Equalities

  1. Information
  2. Equalities

At the VLC we are committed to providing equality of opportunity for all of our young people and staff.  We welcome our responsibilities under the 2010 Equality Act that extends to the following protected characteristics:

  • Age
  • Sex
  • Race
  • Disability
  • Religion or belief
  • Sexual orientation
  • Gender reassignment
  • Pregnancy or maternity
  • Marriage and civil partnership

We undertake our Public Sector Equality Duties in the following ways:

Eliminating discrimination

We aim to eliminate discrimination by:

  • Implementing key policies, such as the Behaviour and Anti Bullying Policies
  • Staff Code of Conduct outlining expected behaviours of staff in their conduct with each other, students and the wider community
  • Monitoring and tracking of key information, such as attendance and exclusions, to identify any possible trends that require action to ensure particular groups are not discriminated against

Advancing equality of opportunity

As set out in the DfE guidance on the Equality Act, the school aims to advance equality of opportunity by:

  • Removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people which are connected to a particular characteristic they have (e.g. pupils with disabilities, or gay pupils who are being subjected to homophobic bullying)
  • Encouraging students to participate fully in any activities (e.g. School Council)
  • Using Personal Education Plans (PEPs) for children looked after to promote academic attainment and engagement in wider activities

Fostering good relations

The school aims to foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not share it by:

  • Promoting tolerance, friendship and understanding of a range of religions and cultures through different aspects of our curriculum.
  • Holding assemblies dealing with relevant issues.
  • Working with our local community. This includes inviting community groups to come and work with young people.

This work is embedded as part of our whole school ethos in promoting British Values and supporting students’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development.  LINK

Our Equality Objectives are:

  • To develop staff confidence, knowledge and skills in tackling the use of any discriminatory or prejudiced based language
  • To work with parents/carers to overcome any barriers to engagement with school