Equality Diversity Inclusivity

Equality Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI)

At Littleton, our Christian vision is underpinned by our belief that every member of our school community will flourish and experience ‘life in all its fullness’. We are committed to a journey of improvement and reflection to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion is continually improving and developing in our school.

How is diversity championed at Littleton?

Significant Individuals: We are committed to supporting all our children to learn and understand about the persistence and determination of significant individuals from all backgrounds. We want our children to understand how these individuals have positively influenced the world in which we live and that they continue to do so. We ensure that our children understand this and celebrate their achievements and contributions.

We review and reflect upon our curriculum, texts and teaching materials so that inspirational people are represented and in all areas of our enquiry-based curriculum.

Challenging Stereotypes: Stereotyping generalisations about the personal attributes or characteristics of a group of people. For example: looking at two medical professionals and assuming that the male is a doctor and not a nurse. As part of our enquiry based curriculum, we ensure that diverse ranges of individuals are studied. In Year Two children learn about Mary Seacole and Mary Anning as examples of diverse, strong and historically influential female medics and scientists.

Diverse Visuals: We ensure that the visuals we use are inclusive and diverse throughout the curriculum from specific enquiry questions, which discuss stereotypes to the pictures we choose that go alongside our word problems in maths.

Varied visuals give our children the opportunity to raise and discuss ideas that are important to them. For example, when talking about families visuals might be used to allow our children to see different family dynamics including single parent families, adoptive families, children who may live with other family members, same sex parents and families without children. This allows our children to explore the world and ask questions in a safe space.

Diverse Texts: It is important that children ‘see themselves’ represented in books, both fiction and non-fiction. Not only should they see themselves but they should also be given the opportunity to see a wide range of people in all sorts of roles. 

Inclusion: At Littleton Nursery and Infant School, we work hard to ensure that every member of our school community – pupils, parents, staff and visitors – feel safe and included.

We are an inclusive school and every child, whatever their individual abilities or needs, is equally valued and supported to flourish and achieve in line with our Christian Vision. We expect all parents and visitors to understand and support our inclusive ethos.

Inclusion is a universal human right: An inclusive school embraces all people irrespective of race, gender, disability, medical or other additional needs. It is about giving equal access and opportunities and removing any discrimination and intolerance. In education ‘inclusion’ describes the right of parents and children to access mainstream education alongside their peers. Inclusion is about equity and providing equal opportunities for all children.

This means that all of the following groups have the same rights:

Boys and girls · minority ethnic and faith groups, travellers, asylum seekers and refugees · children who need support to learn English as an additional language · children and with additional educational needs · gifted and talented children · children who are looked after by the local authority · children with disabilities · children with medical conditions · children from families under stress · children at risk of exclusion

Sometimes children in these different groups may behave in ways that we find difficult to understand. In particular, children with additional needs and/ or disabilities can demonstrate different and even sometimes challenging behaviour. At Littleton we look beyond this behaviour and view it as a form of communication.

Update

We have purchased a wide range of EDI books for our Library Bus that the children are able to take home as their 'Sharing Book.' 

Next Steps

We continue to reflect on our curriculum and identify EDI opportunities through our enquiry questions and enrichment opportunities.