Dear Parents and Guardians
Thank you to those of you who responded to our equality and diversity questionnaire. We had 66 responses. We think it is important to provide you with some of the feedback we received. We are very pleased that the majority of parents feel that William Ransom gives children equal opportunities and that we celebrate diversity and inclusivity.
For some of the statements on the questionnaire, a small number of parents did not know what the school provides. For this reason, here is further information:
Our curriculum is driven by the need to prepare our children for lifelong learning. It celebrates diversity and utilises the skills, knowledge and cultural wealth of the community whilst supporting the pupils’ spiritual, moral and cultural development. The uniqueness of every child is recognised and valued. We constantly adapt our learning journey to meet the needs and interests of our children; our rich and vibrant curriculum is ambitious for all learners.
In our PHSE teaching throughout school, we use an online resource: One Decision. In keystage 1, the unit called Growing in our World explores the human cycle and how our families are special and unique. In keystage 2, in Year 4, the World without Judgement unit incorporates breaking down barriers, challenging stereotypes and supporting those who have disabilities. In Year 5, we use the Inclusion and Acceptance unit, which explores the topic of a child having same sex parents, children’s and adult’s views where children and adults share their views on a world without judgement. In Year 6, the unit on British Values looks at how we can be inclusive and ensure everyone’s beliefs and needs are respected.
In our Religious Education curriculum, all six major religions are covered and we also cover some non-religious practices such as Humanism. For more information, see our RE curriculum page on the school website. https://www.wransom.co.uk/curriculum/religious-education/
Weekly Achievers’ Assemblies highlight individual successes and achievements in all areas. In these assemblies, we also award leaves for children who show the school’s values. The kindness award is also given out half termly with all nominees gaining a certificate; we believe this helps to promote kindness and tolerance of others.
We celebrate our rich cultural diversity with our annual diversity display board in the school entrance and our annual Festival of Languages. Our children are encouraged to share the knowledge, language and customs of their families to help develop a deeper awareness of self and others.
Diversity Club for Upper Keystage 2 meets weekly. The children discuss diversity related topics and prepare assemblies termly to share their work with Years 3-6. They also create a display board termly sharing the topics they have discussed.
Individual children are given the opportunity to talk about their different strengths and weaknesses and share information about neurodiversity. We also try to celebrate different national awareness days such as: Autism Day, Developmental Language Disorder Day, Hats off for Lyra Day, Children in Need, etc. Our SENDCO regularly provides teachers with resources created for children to learn about disabilities. In January 2023, all classes watched Heidi Buckell’s short puppetry films which raise awareness about cerebral palsy.
This year, we are pleased to have booked World Book Day Workshops with Gemma Keir from The Abilities in Me Foundation. The Abilities in Me books aim to raise awareness of special educational needs and conditions that children may encounter. The book series is written for young people that celebrates what these children can do, rather than what they cannot do.
During spring term 2023, all classes are participating in a Diversity and Inclusion Project across the school in English lessons. Each year group will focus on a different book with a different age-appropriate focus. In 2022, we purchased books to the value of £800 with a focus on a range of topics to celebrate diversity and inclusion to use across the school. These books are shared during whole class reading at the end of each day.
If you have any further suggestions or ideas for how we can improve our provision on this subject please email head@wransom.herts.sch.uk