At Co-op Academy Southfield we are committed to promoting equality and diversity and preventing discrimination. We aim to provide an inclusive environment for all where individuals are able to develop to their full potential. It is a priority within the academy that all stakeholders are able to engage in the full academy offer and differentiation and the removal of barriers promotes this for all. Importance is given to not only eliminating discrimination but also promoting and increasing understanding and appreciation for diversity within the academy and the wider community.

We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010. The school’s general duties, with regards to equality are:

Eliminating discrimination
Fostering good relationships
Advancing equality of opportunity.

We will not discriminate against, harass or victimise any pupil, prospective pupil, or other member of the school community because of their:

Sex
Age
Race
Disability and long term medical conditions
Religion or belief
Sexual orientation
Gender reassignment
Pregnancy or maternity
Marriage and civil partnership

We aim to promote students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, with special emphasis on promoting equality and diversity, and eradicating prejudicial incidents for students and staff. Our school is committed to not only eliminating discrimination, but also increasing understanding and appreciation for diversity.

Aims to eradicate discrimination

We believe that a greater level of success from students and staff can be achieved by realising the uniqueness of individuals. We are committed to creating a prejudice-free environment where individuals feel confident and at ease by:

Being respectful
Always treating all members of the school community fairly
Developing an understanding of diversity and the benefits it can have
Adopting an inclusive attitude
Adopting an inclusive curriculum that is accessible to all
Encouraging compassion and open-mindedness.

We are committed to having a fair and balanced curriculum. We believe that our students should be exposed to ideas and concepts that may challenge their understanding, to help ensure that they learn to become more accepting and inclusive of others. Challenging and controversial concepts will be delivered in a way that prevents discrimination and promotes inclusive attitudes. We will also respect the right of parents to withdraw their children from certain classes which pose conflicts to their own beliefs, where such withdrawal is legally permitted.

Dealing with prejudice

We do not tolerate any form of prejudice-related incident. If an incident occurs, we are devoted to ensuring action is taken and a resolution is put into place which is both firm, fair, appropriate and proportionate.

Our students are taught to be:

Understanding of others
Celebratory of cultural diversity
Eager to reach their full potential
Inclusive
Aware of what constitutes discriminatory behaviour

Our employees will not:

Discriminate against any member of the school community
Treat other members of the school community unfairly

Our employees will:

Promote diversity and equality
Encourage and adopt an inclusive attitude
Lead by example

Equality and dignity in the workplace

We do not discriminate against staff with regards to their:

Age
Disability (including long term medical conditions)
Gender reassignment
Marital or civil partner status
Pregnancy or maternity
Race
Religion or belief
Sex
Sexual orientation

Equality of opportunity and non-discrimination extends to the treatment of all members of the school community. All staff members are obliged to act in accordance with the school’s policies relating to equality.

We will guarantee that no redundancy is the result of direct or indirect prejudice. All disciplinary procedures are non-prejudicial, whether they result in warnings, dismissal, or any other disciplinary action.

Prejudice is not tolerated and we are continuously working to maintain and grow an accepting and respectful environment for our school community.

The school participates in an annual consultation with staff and parents through the ‘Your Voice’ survey, conducted on behalf of the school by the Trust. This is a good opportunity for interested parties in consulting with and taking the views of the community we serve.

The Co-op Academies Trust circulates regular ‘Pulse’ surveys of staff on current matters and significant findings are reported back to the leadership teams of the academies within the Trust where applicable.

Parents and carers are asked to complete a feedback form at the time of their student’s Annual Review of their Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP).

This document should be read in conjunction with the Co-op Academies Trust Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Policy 2015 (as reviewed) and Dignity at Work Policy and the current Co-op Academy Southfield Accessibility Policy and Plan.

