The equality duty has two main parts: the ‘general’ equality duty and ‘specific duties’.

The general equality duty sets out the equality matters that schools need to consider when making decisions that affect pupils or staff with different protected characteristics. This duty has three elements. In carrying out their functions public bodies are required to have ‘due regard’ when making decisions and developing policies, to the need to:

• Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act 2010.

• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

• Foster good relations across all protected characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

Having due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity is defined further in the Equality Act 2010 as having due regard to the need to:

• Remove or minimise disadvantages

• Take steps to meet different needs

• Encourage participation when it is disproportionately low.

In order to help schools in England meet the general equality duty, there are two specific duties that they are required to carry out. These are:

1. To publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the equality duty.

2. To prepare and publish one or more specific and measurable equality objective.

Our Equality Objectives

We recognise our duty in setting specific, measurable equality objectives and Equality and Diversity is a specific feature of our College Improvement Plan, where the focus is to:

1. Develop and evaluate the planned pastoral team and department schedule to review the progress of specific groups: HAP, Pupil Premium, EAL, BME, LAC, boys and girls, SEND, and Travellers

2. To evaluate the impact of funding against student outcomes

3. Continue to ensure that the provision for SEND, LAC and EAL students supports their learning needs

4. All curriculum areas to work to a Raising Achievement Plan to ensure that all student groups make or exceed expected progress measures

5. To embed the "Keep Safe" strategy across all Key Stages and to develop our range of anti-bullying strategies linked to Cyber-bullying and student training

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

Information about our employees:

If we have more than 150 employees we are required to publish information about them.

This information aims to provide a profile of our school workforce, as well as our employment practices and achievements.

Confidentiality

Guarantees of confidentiality are given to all staff who provide monitoring information or who take part in staff surveys. Names and data are anonymised and we observe the convention not to report where there are 10 or fewer respondents in any grouping.

As of 1 September 2018, the college employs 232 staff. Our staff are employed in the following main groups:

• Teaching staff

• Administrative and other related posts

• Support staff

Stoke Damerel Community College is part of the Greenshaw LearningTrust. You can download our Equalities Policy here.