Equalities Statement
The Olympus Academy Trust and Patchway Community School are strongly committed to equality, inclusion and promoting and celebrating diversity in all aspects of our work.
We value the different contributions and experiences of all who make up our community. The Trust’s values of collaboration, excellence and opportunity and our school values of respect, responsibility, collaboration, innovation, excellence and resilience underpin everything we do.
Equalities legislation
As a public body the Olympus Academy Trust complies with The Equality Act (2010), which protects individuals against direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the basis of nine protected characteristics. The nine protected characteristics are:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment– including people who have proposed, started or completed a process to change their sex but who are not under medical supervision
- Marriage/civil partnership– not including those who are not married/in a civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity– defined as all stages of pregnancy and the 26 week period following the birth of a child
- Race– including caste, nationality, ethnicity and skin colour
- Religion or belief– including atheism or agnosticism
- Sex– a man or a woman
- Sexual orientation
The Equality Act (2010) consolidates and replaces all previous equalities legislation such as the Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act.
The Public Sector Equality Duty places additional duties on public sector organisations such as multi-academy trusts. The duties include working proactively to eliminate discrimination on the basis of the nine protected characteristics. The duties also require public bodies to have due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other prohibited conduct under the Equality Act (2010)
- Advance equality of opportunity between people of different groups
- Foster good relations between people from different groups.
What this means for Olympus Academy Trust & Patchway Community School
The Trust has worked alongside the school to set Equality Objectives to support our compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty. Our Equality Objectives help focus attention on our priority equality issues in order to deliver improvements in the delivery of high quality education, policy making and employment.
Our policies are designed to promote and ensure equality for all pupils and staff, and are underpinned by our overarching Equality and Diversity Policy. Staff benefits such as leave entitlements; support for parents and carers; career development opportunities and flexible working provisions are open to all staff irrespective of age, disability, gender, gender identity, marriage/civil partnership status, race, religion/belief or sexual orientation.
Our schools are committed to supporting and promoting inclusion for pupils. A key aim of the Trust and each of its schools is to help all pupils, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, to achieve their very best and become successful, well rounded individuals.
Our Equality Objectives Are:
- To use performance data to monitor student achievement and respond to variations between groups of learners, subjects, courses and key stages, trends over time and comparisons with other schools.
- To improve the progress and attainment of disadvantaged students, and of SEND students.
- To improve attendance and promote mental health and wellbeing in children with protected characteristics.
- To further develop, promote and celebrate the work of diversity initiatives, anti-bullying awareness, and the student body within school, and to support their engagement with the wider community.
- To develop understanding and promote good relations between different groups within school through assemblies, Jigsaw (PSHE), religious studies and citizenship within our Curious Curriculum themes.
- To further improve accessibility across the school for students, staff and visitors with disabilities, including access to specialist teaching areas.
