At Rokeby School, we want everyone to feel included and to recognise, welcome and respect diversity. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity for all our boys, parents and staff. We believe that diversity is a strength, which should be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit here.
We expect all members of our community and everyone who enters our school to behave in a way which respects the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010.
In March 2023 we ran our first Multicultural Day with the RPC and in 2023/24, in response to pupil voice, we have added ‘Equalities Ambassador’ as a new Year 8 role of responsibility.
Understanding the boys
To help pupils feel included and valued as individuals we need to understand them. We have a variety of ways of doing this:
- Form Tutor time – Form Tutors are a ‘first port of call’ for pastoral care and therefore conversations between them and the pupils in their forms are vital for understanding individuals. As our boys in Year 5 and above are taught by different teachers for different subjects, their Form Tutor time has been increased so they will have more opportunities for 1:1 conversations.
- BASIN (Boy’s Abilities, Strengths, Improvables and Needs) – This essential information is recorded by Form Tutors termly, shared with all staff and is discussed further in handover meetings with the pupil’s next Form Tutor.
- Development of personal plans – A long-term goal for the school is for every child to have a personal plan. The plan will contain both academic and non-academic goals, which pupils agree with their Form Tutors and regularly review. The plan has been trialled with Year 7 & 8 and will be rolled out to more year groups in 2023.
- Pupil questionnaire – Boys in different year groups are asked to complete a questionnaire exploring their experiences at Rokeby. Their feedback (which, overall, was very positive) is given to staff on an INSET day and we all discuss ideas for improvement areas.
- PASS (Pupil Attitudes to Self and School) – This is a wide-ranging survey, particularly helpful for understanding pupils’ learning preferences. Form Tutors review the results of the survey, then work with pupils to recognise their social and emotional wellbeing needs, which then help to remove learning barriers.
Including boys with additional needs
Some boys may have additional needs, e.g. for learning, behaviour and emotions. We have some specialists in school to help pupils with additional needs be included, such as the Learning Support team and our Emotional Literacy Support Assistants. We can also help with referrals to external specialists and can accommodate them providing support in the school where appropriate.
Whatever the academic ability of our boys, differentiation helps ensure all boys are receiving work that provides an appropriate level of challenge.
Understanding Diversity
Diversity is mainly taught in PSHE. The schemes of work we use give the boys age-appropriate education about community, cultures and discrimination. In these lessons, teachers encourage honest discussion about differences and understanding and respecting people from all abilities and backgrounds. PSHE is also a good way of teaching children about different family structures and protected characteristics.
Religious Studies and assemblies are used to help our boys learn about diversity too.
We want our school environment to help our boys understand diversity and to celebrate it. Senior Leadership team members and Governors have been on learning walks this year to check that displays, books and classroom resources represent a diverse range of people, topics and ideas, and an increasing number of our displays proudly reflect our diverse school community.
Visitors to the school can also help children understand diversity. For example, a group called Show Racism the Red Card provided workshops to boys in Years 4 and Year 7 and Mr Floyd Steadman O.B.E spoke to the boys about unconscious bias and his personal experiences.
Understanding diversity not only applies to the boys but also to the staff. To this end, selected staff are undertaking diversity training and all staff have been trained on protected characteristics.