Supporting “Every School a Good School” Community Relations, Equality and Diversity in Education Policy http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/20-community-relations-pg.htm Supporting “Every School a Good School”

Who is the policy for? Policy premised on: All Schools and Youth Settings Statutory early years settings – “strongly encouraged” to adopt CRED principles Policy premised on: Equality & human rights UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Commitments in Good Friday, St Andrews & Hillsborough agreements Changes in society & policy context

Policy Objectives Develop understanding & respect for rights, equality & diversity of all without discrimination Value & respect difference & engage positively with it Equip children and young people with required skills attitudes & behaviours

Key changes from Community Relations Policy: Wider definition of Community Relations - all section 75 groups (not just two main communities) Move away from dependency on external organisations to a process of building the capacity of schools and teachers Embed work within school improvement and existing policies The major changes from the original policy are: Broadening the scope beyond the 2 main communities to include all section 75 groups (educational settings expected to address all, but flexible enough to focus on particular issues relevant to that setting (eg: race, homophobia, etc) Policy takes into account changes to the curriculumin particular the Revised Curriculum for schools: - PDMU at primary level - LLW at Post Primary - Fact that majority of post primary subjects include “Developing pupils as contributors to Society” – citizenship and cultural understanding Embed work within school improvement and existing policies – link to ESAG’s , TTI and new guidance for Governors

Together Towards Improvement Equality of opportunity, diversity and good relations: How effectively do leaders and managers plan strategically to ensure equality of access, to foster good relations and to meet the diverse needs of learners and staff in the pursuit of good provision for learning? Evaluate the extent to which leadership at all levels: respects diversity and encourages understanding and greater cohesion across communities through well-developed curricular and pastoral links with other schools and relevant educational establishments; meets statutory requirements in relation to equality, diversity and inclusivity; has in place appropriate policies and procedures that meet legislative requirements and actively promote equality of opportunity and good relations for the pupils and staff; ensures that the provision is open and accessible to all pupils, regardless of identity and background and in a manner that takes account of their abilities; and provides targeted staff development opportunities to promote diversity, equality of opportunity and good relations.

Support Capacity Building including CPD Dissemination of effective practice & materials Materials will be available on a new website www.credni.org Limited financial support for meaningful interaction and programmes which support the development of good practice We will be writing out to schools in next week or two regarding funding