Equalities Statements

Required by all schools.

The Equality Act 2010 replaced all existing equality legislation such as the Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act.  As far as schools are concerned, for the most part, the effect of the new law is the same as it has been in the past - meaning that schools cannot unlawfully discriminate against pupils because of their sex, race, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation. Protection is now extended to pupils who are pregnant or undergoing gender reassignment. However, schools that are already complying with the law should not find major differences in what they need to do. Additional guidance can be found at DfE - The Equality Act 2010.

However one key change that will impact on schools is that it is unlawful to ask employees to complete a pre-employment questionnaire which asks about health issues or about sickness absence, and to ask referees to provide information about sickness absence, before an offer of employment is made.  If you need further guidance please contact the HR Service.

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission has produced non-statutory guidance to help schools meet their equality duty.

 Public Sector Equality Duty Guidance for Schools in England 2012 [129kb]