Values, Vision, Ethos

My vision for Bickley is that we are an outstanding school where pupils and adults have a thirst for learning and leave with the skills and knowledge needed to continue to the next stage of life successfully and happily.

Behind that is the belief that we are all different, we are all equal and we will all achieve and that we all need to invest in lifelong learning if we are to be successful and fulfilled.

All Different, All Equal, All Achieve

Elizabeth Blake
July 2023

Equality Statement

Nexus Education Schools Trust is steadfast in its commitment to standing up against all forms of racism and social injustice.

Our school curricula and expectations help children to make sense of issues and inequalities in the world and we do not accept any behaviour that makes anyone else feel unsafe, unequal or unimportant.

School staff and communities help to shape the views and develop the knowledge and understanding of the next generation and we believe that our schools and settings are key to tackling discrimination. We are fully committed to ensuring our pupils are inclusive, respectful and active global citizens and we will continue to review and reshape our curricula to reflect our diverse and multicultural society and tackle bigotry, inequality and bias.

Schools across the Trust regularly review their curricula, educational resources, staff training, and policies and procedures to ensure they reflect and represent a positive perspective. This supports our children to become advocates for equality, diversity and inclusion. We have made much progress in ensuring all schools have a curriculum of equality, but we also know that there is always more to be done.

We commit to working with our community to review and to drive change so that our pupils have the knowledge they need to understand and address complex social issues and to be aware of, and combat, inequality

At Bickley, we regularly promote and discuss our school motto – All Different, All Equal, All Achieve.
In particular, we:

  • Work hard to try to eliminate discrimination by promoting attitudes and values that challenge any discriminatory behaviour or prejudice. This is planned for in terms of curriculum and assembly content, as well as tackled head-on when incidents occur in the news, at school and/or in reading matters, including online material. Teaching and Learning resources are carefully chosen to reflect the diversity of the school, local community and the wider world and to avoid stereotyping.

Advance equality of opportunity by:

  • Thorough and regular assessment of all pupils to inform additional support and/or extension to address individual learning needs
  • Ensuring physical access for pupils and adults by having disabled access toilets, ramps and a lift in the school to enable all adults and pupils to access all areas
  • Monitoring the progress of different ethnicity, gender and ability groups, as well as the data of disadvantaged and EAL pupils and putting additional support in place where necessary to ensure good progress for all
  • Providing support via the school FLO (Family Liaison Officer) for families who are experiencing challenges in areas such as bereavement, mental health, parenting, family break-ups, financial difficulties, housing, etc
  • Ensuring pupils and staff can celebrate important religious days by including different celebrations in the curriculum
  • Including work in the curriculum that enables children to understand that there are different family structures and different sexualities and that all are equally respected
  • Ensuring that pregnant staff are supported to carry out their job with appropriate adaptations to meet their individual needs. The school works closely with their HR provider to ensure that maternity and paternity leave is organised according to the individual member of staff’s wishes and HR guidance
  • Supporting and celebrating all forms of marriage and civil partnership for staff and parents
  • Foster good relations between all our stakeholders by organising regular family events, having daily ‘stay and play’ sessions after school on the field and playground, and actively encouraging families to come into school and talk to the children about their country of origin, religion, hobbies, jobs, etc.