Bushey Primary Education Federation - Equality Statement

At Bushey Primary Education Federation, 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 any of the following protected characteristics in the Equality Act (2010): 

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

Bushey & Oxhey Infant School and Bushey Manor Junior School aim to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development, with special emphasis on promoting equality, diversity and eradicating prejudicial incidents for pupils and staff. Our school is committed to not only eliminating discrimination, but also increasing understanding and appreciation for diversity and to ensure ALL in our school community feel fully represented and valued.  

It is our belief that a greater level of success from our children and staff can be achieved by realising the uniqueness of individuals. Creating a prejudice-free environment where individuals feel confident and at ease is a commitment of the school. This environment will be achieved 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 balanced and fair curriculum.  We believe that our children should be exposed to ideas and concepts that may challenge their understanding to help ensure that our children (and families) learn to become more accepting and inclusive of others.  Challenging any controversial concepts will be delivered in a way that prevents discrimination, and instead promotes inclusive attitudes.  We will also respect the right of parents to withdraw their children from classes which pose conflicts to their own beliefs but reserve the right to respectfully debate and discuss the reasons behind the choice to withdraw a child from the learning.  

Bushey Primary Education Federation does not tolerate any form of prejudice-related incident.  Whether direct or indirect, we treat discrimination against all members of our school with the utmost severity.  We actively teach anti-racism, and inform parents and governors when an incident occurs that references a child/person's race. Our schools are committed to ensuring appropriate action is taken, and a resolution is put into place which is both fair, clear and supports both the victim and the perpetrator. 

At our Bushey Primary Education Federation Schools, our pupils 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 Federation employees will not: 

• Discriminate against any member of the school
• Treat other members of the school unfairly
• Post or ‘like’ any demeaning commentary on social media 

Our Federation employees will: 

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

Bushey Primary Education Federation does not discriminate against staff with regards to any of the protected characteristics. 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 will the school’s various policies relating to equality and equity and advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. Furthermore, our practices serve to foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

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

Prejudice is not tolerated in either of our schools and we are continuously working towards a more accepting and respectful environment for our school communities. However, our mission is to teach and educate children who make statements or comments that might be viewed as prejudicial, discriminatory or racist and support them to learn from their mistakes, rather than default to a punitive system of punishment which is of no benefit to anyone.  We do this alongside parents, and in a spirit of teaching rather than anger or judgment. 

The school’s Equal Opportunities Policy and Accessibility Policy further outline the school’s policies regarding equality. 

Reviewed by Governors December 2023 

Please click on this link below to see our Anti-Racism Statement and learn more about our approach to dealing with Racism in our schools: