Every child belongs
At North Mead, equality means making sure every child can belong, participate and succeed.
We are committed to creating a school where difference is understood and respected, barriers are identified and removed, and every child is given the opportunity to achieve and take part fully in school life.
Our approach to equality is closely connected to our wider work on:
- inclusion
- SEND
- safeguarding
- attendance
- curriculum
- personal development
- behaviour and relationships
- pastoral support
- enrichment
Every Child. Every Lesson. Every Day.
Our legal duty
North Mead has responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty.
In carrying out our functions, we must have due regard to the need to:
- eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act
- advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
- foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
Schools must publish information showing how they meet this duty and update it at least annually. They must also publish one or more specific and measurable equality objectives and review these at least every four years.
Protected characteristics
The Equality Act protects people from discrimination relating to protected characteristics.
These are:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
The way some provisions apply to schools differs depending on the characteristic and context, but these characteristics underpin our wider commitment to equality and non-discrimination.
Equality at North Mead
Equality is not a separate initiative.
It is reflected in the way we:
- teach
- adapt provision
- design our curriculum
- identify SEND
- support attendance
- respond to bullying or discrimination
- provide pastoral support
- plan trips and enrichment
- communicate with families
- listen to pupil voice
- make decisions about school life
Our aim is to understand where barriers or disparities exist and take appropriate action.
Advancing equality of opportunity
Treating every child fairly does not always mean treating every child in exactly the same way.
Some pupils need additional provision or reasonable adjustments in order to participate and succeed.
This may include:
- adaptive teaching
- SEND provision
- communication support
- reasonable adjustments
- pastoral support
- attendance intervention
- targeted academic support
- additional transition
- accessible resources
- adapted physical activities
- support to access trips and enrichment
We aim to remove or reduce disadvantage without lowering expectations.
SEND and disability
Disabled pupils and pupils with SEND are entitled to ambitious learning and full participation in school life.
Our graduated response provides increasing levels of support through:
- Universal provision
- Targeted provision
- Targeted Plus provision
- Specialist provision
We make reasonable adjustments where needed and consider accessibility in relation to:
- curriculum
- communication
- physical access
- sensory needs
- teaching resources
- routines
- trips
- enrichment
- wider school participation
Our principle is: additional need should not unnecessarily mean reduced opportunity.
For more information, visit SEND, Inclusion and our Accessibility Plan.
Race, culture and language
North Mead is a diverse school community.
We want children to feel that their languages, cultures, histories and backgrounds are understood and respected.
Our work includes:
- diverse curriculum content
- accurate representation
- challenging racism
- teaching about prejudice and discrimination
- bilingual support for families where needed
- developing respectful discussion
- ensuring pupils encounter a broad range of people, histories and perspectives
Racist language and discriminatory behaviour are taken seriously and addressed.
Religion and belief
Children learn about religious and non-religious worldviews through Religious Education and the wider curriculum.
We want pupils to:
- understand different beliefs
- recognise diversity within traditions
- ask questions respectfully
- challenge stereotypes
- understand the importance of religion and belief in people’s lives
- respect those whose views differ from their own
Leicester’s diversity provides a particularly rich context for this work.
Sex and gender equality
We want girls and boys to experience the same high expectations and breadth of opportunity.
We challenge stereotypes that suggest particular:
- subjects
- careers
- activities
- behaviours
- interests
- leadership opportunities
- are only suitable for one sex.
Children are encouraged to make choices based on their interests, strengths and aspirations rather than stereotypes.
Families and relationships
Children learn that families can look different.
Through age-appropriate teaching, we promote respect for:
- different family structures
- different experiences
- different backgrounds
- people with protected characteristics
No child should experience discrimination because of their family.
Challenging discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour is not accepted at North Mead.
This includes prejudice or discrimination connected to:
- race
- disability
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
- gender reassignment
- family background
- other protected characteristics
Where incidents occur, we respond appropriately through our behaviour, safeguarding and pastoral systems.
We aim not only to stop harmful behaviour, but also to help children understand:
- why it is harmful
- its impact on others
- how stereotypes and prejudice develop
- how to behave differently
- how relationships can be repaired appropriately
Bullying and prejudice-related incidents
Bullying, including prejudice-related bullying, is taken seriously.
