Equality & Anti-Racism Statement
St Joseph’s Equality Scheme was approved following consultation with parents, staff, governors and other parties. This report covers progress and developments since then.
Vision and Values
St Joseph’s remains fully committed to the School’s Vision and Values as set out in the Equality Scheme.
School Context
There have been no significant changes to the School Context as set out in the Equality Scheme
Training
Governors had an in-house training session on Understanding Assessment Data for Primary Schools. This covered, inter alia, how to analyse data for certain groups of pupils e.g. pupil premium pupils, pupils from ethnic groups and pupils with English as an additional language.
Staff training relevant to the School’s Equality Scheme includes
- Talk for Writing
- Numicon
- Growth Mindset
- New assessment Target Tracker
- New Mathematics Curriculum
- New English Curriculum
- Elklan Speech Therapy
- Working with Children with Sensory Problems
Relevant Policies
All policies are reviewed regularly by Governors and are brought up to date as needed. The Governors rely heavily on the model policies prepared by Hertfordshire County Council.
Tracking Progress
The Governors at their main meetings regularly review both RAISE ONLINE data and the SEF Report. This enables the performance of specific groups of pupils to be tracked and information sought as needed on performance. St Joseph’s is in the 60th to 80th percentile of schools for children from minority ethnic groups and in the 80th to 100th percentile of schools for children whose first language is not, or is believed not to be, English. So this monitoring is essential to ensuring that all pupils make their best progress.
Different Cultures and Faiths
St Joseph’s is a Catholic school and we have children with parents from many countries. We make strong and positive efforts to celebrate the diversity in the school and to raise the awareness of pupils of other religions and cultures.
Activities during the last year or so include
- Other Faiths’ weeks (as part of the RE Curriculum). Pupils learn to respect and appreciate pupils from cultures other than their own and also learn about the faiths of pupils who do not hold the Christian faith.
- Cross-curricular themes ensure children learn about a range of cultures and develop an awareness of other cultures
- Pupils have many opportunities to participate in and develop their learning through sporting, cultural and arts events (Dance festivals, end-of-year performances, mini Olympics)
- A range of themed weeks/days enables all children to demonstrate their skills and learning to a wider audience e.g. Judaism, Diwali. Year 6, for example, celebrated a Passover meal.
- The school is working towards achieving International School Status. Classes are linked with other schools globally.
The full report includes Equality Objectives:
Review of Previous Scheme
Equality Scheme May 2015 Report Final
Equality Objectives Review 2017
Anti-Racism Statement
Schools have a vital role to play in helping to create a more equitable society. Ensuring equality is the first step towards this equitable society. We teach children to love, appreciate and respect differences, to be thoughtful about our behaviour and to be kind to everyone. As a school committed to anti-racism, we provide a full, balanced education with opportunities for children to explore the history and patterns of power imbalances and discrimination, in age-appropriate ways, as well as many opportunities to critically think about their role in society, and how they can contribute to making it a better place as global citizens.
The promotion of human dignity and equality for all is the bedrock of Catholic Social Teaching and our fundamental belief is that we are all made in God’s image.
Bishop’s Message for RJS 2021 – Catholic Bishops’ Conference (cbcew.org.uk)