Equalities information

Further information may be found in our policies section.

Equality on a page

equality on a page november 2024.pdf

EQUALITY ACT 2010 – How has the school responded?

2024-25

The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.

It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone.

The public sector Equality Duty came into force across Great Britain on 5 April 2011. It means that public bodies have to consider all individuals when carrying out their day-to-day work – in shaping policy, in delivering services and in relation to their own employees.

It also requires that public bodies have due regard to the need to:

eliminate discrimination
advance equality of opportunity
foster good relations between different people when carrying out their activities (source: gov.uk)

Progress and attainment

The leadership of the school maintains an insistence that all pupils will do well. Ambitious targets are set for all children for the end of EYFS, KS1 and KS2. Please refer to the school’s tracking system (RM), target setting system (evident in the SIP) and assessment policy. Any gaps in attainment or progress are targeted for reduction/closing via the school improvement plan and subsequent action planning. Please see the SIP and related action plans for reference.

There is an agenda of improving the attainment and progress of all pupils, regardless of their circumstances and backgrounds. This is evident from the objectives of the school improvement plan and the performance management foci for the staff. Governors are fully involved in this process and challenge the senior leaders to raise attainment and progress for all.

Admissions

The school has adopted and follows the local authority’s admissions policy (available in school) which ensures a fair system for the admission of pupils and does not directly or indirectly discriminate against any specific groups

Education for pupils

Children are organised into mixed ability and mixed-gender classes within their year groups. In the majority of cases, there are two classes per year group and the curriculum is delivered based on the needs of individual children. Class teachers provide differentiated sessions to meet specific and individual needs. Support staff are used to enable targeted interventions to narrow any gaps in progress or attainment.

Senior leaders and teaching staff examine any patterns in achievement amongst key groups of pupils, including gender, language and ‘disadvantage’. Actions are swiftly implemented to address any gaps. Any barriers to learning are reviewed and every attempt is made by staff to take action to remove such barriers. Case study examples are available in school.

The curriculum is broad and balanced and ensures coverage of statutory requirements for maintained schools in England. Topics are planned based on the interests and needs of the children. An overview of the curriculum is available on the school website, with detailed planning available in school. The curriculum is being reviewed during the current academic year.

Access to any benefit, facility or service.

The school works closely alongside a range of specialist external agencies including social care, educational psychology, behaviour support and speech and language services. Regular communication with parents and partnership work ensures no group is discriminated against. The school uses its SEND allocation and Pupil Premium grant to support those children with that entitlement. Please refer to the Pupil Premium strategy and SEND information available in school and on the website. Additional funding is sought to support those children who require specific and significantly alternative provision.

Excluding a pupil or subjecting them to any other detriment.

The school has a clear policy for the exclusion of pupils and this policy ensures no direct or indirect discrimination in this regard. Specific examples of children who have been admitted to Burbage following previous permanent exclusion are available in school via a confidential conversation. The school has a clear and up to date behaviour policy which also ensures no direct or indirect discrimination.

Information to show how the school is complying with the Equality Duty is published on the school website and updated at least annually (in the form of the contents of this page).

The school prepares and publishes one or more specific and measurable equality objectives at least every four years. This is completed via the school improvement plan which is written and updated using a three-year format.

Current examples of specific and measurable equality objectives in the school improvement plan are:

To ensure children entitled to Pupil Premium funding make at least comparable progress to all other children across the curriculum.

and

To ensure children identified as having additional needs (those on the SEND register) make at least good progress based on their individual targets

Burbage School is a larger than average primary school with 350 children currently on role.

The children are organised into fourteen classes: 2 classes in each year group.
15% of the current pupils are classed as ‘disadvantaged’.
The proportion of children on the SEN register is lower than national averages (14.9%): a number which has increased significantly in recent years.
Our catchment covers the area of Burbage in Buxton. The population of the catchment is approximately 2,500. Several children travel to school from beyond the catchment.
The school works closely alongside and within the community. The number of children on role has fluctuated in recent years between 324 and 353. This is partly due to demography but there has also been an increase in pupil numbers due to the good reputation of the school.
Attainment on entry is in line with national averages (EYFS baseline assessment).
There are several playgroups that operate within our catchment and an after-school clubs which are run off the school site (‘Playdays’ being the main provider). The school runs its own breakfast club. The majority of children move to Buxton Community School for their secondary education.
The headteacher has been in post since September 2015.
The school has The Derbyshire Healthy School Communities Award, ECO schools Silver award, the foundation award for International Schools, the Gold award for School Sport, is a Peak District Ambassador school and has the silver Artsmark award.

How we are performing in relation to the aims of the equality duty:

The attainment of children at the end of Key Stage 2 is above national outcomes. Any gaps in attainment and progress are being narrowed and there is evidence of this in school. Currently, there is a gap between the attainment and progress of ‘disadvantaged’ children in some areas of the curriculum and in some cohorts, in line with the national trend. However, evidence available in school indicates that this gap is closing.

At the end of KS1 (2024), and at the end of KS2 (2024), there was no specific pattern of differences in attainment between girls and boys.

There is no significant difference between the attendance of girls and boys although the attendance of the ‘disadvantaged’ group and those on the SEN register is lower than all children. Since the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, attendance levels have dropped slightly and the school is taking action to address this.

Participation in school activities:

All children have the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular club/intra/inter school competition.
High levels of attendance across the school and low levels of pupil/persistent absence (above national) 96.7% overall (Nov 2024).
Detailed records of sports provision and achievement are available in school on our notice board and on our sports premium impact report, as well as social media channels, local press and newsletters.

During the academic year 2023-24, there was one confirmed case of bullying and one confirmed case during the academic year 2022-23.

The school curriculum aims to improve knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable pupils to appreciate and value difference and diversity, for example increasing understanding between pupils from different faith communities. Examples of work and this aim are available in school via our PSHE evidence and anti-bullying lead, Catherine Oliver.