Protected Characteristics
At Reach we take every possible opportunity to include, engage and celebrate, promoting equality and diversity in our ever changing world. Our school ethos and values promote and support pupils and visitors to school to feel welcomed and respected. We teach the pupils to be respectful and inclusive in the outside world and community and provide them with the knowledge and understanding to support them in later life.
The Equality Act of 2010 requires us to publish information that demonstrates that we have due regard for the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010. As a school we pride ourselves in being able to:
Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
Consult with a wide variety of stakeholders regarding the decisions that we make to promote equality and eliminate discrimination; including families, pupils, staff and members of the local community.
We understand the principle of the Act and the work needed to ensure that those with protected characteristics are not discriminated against and are given equality of opportunity. We also actively promote Character Education across the curriculum and in every aspect of school life.
A protected characteristic under the act covers the groups listed below:
age
disability
race
gender
gender reassignment
maternity and pregnancy
religion and belief
sexual orientation
Marriage and Civil Partnership
The protected characteristics are weaved through our PSHE curriculum and the everyday structure and ethos within school. They also link to our work on British Values.
We believe that the Equality Act provides a framework to support our commitment to valuing diversity, tackling discrimination, promoting equality and fostering good relationships between people. It also ensures that we continue to tackle issues of disadvantage and underachievement of different groups.