Objective 1: to embed equality, diversity and inclusion into the curriculum and teaching & learning practices. (Measured by Student Voice and staff surveys, Curriculum reviews and QAs)

We will work towards a curriculum and teaching and learning practices which:

• are inclusive - all pupils and staff are welcomed and valued

• show respect for and appreciation of one another as individuals

• prepare pupils for life in a diverse society by encouraging respect for linguistic, cultural and religious diversity that exists in local communities and the wider world

• support students to understand and respect different aspect of equality, diversity and discrimination in wider society, including racism, sexuality and homophobia, disability and gender

• reflect the diversity of our students and local community, country and world

• develop personal and cultural identity in all pupils

• widen educational and personal horizons of all pupils if limited by factors that compromise equality

• are proactive in tackling discrimination and are actively anti racist

• promote benefits of diversity

• enable all students to successfully access the curriculum and achieve in lessons, considering SEN needs, language needs, prior education, home support and experience

• understand the barriers students may face to their learning & put measures in place to help them overcome these

We will work with our sponsor, the Co-op, to develop a new curriculum on anti-racism so that the next generation knows what it means to be anti-racist and every member of our school community is racially literate.

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Objective 2: to embed equality, diversity and inclusion into the academy. (Measured by student and parent voice and staff surveys, external and internal data, HR data to analyse staff and governing body representation)

We will identify any difficulties or concerns early in order to act preventatively covering all aspects of Equality and Diversity including, incidents of discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics. 

Our curriculum and pastoral staff will ensure that all students and staff understand aspects of discrimination and are able to tackle and report such incidents effectively.

We will take such incidents seriously and will ensure these are dealt with quickly and appropriately.

We will monitor, analyse and track pupil achievement and progress by ethnicity, EAL proficiency level, language, background, gender and disability, and act on any trends or patterns in this data which identify the need for additional support for pupils with the aim of narrowing the gap for equality groups.

We will monitor, analyse and track wider school involvement of students (eg. extra-curricular activities, visits, positions of responsibility, attendance and behaviour, pastoral support) by ethnicity, EAL proficiency level, language, background, gender and disability, and act on any trends or patterns in this data which identify the need for additional support for pupils with the aim of narrowing the gap for equality groups.

We will aim for equity not just equality, so that students are able to overcome barriers to achieve equality of opportunity, & put additional measures in place to achieve this where needed

We will ensure communication with parents & other parental involvement with the school is accessible and representative

We will have a staff & governing body that is representative of the student and the wider communities we serve.

We will develop a representative student & parent voice to share their views on equality & diversity in school & more widely

We will create and promote opportunities for staff voice, and debate & dialogue, around these key issues.

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Objective 3: to celebrate the diversity of our school community, ensure all students feel represented & proud of who they are. (Measured by student voice, parent and staff surveys, learning walks, parental and community engagement and records of planned events and celebrations)

The diversity of the school will be visible and celebrated as you walk around school through displays & signage.

Students’ backgrounds, cultures & languages will be represented positively, respected and celebrated around the school, inside & out of lessons, and within activities in school.

The school’s diversity calendar will be used to promote acceptance, understanding, learning about each other and celebrations of the diversity of the school. Such as multilingualism, Gypsy Roma culture & history month, Refugee Week, Pride, Black History Month.

We will work towards achieving the Anti Racist Schools Award with the Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality at Leeds Beckett University.

We will improve parental engagement and greater involvement of the wider community in the life of the school to build positive relationships, between different community groups & with the school and to celebrate the diversity of our community, e.g. coffee mornings & cultural celebrations.

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Actions Taken - 2023/24 

• Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Staff forum continued to embed and drive the EDI Agenda forward and have taken a lead on the organisation of Culture Week and Culture Day.

• The Academy celebrated Black History Month with students being involved in a range of workshops and performances throughout the month. In addition this year we celebrated GRT history month within lessons in the academy.

• The International Roma day celebration event was held at the academy with parents and the community invited to celebrate with us. 

• Continued work has taken place within the curriculum to increase representation. 

• Decolonisation of the curriculum has taken place with the history department at Co-op Academy Leeds has undertaken a complete review of the history curriculum in order to decolonise the content and reframe and refresh the histories studied within the academy. This has involved the introduction of units on West African Empires and Gypsy Roma Traveller histories within the key stage 3 curriculum, as well as offering more diverse and balanced perspectives of imperial histories such as slavery and the British Empire across the year groups. At GCSE the specification followed has changed to allow the inclusion of 'America 1920 - 1973 Opportunity and Inequality' allowing an in depth analysis of the civil rights movement in America. This work is important to the academy in order to empower the young people of diverse communities which the academy serves. The work done by the history department will now be used to model to other subjects how they too can support this end and reviews across subjects will take place next academic year. This work lead to the school being ‘Highly Commended’ in the recent Leeds Global Learning Awards.

• All subject areas increased diversity and representation within their curriculums and set ambitious targets for further development work over the coming year with a focus on the decolonisation of their curriculum - actions taken are identified in this document: Diversity and Representation in the Curriculum - 2023-24

• ALT and training on EDI with a focus on antiracism has been a running theme in many ALT meetings.

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are central to our new staff and new student induction processes. 

• Our LGBTQ+ student group were involved in raising awareness, identifying allies,  providing support and  promoting  LGBTQ+ equality in the academy.

• Work began towards the academy achieving the Anti Racist Schools Award with the Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality at Leeds Beckett University. Baseline assessment has been completed and areas for improvement targeted (action plan to be finalised on 2.7.24).

• The ‘Speak Up’ initiative runs weekly in school with good engagement levels, the project aims to:

  • Encourage black boys aged 10-18 to talk about their personal experiences as a black boy and how this affects their mental health.

  • Encourage them to talk about how they feel, and encourage others to do the same.

  • Normalise the conversation around mental health among black boys.

Co-op Academy Leeds is committed to ensuring that all staff, students, parents and visitors feel welcome, safe, included and respected in the academy. This is central to our mission:

At Co-op Academy Leeds we are ambitious for ourselves and our diverse communities - we will endeavor to make the world a better place through our actions.  We will be determined to succeed and show respect, kindness and integrity to everyone, every day.