Equality Objectives
Equality information and objectives
Gumley House School is a welcoming place for pupils and members of staff from all faiths and none. More than a quarter of a million pupils and almost half of teachers in Catholic schools are not of the Catholic Faith.
As part of the Church’s historic agreement with the Government, Catholic schools (such as Gumley House) are allowed to prioritise Catholics in their admissions codes and also reserve specific teaching roles for practising Catholics.
Guidance on the Equality Act and the Equality duties for schools in England and Wales can be found here.
Our school Mission Statement proclaims how, at Gumley House Convent School:
- each person’s worth is recognised;
- each person’s contribution is valued;
- no one benefits at the expense of another;
- the school group looks outward to the wider community.
Through this mission statement the school promotes the individuality of all members of our community.
Our mission is to provide an outstanding Catholic education for all the children in our school. We will follow the example and teachings of Christ and everything we do will be inspired by Gospel values. We will strive for excellence in all areas of our work and cherish every child in our care.
As a Catholic school we are totally committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect. The Equality Act 2010 prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation of people on the grounds of protected characteristics – disability, gender, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation and age.
The Equality Act 2010 requires us to have due regard to the need to:
Eliminate unlawful discrimination
Advance equality of opportunity
Foster good relations between people from different equality groups
This is called the Public Sector Equality Duty and its purpose is to promote equality for all. In brief, this means that we must consciously think about these three aims as part of our decision making processes and pay due regard to equality issues within all our key policies, planning and performance management.
We will ensure that every pupil irrespective of race, disability, gender, religion and belief or sexual orientation is able to achieve high standards and that strategies are in place to tackle under-achievement. Please refer to our Policies Page for further information.
We will ensure that every pupil has access to the necessary teaching and support required to enable them to achieve their highest potential. We will ensure that the school’s procedures for disciplining pupils and managing behaviour are fair, effective and equitable (see our Behaviour Policy for further information).
Where appropriate, we will ensure that adults working or volunteering in the school are from diverse groups. We believe that this provides good role models for our students.
(Updated January 2023)