Statement of intent

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Our pre-school is committed to providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children and families.

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The Equalities Coordinator is: Cindy Coppen

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Aim:

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We aim to:

• Provide a secure environment in which all our children can flourish and in which all contributions are valued;

• Include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and diversity;

• Provide non-stereotyping information about different ethnic groups and people with disabilities;

• Improve our knowledge and understanding of issues of equality and diversity;

• Make inclusion a thread which runs through all of the activities of pre-school.

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The legal framework for this policy is:

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Race Relations Act 1976;

• The Equality Act 2010

• Sex Discrimination Act 1986;

• Children act 1989 and 2004;

• Special Education Needs and Disability Act 2001

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Methods

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Admissions

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Our pre-school is open to all members of the community.

• We advertise our service widely.

• We reflect the diversity of members of our society in our publicity and promotional materials.

• We provide information in clear, concise language, whether in spoken or written form.

• We base our admissions policy on a fair system.

• We do not discriminate against a child with a disability or refuse a child entry to our pre-school because of any disability.

• We ensure that all parents are made aware of our equal opportunities policy.

• We develop an action plan to ensure that people with disabilities can participate successfully in the services offered by the pre-school and in the curriculum offered.

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Employment

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• Posts are advertised and all applicants are judged against explicit subject criteria.

• The applicant who best meets the criteria is offered the post, subject to references and checks by the Criminal Records Bureau.

• This ensures fairness in the selection process. All job descriptions include a commitment to equality and diversity as part of their specifications.

• We monitor our application process to ensure that it is fair and accessible.

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Training

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• We seek out training opportunities for staff and volunteers to enable them to develop practices which enable all children to flourish.

• We review our practices to ensure that we are fully implementing our policy for equality and diversity.

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Curriculum

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The curriculum offered in the pre-school encourages children to develop positive attitudes to people who are different from themselves. It encourages children to empathise with others and to begin to develop the skills of critical thinking.

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We do this by:

• Making children feel valued and good about themselves;

• Ensuring that children have equality of access to learning;

• Reflecting the widest possible range of communities in the choice of resources;

• Avoiding stereotypes or derogatory images in the selection of materials;

• Celebrating a range of festivals through food, resources

• Creating an environment of mutual respect and tolerance;

• Helping children to understand that discriminatory behaviour and remarks are unacceptable;

• Ensuring that the curriculum offered is inclusive of children with special educational needs and children with disabilities;

• Ensuring that children whose first language is not English have full access to the curriculum and are supported in their learning

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Valuing Diversity in Families

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• We welcome the diversity of family life and work with all families.

• We encourage children to contribute stories of their everyday life into the pre-school.

• We encourage parents/carers to take part in the life of the pre-school and to contribute fully.

• For families who have a first language other than English, we value the contribution their culture offers.

• We offer flexible payment system for families of differing means.

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Food

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• We work in partnership with parents to ensure that the medical, cultural and dietary needs of children are met.

• We help children to learn about a range of food, cultural approaches to mealtimes and eating and to respect the differences among them

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Meetings

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• Meetings are arranged to ensure that all families who wish to may be involved in the running of the pre-school.

• Information about meetings is communicated in a variety of ways – written, verbal – to ensure that all parents have information about access to the meetings.