What more can primary schools do to ensure that everyone is safe, included, and learning?

This message brings you news of free workshops across England in autumn 2016.

In many schools, responding to a pressure to raise standards, staff concentrate their efforts on teaching the curriculum, with little or no time to explore issues which are not expected to lead directly to better SATs results.

In other schools staff invest equivalent energy in attending to the learning environment: they embrace the challenge of welcoming pupils, staff and visitors in all their diversity and actively engage with different identities and perspectives.

No matter how much, or how little, schools engage with equality issues, all schools have a legal obligation to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty, introduced by the Equality Act 2010.

This is sometimes seen as an additional responsibility, and other times as an integral part of everything that happens in a school.  In some schools, learning to respect one another is understood to be a significant aspect of children’s education.

CSIE is offering a series of FREE equality workshops throughout the country in autumn 2016, supported by Barclays Bank and The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation. Over and above helping schools fulfil their legal duties, these are practical, “hands on” workshops designed to be engaging and constructive.

The workshops are framed around CSIE’s award-winning guide Equality: Making It Happen, a succinct and user-friendly set of reference cards to help schools reduce bullying, address prejudice and promote equality holistically. The guide offers simple and practical advice, as well as links to sources of further information and support. We know of no other initiative addressing all aspects of equality in schools in such an effective and user-friendly way. It will take a long time for our new guide to make an impact on the lives of all pupils in all schools, but for those that it reaches the effect can be decisive.

Each workshop will address: a) what more schools can do to ensure that all pupils are safe, included and learning; and b) how schools can best respond to their legal equality duties and ensure that all protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010 are reflected positively in the curriculum and in everyday school life.

The workshops will:

  • address equality in the context of current challenges in education;
  • provide an overview of the Equality Act 2010;
  • consider the public sector equality duty and its implications for schools;
  • offer clear information on all protected characteristics;
  • present a range of strategies for addressing prejudice and promoting equality;
  • help participants develop confidence and language for discussing sensitive equality issues;
  • provide simple and practical advice for reducing all forms of prejudice-based bullying;
  • consider real-life examples (participants are encouraged to bring their own examples of equality challenges in school);
  • assist in developing a context-specific framework for change.

Who should attend:

The workshops have been designed for primary and secondary school teachers, inclusion managers, pastoral support leaders, senior leaders and governors who care about equality and want to reduce all forms of prejudice-based bulling and discrimination in school. Workshops will also be of interest to equality champions outside schools, for example academy chain or local authority officers and voluntary sector organisations working to promote equality in education.

Cost:

All workshops are free to attend but places are limited and must be booked in advance. These events have been subsidised by Barclays Bank and The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, to both of whom CSIE remains grateful.

Feedback from previous CSIE equality workshops:

“Great!”

“Inspiring.”

“Eloquent and informative.”

“A lot of very practical and very useful information.”

“Excellent content and awareness of legal framework.”

Free workshops have been scheduled to take place in Bristol, Norfolk, Leicester and Reading.  More workshops will be announced in other locations soon.  For more information, or to book your place, please visit www.csie.org.uk/about/training.shtml.

If you want to find out more about these free workshops or about Equality: Making It Happen, or if you have any questions or queries at all, please call 0117 353 3150 or email admin@csie.org.uk.  We look forward to hearing from you and meeting you at one of our workshops.

Artemi Sakellariadis
Director, CSIE

The simple solution to ensuring a hassle free start to lessons…..

Every now and again I get to chat with current or former teachers and one of the topics that often crops up is why many students don’t seem to be able (or willing) to bring a pen, pencil, ruler etc to their lessons.

In an attempt to solve this problem there’s a product called the “Student Essentials set,” which, as the name suggests, contains all the basics that students need for most of their lessons.

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Consisting of three quality black ink ballpens, two full length HB pencils, eraser, 15 cm ruler and a metal sharpener, all packed in a A5 size, clear PVC “exam friendly” wallet with a zip slider.

From just 75p each (ex vat) the “Student Essentials set” is a convenient and cost effective solution to the problem of students who don’t have the correct kit. Full details of the “Student Essentials set” (and other useful products) can be found at: www.signposteducational.co.uk

You can order by email: info@signposteducational.co.uk phone, fax, post.
Tel: 020 7515 1797 (ask for Martin Evans) or fax: 020 7515 4420

Signpost Educational Ltd., PO Box 999, London, E14 6SH