The Equality Act came into force in 2010 to protect everyone, including children and young people, from discrimination and to advance equality and opportunity for all. It protects people against discrimination, harassment and victimisation in relation to housing, education, the provision of services, work and other areas of public life. It prohibits discrimination based on the following characteristics, usually referred to as ‘protected characteristics’:
Under Section 149 of the Act, schools have a duty to take active steps to eliminate discrimination and to take positive actions to promote equality.
Our school provides a safe and secure environment which nurtures every individual. Everyone is highly valued and treated with respect for their unique contribution to our school community and family. We aim to foster a lifelong love of learning and equip everyone with the confidence and skills for an ever changing world.
We actively promote the protected characteristics in our curriculum and work to embed them into our ethos, striving to ensure:
Teaching and learning about protected characteristics is fully integrated into our PSHE curriculum, through age-appropriate content across the Jigsaw curriculum.
However, some protected characteristics benefit from the in-depth coverage that will give children time to explore the knowledge and attitudes that will help them develop an appreciation of them.
Lessons provide this greater depth to the relevant protected characteristics, but it's important to understand that teaching and learning about them threads through the vast majority of our Jigsaw lessons.