Equalities policy guide: Creating an equalities policy
Clear direction
Your equalities policy should have clear intentions. It should include:
- your commitment to meeting legal and regulatory requirements (for example, UNCRC)
- a clear connection to the ethos and values of your school or setting
- focus areas that are identified in the learner survey and learner conversations
This statement of intent may vary from setting to setting depending on the topic.
Clear guidance
Your equalities policy should provide practical guidance. This should include actions around how the setting will promote equalities.
Clear timeline
Your policy should include a review date and evidence of ongoing learner engagement. For example, this policy will be reviewed regularly by our Equalities Champions, a diverse group of learners from different year groups.
Clear communication
A communication strategy that considers accessibility requirements. For example, ensuring that your policy is available in formats that all learners can understand and engage with.
It may also specify how it will be communicated (via social media, assemblies, using a British Sign Language translator and in emails or letters to parents/carers), and information on how learners, parents and carers can feed back on it.
Establish an equality forum
For your initial meeting, consider if there is a shared understanding of:
- the setting ethos and values
- what is meant by equalities
- children’s rights and the The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
- shared and intersectional identities
The meeting should be led by learners. This may be more senior learners initially, but structures should be put in place to build the confidence of younger learners to lead.
Recruit volunteers
Consider how to recruit new volunteers to be involved in your Equality Forum. You may recruit through assemblies, PSE classes, and existing equalities groups in the school/setting. Be mindful that when asking for volunteers for projects in the school/setting, you may get the same learners putting themselves forward.
Consider other approaches to engage learners who are otherwise often excluded from volunteer or extra-curricular activities, but whose perspectives are essential to this work. You can examine the policy case study from Knightsridge primary who used a more targeted approach for recruitment.
Call to action
This may be for learners, colleagues and partners. This can be shared at school assemblies and during personal and social education (PSE) Lessons.
