Equality Statement
Adelaide School is a BESD special school with 87 students on roll. The school serves students from all over Cheshire and beyond. All students have a statement of BESD but many also have secondary special educational needs such as Autism, ADHD, Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and Dyslexia. All pupils have an Education and Health Care Plan.
Approximately 54% of students are entitled to FSM and 5.7% are Children in Care and 9.2% have been previously looked after. 65.5% are classed as disadvantaged children and are pupil premium. 100% of year 7 children this year (2020-21) were entitled to catch-up funding as they entered the school with below national attainment in core subjects. 96.6% of the school are of White British Heritage with 3.4% being from different Ethnic groups.
At Adelaide School we are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers receiving services from the school, irrespective of race, gender, disability, faith or religion or socio-economic background. We aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity in which all those connected to the school feel proud of their identity and able to participate fully in school life.
The achievement of pupils will be monitored by race, gender and disability and we will use this data to support pupils, raise standards and ensure inclusive teaching. We will tackle discrimination by the positive promotion of equality, challenging bullying and stereotypes and creating an environment which champions respect for all. We believe that diversity is a strength, which should be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit here.
We do this by:
- Treating all those within the school community (e.g. pupils, staff, governors, parents and the community) as individuals with their own particular abilities, beliefs, challenges, attitudes, background and experience.
- Creating and maintaining a school ethos which promotes equality, develops understanding and challenges myths, stereotypes, misconceptions and prejudices.
- Encouraging everyone in our school community to develop a positive self-image and high self-esteem by forging positive relationships.
- Having high expectations for everyone involved with the whole school community.
- Promoting mutual respect and valuing each other’s similarities and differences and facing equalities issues openly and honestly.
- Monitoring and reviewing all the above to secure continuous improvement in all we do.
- Ensuring all elements of the school curriculum supports the Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural development of children and therefore encourages them to respect and value difference and diversity.
Our Equality Objectives are:
- To promote cultural understanding and awareness of different religious beliefs and cultures.
- To monitor and promote the involvement of all groups of students in the extra-curricular life of the school, including leadership opportunities.
- To close gaps in attainment and achievement between students and all groups of students; especially students eligible for free-school meals, students with secondary special educational needs and disabilities, looked after children and students from different heritage groups.
- To further improve accessibility across the school for students, staff and visitors with disabilities, including access to specialist teaching areas.
- To continue to monitor any use of homophobic, sexist and racist language by students in the school and put in place interventions to ensure this is targeted.