Children are taught to:
- recognise bullying
- report concerns
- challenge prejudice appropriately
- support others
- seek adult help
Incidents are recorded and reviewed so that patterns can be identified and appropriate action taken.
Equality through the curriculum
Our curriculum provides important opportunities to advance equality and foster good relations.
Children encounter:
- diverse authors
- scientists from different backgrounds
- women and men who have shaped history
- migration
- Black history
- empire and colonialism
- different cultures and communities
- religious and non-religious worldviews
- disability
- different families
- equality and protected characteristics
This is not confined to a single week or celebration.
We want representation and equality to be part of the curriculum children experience throughout their time at North Mead.
PSHCE, DR TIMP and personal development
Equality is reinforced through PSHCE and our wider personal development curriculum.
Our DR TIMP framework helps children understand:
- D – Democracy
- R – Rule of Law
- T – Tolerance
- I – Individual Liberty
- M – Mutual Respect
- P – Protected Characteristics
Children learn what these principles mean and what they look like in everyday life.
Equal access to enrichment
We believe opportunity should never depend on a family’s ability to pay.
Trips, visits and curriculum enrichment are provided free of charge.
We also consider barriers that may affect participation because of:
- SEND
- disability
- family circumstances
- disadvantage
- communication
- confidence
- medical need
Adjustments are made where appropriate so that pupils can participate successfully.
Equality and attendance
We monitor attendance carefully and recognise that some groups may experience additional barriers.
Where this happens, we consider:
- SEND
- disability
- health
- anxiety
- family circumstances
- communication
- cultural or practical barriers
Support is personalised while maintaining ambitious expectations for attendance.
Recruitment and employment
Equality also applies to adults working at North Mead.
The Trust and school seek to ensure employment practices are fair and that staff are not unlawfully discriminated against.
This includes processes relating to:
- recruitment
- selection
- professional development
- employment
- reasonable adjustments
Relevant Trust policies provide further detail.
Accessibility
Our Accessibility Plan sets out how we work to improve access for disabled pupils over time.
This includes considering:
- access to the curriculum
- access to information
- the physical environment
Accessibility is reviewed alongside SEND and wider school improvement.
Understanding our school community
We use available information to understand whether particular groups experience differences in:
- attainment
- progress
- attendance
- persistent absence
- behaviour
- participation
- SEND provision
- enrichment
- wider opportunities
Data is considered carefully and proportionately.
We avoid publishing information that could identify individual children or very small groups.
The purpose is to identify meaningful patterns and take action where needed.
How we demonstrate the Public Sector Equality Duty
We demonstrate our commitment through areas including:
| Eliminating discrimination | Advancing equality of opportunity | Fostering good relations |
We:
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We:
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We:
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Our Equality Objectives 2026–2030
Reviewing our objectives
Equality objectives will be reviewed through school improvement and governance arrangements.
We will consider:
- progress towards each objective
- relevant data
- pupil voice
- family feedback
- staff evaluation
- incidents and patterns
- curriculum monitoring
- participation
- whether priorities need to change
We will publish updated information on our compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty each year and review our equality objectives within the statutory four-year period.
What success looks like
Our work on equality is successful when:
- pupils feel that they belong
- children with SEND participate fully
- disadvantage creates fewer barriers
- pupils understand and respect difference
- discriminatory behaviour is challenged
- all groups can access ambitious learning
- pupils participate equitably in wider opportunities
- reasonable adjustments enable success
- children understand protected characteristics
- pupils are prepared to participate positively in a diverse society
Most importantly, we want children to understand that everyone has equal worth, difference should be respected and nobody should be prevented from succeeding because of who they are.
Our commitment
Equality at North Mead is not simply about meeting a legal duty. It reflects the kind of school we want to be ambitious, inclusive, respectful and fair.
Belong. Participate. Succeed.
Every Child. Every Lesson. Every Day.
Link to the Equality Statement and Objectives
Related North Mead Pages
- Inclusion
- SEND
- Accessibility Plan
- Personal Development
- PSHCE
Together We Make A Positive Difference