Highfield School is committed to meeting the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.

Highfield has due regard to the need to:

  • Eliminate, discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
  • Advance equality of opportunity between and within groups of learners with different needs and backgrounds
  • Foster good relations across groups of learners

Highfield School is committed to reaching the best outcomes for all pupils.

Our School

Highfield Littleport is a mixed, all age (2-19) area special school. Highfield Littleport is an Academy as part of The Active Learning Trust.

All Highfield pupils have an Education Health Care Plan accounting for their special educational needs for a moderate, severe or profound and multiple learning difficulty, the majority working within pre-key stage standards. Many pupils have additional medical, sensory, communication and physical disabilities. Some pupils have difficulties maintaining appropriate behaviour.

On entry all pupils are attaining levels well below those expected for children of a similar age. Assessments from the pupils Education, Health and Care plan process or the child's previous nursery or school setting provides a starting point from which to baseline on entry. This confirms levels of attainment and forms the basis of an initial Plan where short and long term targets are formulated.

The school roll is 144 with a maximum funded number of 144. The population comprises PMLD, SLD, MLD, ASC and SLCN needs.  In the last few years schools of a similar makeup to ours have seen a drop in pupils with MLD and an increase in pupils with medical needs and ASC, especially in the primary years. Pupils are from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds including professional, non-professional and traveller. Some pupils live in affluent areas of the county and some in poor/deprived conditions. Most pupils are entitled to transport with some pupils travelling long distances to attend Highfield. A minority of pupils travel to school with parents or carers. Many pupils and their families have multi-agency involvement because of the complexity of their identified needs. Many pupils and their families are supported by social services, particularly the provision of regular respite care.

We aim to meet the needs of all our pupils through our curriculum and through the care, guidance and support we provide to ensure the Equality Duty is achieved. We are required to set Equality Targets and the following have been set as a benchmark to facilitate future development. The targets are set within the our School Plan in relevant areas. Targets are assessed and reviewed regularly within our self evaluation at least on a yearly basis.  A summary can be found on the School Development page.

The General Duty

All public authorities must have due regard to the need to:

  • Promote equality of opportunity

  • Eliminate unlawful discrimination

  • Eliminate disability related harassment

  • Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people

  • Encourage disabled people’s participation in public life

  • Take steps to take account of disabled people’s disabilities, even where that involves more favourable treatment

The Specific Duty

Schools must:

  • Involve disabled people in the process
  • Gather information via surveys etc
  • Demonstrate that they have taken actions in the Action Plan and achieved appropriate impact outcomes
  • Review and revise the Scheme every 4 years

Aims

Our School aims to be an inclusive school in respect of pupils, parents and visitors.  We aim to raise awareness of the protected characteristics (Age, Race, Gender, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Marriage and Civil Partnership, Religion, Pregnancy & Maternity and Gender Reassignment).  We actually seek to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual pupils or groups of pupils.  This means that equality of opportunity must be a reality for all our children regardless of disability and/or Special Educational Needs.

  • We will ensure that pupils with disabilities have the same opportunities as other pupils to benefit from the education our school provides
  • We will not treat a pupil with a disability less favourably than others because of the nature of his or her disability
  • We will make all reasonable adjustments to ensure that a pupil or member of staff with disabilities is not placed at a disadvantage
  • We will do our best to anticipate the needs of pupils, staff member or parents with disabilities before he or she joins the school

Removing Barriers

We will continue to make adjustments to ensure pupils; staff members and visitors are not disadvantaged.

Disabilities can limit the extent to which children can access the curriculum and the environment.  At Highfield we use a variety of strategies to ensure that children are not disadvantaged for example:

  • Visual systems of communication – PECS & Communication Books

  • Sign language – Makaton

  • Visual cues

  • Objects of reference

  • Full hearing induction loop system

  • Overhead tracking systems in specialist rooms and some classrooms

  • Wheelchair accessible lift

  • Power assisted doors

  • Unisex toilets

  • Multi cultural teaching and learning resources

  • Non discriminatory colours

The Physical Environment

We will continue to improve provision for disabled pupils and staff by continuing to develop the physical environments of the school within the limits of the resources available. 

The Curriculum

We use teaching strategies to enhance learning and participation in a broad and balanced curriculum.  There are different curriculum pathways for different learners needs at Highfield Littleport.  We find ways in which all pupils can take part in sport, music and drama.  We plan our out-of-school activities and school trips in such a way that pupils with disabilities can participate.

We use language that does not offend, and we make staff and pupils aware of the importance of language.  Our library, reading books and other resources contain positive images of people with disabilities.  The school regularly reviews the way resources are matched to the needs of all the children.  If necessary, to improve our provision, adjustments will be made to classroom organisation, the deployment of support staff, timetabling and staff training.  Many of the adjustments we make are dependent upon individual needs and we are moving towards more individualised approaches.  Education Health Care Plan targets are effective and manageable.  We seek and respond to guidance from staff, parents and the children.

Information Sharing

Information normally provided in writing e.g. Lesson content, Text, Library resources, School information letters, School Website and Class Dojo.

Will be made available in other formats that re clear and user friendly e.g.  Braille, Audio, Large print, In symbol format, Using ICT systems, Translated.  Information may be shared with parents by telephone if that is more appropriate.

Staffing

When advertising posts, or interviewing applicants or deciding on appointments the Governors and staff will follow the necessary procedures and will not discriminate against people with disabilities.

Should a member of staff become disabled, the Governing Body will make reasonable adjustments to that person’s employment arrangements or to the premises in order to enable them to continue in post.  All members of staff are entitled to professional development and training and are expected to take advantage of a continuous programme of professional development.

This school will liaise with specialists to support individual pupils.  Among these specialists are the following: Physiotherapists, Speech Therapists, Doctors, School Nurse, Social workers, Staff of the voluntary and statutory agencies.

We benefit from the LA’s advice and its provision through the Hearing Impaired and Visually Impaired Services.

We review our Equalities aims yearly and formulate a new scheme every 4 years.  The period for the Equalities Monitoring below is between 23/24 - 26/27.  

Our Equalities Aims:

  1. Develop and consolidate the provision for pupils with the highest needs, including learners with Profound and Multiple Learning
    Difficulties.
  2. Ensure that our learners are exceptionally well prepared for the next step in the learning or employment, focusing on the development of our work related learning opportunities in Key Stage 4 and Sixth Form, and extending our offer in KS4 to include Level One courses and collaborative working with Highfield Ely Academy.  Create in house work experience opportunities through enterprise.
  3. Continuing to track the progress of each pupil and groups of learners, working with the staff team to raise progress where it is not as good as it could be.
  4. Develop appropriate assessment and monitoring systems to reflect the breadth of progress our pupils make, not just on curriculum subjects

The Active Learning Trust meets the Public Sector Equalities Duty by reporting at employer level within the trust as a whole.  Click here to view the reports.  Information on the Gender Pay Gap can also be found on the ALT website.

Equalities Data - Currently for the academic year 2023/2024 we have 3 students who are currently Children in Care (CiC).  We have 15% of students from different ethnic groups and currently have a proportion of 47.5% of students who are in receipt of Free School Meals.

Highfield Littleport are dedicated to ensuring that our Equalities duty is fulfilled effectively.  We have generated an Accessibility Plan which can be found by clicking the title link below:

Highfield Accessibility Plan