Equality Objectives Action Plan 2024-2025

Total Communication approach - short term

Identified concern:	All pupils have a voice and are able to contribute to the development of the school. *this is a continuation of the Medium term objective for 2023-2024
Objective:	To ensure that staff and pupils are provided with the opportunities to have their say
Aim:	Staff are appropriately trained and school is appropriately resourced to enable all students to communicate
Action:	Training related to the implementation of the Total Communication approach is undertaken by appropriate staff; e.g. the use of AAC devices
Responsibility:	Head of School, SLT and Pastoral Team
Timescales:	By end of academic year 24-25
Review:	Head of School

Diversity tracking - medium term

Identified concern:	Use the EDI data collected from applicants and existing colleagues to analyse career progression and CPLD opportunities.
Objective:	Ensure we make the best use of the EDI data we have to enable us to track career progression opportunities
Aim:	Ensure that we have a fair and inclusive approach to CPLD and progression for all colleagues
Action:	Develop CPLD strategy to promote good EDI practices
Responsibility:	Head of School
Timescales:	By end of academic year 25-26
Success criteria:	We will have qualitative EDI data which will demonstrate fairness in our processes over time
Review:	Head of School

EHCP Quality - long term

Identified concern:	Top-up funding is not always adequate to meet identified support needs in EHC Plans.
Objective:	Work with a range of professionals to effectively monitor and QA both in school and external provision for meeting student EHCP outcomes.
Aim:	Ensure that student need is being met; and any gaps in meeting EHCP outcomes that are due to student top-up funding levels are addressed.
Action:	QA process to ensure that students with specific identified support on their EHCP are receiving this support That any discrepancies are investigated and processes followed to rectify any funding deficit by the LA.
Responsibility:	Head of School, Senior DHT & SENDCo
Timescales:	Academic year 2026-27
Success criteria:	Identified students will receive additional funding and access to the identified support consistently as a result of this.
Review:	Monthly - Senior DHT & SENDCo

Outcomes from the Equality Objectives Action Plan 2023-2024

Short term

Identified concern:	Access to appropriate educational provision for all students
Objective:	Increase capacity in Southfield to create an additional 50 places.
Aim:	To increase the school PAN so that we can offer more places to those that need the most specialist provision
Action:	convert space within the building to increase classroom capacity (5 additional classrooms) Increase staffing across the year to accommodate 5 extra class groups Increase other resources; including care and pastoral resources, to meet the increased needs
Outcome:	The additional classroom space was completed and additional Year 7 students admitted. Overall, the requirement was for 2 new teachers and associated support staff, which was met by the end of the academic year 23-24. The number on roll is currently 352, with further consultations coming through from the local authority for in-year transfers. It is anticipated we will reach 360 students by January 2025.

Medium term

Identified concern:	All staff and pupils have a voice and are able to contribute to the development of the school
Objective:	To ensure that staff and pupils are provided with the opportunities to have their say
Aim:	All students will have the appropriate communication tools to share their views and all staff and students will be provided a range of formal opportunities to have their say
Action:	Staff are appropriately trained and school is appropriately resourced to enable all students to communicate The student council will be representative of the school community and will include students who need AAC tools/devices to share views staff will have forums to provide feedback to SLT and support decision-making
Outcome:	During the 2023-2024 academic year, the student council was restarted, with representative students and opportunities to give feedback to SLT. External to the academy, leaders are participating in a Trust working party to look at the accessibility of the Trust’s Annual Survey to students with special needs. Staff voice and consultations were implemented in regard to the curriculum; class group planning and CPD.

Long term

Identified concern:	The Academy does not collect EDI data for us to analyse and identify strengths or areas for development
Objective:	Ensure we have EDI data to enable us to track career progression opportunities
Aim:	Ensure that we have a fair and inclusive approach to CPLD and progression for all colleagues
Action:	Liaise with Trust and Academy HR to have a system for tracking EDI data Explore support regarding EDI from within the Trust Develop CPLD strategy to promote EDI practices
Outcome:	We have retrospectively gathered EDI data from colleagues to enable progress to be made on this objective. This objective will continue in our 2024-25 plan. Applicant EDI data is now collected for analysis, using the TES application route for all roles per the Trust.

Equality Objectives Statement and Action Plan 2024-2025