Equality

We aim to provide the highest possible education for all children at Sherwood Primary School. The ethos of our school clearly reflects our commitment to fully including, respecting and supporting all members of our school community whatever their cultural background, belief, gender, race or disability.

We therefore:

• do our best to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and with respect;  

• make sure the school is a safe, secure and stimulating place for everyone; 

• recognise that people have different needs, and we understand that treating people equally does not always involve treating them all exactly the same;

• recognise that for some pupils extra support is needed to help them to achieve and be successful;

• do our best to make sure that people from different groups are consulted and involved in our decisions, for example through talking with pupils and parents and carers, and through our School Council.

• there are clear procedures for dealing with prejudice-related bullying and incidents

To ensure access for pupils or parents with disabilities, the school has taken steps to improve access to all areas in line with Sherwood Primary School equality, accessibility and inclusion policies.

Lancashire Equality Mark

At Sherwood, we are currently working towards The Lancashire Equality Mark. The Mark is awarded to schools who have taken measures to embed Equality throughout their practice with the goal of enabling all pupils to thrive in a supportive learning community. At Sherwood, we are committed to taking action and developing our work to further develop and consolidate good practice in different areas of Equality. To achieve the Mark, we are working towards a series of Badges that allow us to audit and take action in each of the Equality strands. To date we are pleased to share that we have achieved the Race Equality Badge and the Religion and Belief Equality Badge.

Race Equality Badge - Awarded December 2023 

Lancashire County Council have awarded the Race Equality Badge to Sherwood. The Badge acknowledges our commitment to advancing equality of opportunity for all, fostering positive relationships and eliminating race discrimination at Sherwood.  

Religion and Belief Equality Badge - Awarded January 2023

Lancashire County Council have awarded the Religion and Belief Equality Badge to Sherwood. The Badge acknowledges our commitment to ensuring that all members of our community feel welcome, celebrated and in a position to learn from each-other. This is a real strength of our diverse School community. During accreditation, assessors were 'impressed with the depth and the consideration given to Region and Belief Equality.'

Parents' Forum for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The views of our parents and children are important to us when evaluating provision and planning developments within our school community. All parents and carers are invited to attend our termly forum for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. 

Autumn Term 2024

Parents and pupils attended our forum with the focus of providing our new Persona Dolls with an identity and cultural story. The dolls, introduced into classes during Inter-Faith week 11/11/2024, will be used across all year groups to support the curriculum. This could include exploring the faith or culture of a doll, debating what our doll could do when faced with friendship challenges, celebrating an important occasion with our doll. Personas and stories of these dolls can empower pupils to challenge stereotypes, speaking up for themselves and others. Pupils can develop empathy, self-confidence, a sense of fairness and critical thinking skills as they get to know the dolls. Thank you to everyone who attended the forum.

Spring Term 2024

Our forum had the focus of gender equality this term, and consisted of representatives from our parents, staff and Governing Body. We considered what gender equality means to us and explored the provision at Sherwood. We discussed how our school ethos embraces all, promoting gender equality and challenging gender stereotypes. Our pupils are empowered to challenge inequality and promote a respect for all. We considered the strengths of our PSHE curriculum, range of visitors into school and extra-curricular provision.  Curriculum materials and books are regularly reviewed and evaluated. We discussed our curriculum around healthy relationships and respecting diversity within households.