Teaching and promoting equality and diversity

Godstowe has a zero-tolerance policy on issues of inequality and will always take a stand against racial infractions.

Following the troubling and upsetting scenes in the media last week, Director of Teaching and Learning, Anna Sellers, undertook an audit of Godstowe’s Schemes of Work across the school to ensure we teach and promote equality and diversity throughout our curriculum.  The results of this audit demonstrate that we address a wide variety of issues related to inequality in society from past to present.  However, we are not complacent and will continue to assess the way we deal with these issues in the future.

In Pre-Prep, staff spend a lot of time teaching about the values of kindness and tolerance.  This is embedded within their curriculum and teachers will address current affairs on a regular basis especially if topics are of national and international importance.  In Main School (years 3 – 8) our PSHE curriculum contains a unit within each year group focusing on Celebrating Differences in which pupils spend time discussing making assumptions based on people’s appearance.  Depending on the age of the pupils, teachers approach this subject in different ways.  With the younger pupils staff read books that promote discussion about hair type, skin colour, religious beliefs etc.  In both Year 3 and Year 4 pupils have recently discussed Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and the American Civil Rights Movement.  Girls in Year 5 and 6 also study a unit based on Celebrating Differences, which allows pupils the opportunity to explore the wide variety of differences within our community.  These pupils also discuss equality and tolerance as part of our British Values unit.  The Year 7s discuss Discrimination and Prejudice as part of their PSHE course and in Year 8, this is followed up with a unit on Diversity.

Our History curriculum also embraces this topic with girls in Year 6 learning about The Roaring Twenties in the USA.  As part of this, the girls study the Jazz Age and focus, in particular, on the pioneering black musicians and singers Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith.  The teaching focuses on learning about the background of racism in America, the legacy of slavery and the important role models for black Americans that both Armstrong and Smith proved to be.  In Year 7, as part of the Common Entrance syllabus, slavery and the Abolition movement is a key topic.  Pupils learn about the reasons for slavery, conditions on the slave ships, conditions on the plantations, and the campaign in Britain to abolish slavery, especially the work of William Wilberforce.  Pupils also study important black figures like Olaudah Equiano. In Year 8, pupils study the Crimean War and some time is spent looking at the role of Mary Seacole.

As part of our Religious Studies teaching and Theology, Politics and Religion course in the Upper School, pupils often discuss sensitive issues relating to discrimination and equality.

Our Schemes of Work are frequently updated in order to maintain a fresh approach to our teaching and as a staff body, we constantly review and monitor our practice.

Each week the whole school focuses on a theme in order to give direction to the week and to engage pupils and staff in current issues.  Many of these themes are directly related to equality, diversity, and powerful role models throughout history.  These themes are discussed in Whole School Assemblies, Upper and Lower School Assemblies and in Form Time. When promoting role models or leaders we always try to include examples from a broad spectrum of society and ensure that pupils understand the importance of treating everyone with respect regardless of gender, race, culture, different ability, religious belief, or sexual identity.

Equality is an issue we take extremely seriously at Godstowe and it is actively promoted in all areas of the curriculum.  When an issue crops up, regardless of the teaching environment, every member of our staff will give it the utmost importance and will ensure that all pupils understand that as part of a multicultural and diverse world we must not only embrace all cultures but learn from them as well.