens in modern, multi-cultural Britain. We recognise that our school population is mainly White British and ensure that our children develop the British value of tolerance of different faiths and beliefs to their own.

We teach the children explicitly through the PSHE curriculum about avoiding prejudice and stereotyping. We plan the books and stories we use across school so that they reflect diverse Britain. For example, in partnership with Ebb and Flo bookshop, over the last three summers , we have invested in diverse books for our class libraries, funded by the PTFA. 

The images that we use around school and across the curriculum reflect modern British society.

“Appears to be a well-rounded curriculum.  Pleased to see topics such as Black History Month being included too.”

Parental questionnaire comment

Disability

We work closely with the families of children with SEN and/or a disability. We prioritise support, with several children having 1:1 support without EHC funding. We aim to identify needs from an early age to have maximum impact.

We buy into the Lancashire Inclusion Service but, increasingly, other specialists such as Ellen Howard, dyslexia specialist; Speech Mum for speech and language assessments; private educational psychologists.

We have also bought in support for deaf parents at meetings and on phone calls.

Diversity Role Models Lego workshop content

The workshops in Autumn 2024 will build on our previous work with this DfE funded project in Spring and Summer 2023.

The workshops will be based around Lego and focus on families and relationships.

This focus complements our ongoing work in PSHE (Personal Social Health Economic Education).

For example, in Year 5 we already teach about 'different families, same love' using some Stonewall resources.

The Department for Education's statutory Relationships Education document states:

36. In teaching Relationships Education and RSE, schools should ensure that the needs of all pupils are appropriately met, and that all pupils understand the importance of equality and respect. Schools must ensure that they comply with the relevant provisions of the Equality Act 2010, (please see The Equality Act 2010 and schools: Departmental advice), under which sexual orientation and gender reassignment are amongst the protected characteristics.

37. Schools should ensure that all of their teaching is sensitive and age appropriate in approach and content. At the point at which schools consider it appropriate to teach their pupils about LGBT, they should ensure that this content is fully integrated into their programmes of study for this area of the curriculum rather than delivered as a stand?alone unit or lesson. Schools are free to determine how they do this, and we expect all pupils to have been taught LGBT content at a timely point as part of this area of the curriculum.

Ofsted's handbook states that schools must:

• promotes equality of opportunity so that all pupils can thrive together, understanding that difference is a positive, not a negative, and that individual characteristics make people unique. This includes, but is not limited to, pupils’ understanding of the protected characteristics and how equality and diversity are promoted

• ensures an inclusive environment that meets the needs of all pupils, irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, and where no discrimination exists, for example in respect of wider opportunities for pupils