Public Sector Equality Duty

Public sector equality duty

(1)A public authority must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the need to—

(a)eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act;

(b)advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;

(c)foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

(2)A person who is not a public authority but who exercises public functions must, in the exercise of those functions, have due regard to the matters mentioned in subsection (1).

(3)Having due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to—

(a)remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are connected to that characteristic;

(b)take steps to meet the needs of persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are different from the needs of persons who do not share it;

(c)encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low.

(4)The steps involved in meeting the needs of disabled persons that are different from the needs of persons who are not disabled include, in particular, steps to take account of disabled persons' disabilities.

(5)Having due regard to the need to foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to—

(a)tackle prejudice, and

(b)promote understanding.

(6)Compliance with the duties in this section may involve treating some persons more favourably than others; but that is not to be taken as permitting conduct that would otherwise be prohibited by or under this Act.

(7)The relevant protected characteristics are—

• age;

• disability;

• gender reassignment;

• pregnancy and maternity;

• race;

• religion or belief;

• sex;

• sexual orientation.

(8)A reference to conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act includes a reference to—

(a)a breach of an equality clause or rule;

(b)a breach of a non-discrimination rule.

(9)Schedule 18 (exceptions) has effect.

Equality objectives and plan

As a school, we are required to publish equality information every year. We must report on at least 1 equality objective once every 4 years – we’ve chosen December 2025 to be our deadline for this.

Objective 1

To ensure that classrooms reflect the diversity of the school community and beyond.

We have chosen this objective because many of the children at school make direct reference to pictures and to photographs and it is important that these represent the pupils who are using them. We want staff to feel confident to recognise unconscious biases and tackle them and make classrooms feel and look welcoming to all.

We plan to audit our classroom and rate the resources available and support staff to address inequalities.

Actions: Training around anti-racist classrooms; Audit of classroom environment; Training around protected characteristics; Review of literature used across the school; curriculum review of opportunities to celebrate diversity.

Progress measures: Classrooms visibly reflect diversity and shown through audits, learning walks and observations, equality impact reviews completed for aspects of the curriculum, environment and curriculum promote diversity.

Objective 2

Staff will know how to promote equality across school.

We have chosen this objective to make sure that our staff are confident and well-trained, in order to meet the equality objectives.  

Actions: Training around unconscious biases; training sessions around tackling inappropriate comments and behaviours; support and guidance explicitly given to tackle behaviours and comments and promote an anti-discriminatory school culture; staff contribute to policies across the school; external support for the school around anti-racist schools

Progress measures: Staff feel better equipped to tackle biases; staff have strategies to tackle prejudice and know what they are; staff active in promoting equality across the school environment; staff speak openly and explicitly around protected characteristics; training evaluation demonstrates that staff feel better equipped and knowledgeable

Objective 3

Ensure there are no gaps in attainment between pupils who share a protected characteristic and pupils who do not share it.

We have chosen this objective to ensure that we are actively looking to promote equality of opportunity for our pupils and that a hidden curriculum or bias is not impacting on the overall attainment of children at Archdale School.

Actions: termly and annual pupil data analysis, pupil progress reporting to Governors includes explicit recognition of those with a protected characteristic

Progress measures: data will show equality of opportunity for pupils and any issues will be addressed.

Objective 4

Train all members of staff and governors involved in recruitment and selection on equal opportunities and non-discrimination by the beginning of the September 2026. Training evaluation data will show that 100% of those attending have a good understanding of the legal requirements.

We have chosen this objective so that we are confident that everyone involved in recruitment understands the complexities and issues around equality and diversity and as a school we promote non-discrimination with an aim to have a broader representation of staff within school.

Actions: Governors and all staff involved in recruitment and administration to complete relevant training, data gathered around recruitment and retention

Progress measures:

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