Equality Statement

Belper School and Sixth Form Centre is committed to equality.  Everybody’s needs are different and we understand that we should not treat everyone the same, as this may cause a disadvantage to some. We therefore, treat them equally. 

We do our best to ensure that students, staff, parents and members of the local community are treated respectfully and fairly.  We aim to ensure an environment where nobody should receive less favourable treatment because of any of the protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010 – age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.  In doing so we aim to promote the advancing equality of opportunity for all – between people who share one of the protected characteristics and people who do not share it.

We aim to ensure that the whole school site is a safe and accessible environment for all and to eliminate discrimination, harassment or victimisation based on any of the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.  We promote understanding of this through our student PSE programme and staff CPD programme. When preparing policies or procedures the governing body aims to consider the impact on all our stakeholders with regard to the Equality Act’s protected characteristics.

We involve and consult with different groups within the school community, including those affected by inequality, to create a democratic process for decision-making. This is achieved through direct student consultation, the School Council, staff union JCC Committee, staff meetings, governor meetings, and parent/carer questionnaires.

We aim to have a school environment that is supportive of the diverse needs of our students and provides a rich, varied and stimulating learning experience that is free from bullying, victimisation and harassment. We have clear procedures for dealing with prejudice-related bullying and incidents and any reported incidents are monitored and reported on to the School Governors.

Regular assessment of students learning is undertaken to track progress and ensure all groups of students are achieving the best possible results.  We recognise that for some students extra support is needed to help them to achieve and be successful.  We provide additional targeted and timely support for those students who require additional help, support or guidance.  Our school performance is compared to national and Derbyshire Local Authority data to ensure that different groups of students make appropriate progress.

We aim to achieve our commitment to equality through reference to the Teachers’ Standards, the recruitment of appropriately qualified staff, adhering to our safer recruitment policy, and establishing a governing body which is representative of all sectors of our community.

You can view our Equality Information document by clicking the link below. This includes our equality objectives for this year.

Equality Information And Objectives 2022-2025