Diversity and Inclusivity
We are proud to promote diversity and inclusivity in all aspects of our educational community. At St Paul's, we celebrate the uniqueness of each individual and embrace differences in culture, language, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. We believe that diversity enriches our school environment, encourages creativity and critical thinking, and prepares our students for success in a globalized world. Our commitment to inclusivity means that we strive to create a safe and welcoming environment for all students, staff, and families, where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported.
We provide a range of programmes and initiatives that promote diversity awareness, cultural understanding, and social justice, and we are constantly working to improve and enhance our efforts.
We invite you to explore our website and learn more about our commitment to diversity and inclusivity.
At our school, we strive to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all students, regardless of their gender identity or expression. We promote gender fluidity and gender diversity by creating a safe and inclusive environment where all students and staff members feel valued and accepted.
We provide resources and support to students who may be questioning their gender identity or expression, and we work to educate our community about the importance of respecting and embracing gender diversity. We work closely with families to ensure that every student feels seen, heard, and valued.
Our curriculum reflects our commitment to gender diversity, with materials that are inclusive and representative of a range of gender identities. We also provide ongoing training to our staff so that they can better support and advocate for our gender diverse students.
At St Paul's, we believe that by promoting gender fluidity and gender diversity, we are creating a more compassionate and accepting community, where every student can thrive and succeed.
Please check back in Autumn 2023 to see work from our forthcoming awareness day regarding gender diversity.
Our aims
- to promote equality of opportunity and representation between those in our school community who share the protected characteristics and those who do not share the protected characteristics;
- to promote equality of opportunity for those in our school community who are economically disadvantaged and those who may be considered vulnerable.
How does our school fulfill the duty to eliminate discrimination?
We ensure that all staff and Governors have a good knowledge of our Equality Statement and adhere to its tenets. We share our Equalities Statement with families and we review it with parent working parties every year.
We actively promote a whole school ethos of equality and anti-discrimination in our school, through the curriculum, through PSHE, through school assemblies and through our daily interaction with pupils.
We are committed to representing and promoting the understanding of diverse faiths, religions and beliefs.
We are committed to promoting the understanding of diverse family models.
We are committed to deliver a robust relationships education programme which represents people who share protected characteristics and people who do not share protected characteristics and which promotes non-gender bias.
We are committed to developing the equality and diversity of our provision and are in the process of completing whole-school audits of all curriculum subjects to identify areas that could be improved. This has led to the creation of an action plan that has informed the School Development Plan.
Cultural Awareness Day - Amazing Muslims who Changed the World
On our spring term cultural awareness day, we explored themes of:
Celebrating Difference | Diversity Empathy | Identity | Role Models | Goals.
Each year group had a different inspirational person to focus on which were taken from the book ‘Amazing Muslims who Changed the World’ by Burhana Islam.
Thank you so much to the families who donated copies to the school! It was greatly appreciated.
Cultural Awareness Day - Amazing Muslims who Changed the World 2023.pdfPlease take a look at what each year group did throughout the day.
Advancing equality
We have a whole school approach that recognises that all children and members of the school community are different, that children come from a diversity of family backgrounds and have a diversity of experience, need and learning styles.
Through our curriculum, resources and communication, we aim to give all children and members of the school community the opportunity to be represented and to have good outcomes.
One of the ways we aid our work on advancing equality is through 'Awareness Days'. Each term we hold a whole school awareness day where the focus is on a culture that is represented in our school. The past year we have had a whole day celebrating and learning about: Black British History, South Asian British History and Refugees. This is in addition to Black history being taught throughout the curriculum all year round.
Black British History
Black History Month is about celebrating and sharing knowledge; celebrating the contribution Black people have made to freedoms, our culture and our society – from books, music to art. Each year group spent time throughout the month of October celebrating Black history month.
Although Black History Month only happens once a year, the teaching of Black history doesn’t begin and end there. Our curriculum at St Paul’s supports children learning about it all year round as part of our broad & diverse curriculum. We want all pupils to benefit from a high quality and diverse curriculum.
Why teach Black British history?
It is an essential part of our history. The English Heritage describes Black histories as ‘a vital part of England’s story, reaching back many centuries. There is evidence of African people in Roman Britain, and Black communities have been present since at least 1500.’ The stories and experiences of Black people in Britain are inseparable from the history of this country but have often been sidelined. As a school, we want to help children explore the full range of British history.
It has been often omitted from the curriculum. A report by The Black Curriculum, authored by sociologist Dr Jason Arday, states that the national curriculum for history ‘systematically omits the contribution of Black British history in favour of a dominant White, Eurocentric curriculum.’ This is especially visible when looking at secondary education, which shows that only around 11% of GCSE students study modules which refer to Black people’s contribution to Britain. Similarly, one survey of over 50,000 people found that, while 86% had learnt about the Tudors in school, less than 10% had learnt about the role of slavery in the British Industrial Revolution or about the colonisation of Africa.
Black History being taught in St Paul's.pdfIt supports all students. Representation matters, both in our history and in the workforce. The Black Curriculum also states that an inclusive curriculum ‘fosters belonging while forging connectivity’ with all students.
Above is a table of where Black history and representation is currently being taught across the school over the full year. As ever, this is subject to change.
British Values
At our school, we are committed to working with our families and the wider local community to ensure that multi- cultural, multi faith and the ever-changing nature of the United Kingdom is understood and valued. We will teach all children about ‘fundamental British values’ in an age-appropriate way through a broad and balanced curriculum and also through the examples set by all members of staff. The British Values are: Democracy, The Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect, Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Additional documents and links
The Black Curriculum Report 2021: Black British History in the National Curriculum