Diversity and Inclusion

We’re part of Basingstoke’s Inclusion and Diversity Partnership – find out why!

Find about our EARA (Equality and Rights Advocates) group

Click here!

We are one!

Find out more

Read our equality policy and action plan

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We have links to over 47 countries within our school community!

How can we promote diversity and inclusion within our community?

Why is it important?

Promoting inclusion and diversity matters because we all want equality of opportunity for all of our pupils, and for all our children to be the best they can be. Understanding and celebrating (not just tolerating) differences of all kinds helps build our children’s self esteem and promotes a fairer and more equal society, which in turn supports their development, education and wellbeing.

It’s vital that we at St Mark’s help all children at our school feel valued and respected. To help them learn to respond in a kind and fair way to everyone, regardless of shape, size, age, ability, gender, skin colour, nationality, beliefs, language, culture, family background and so on. Read more below on how our vision has inclusion at it’s heart!
Talking about differences

We know that babies as young as 6 months old can recognise differences in the faces of their carers, and that by the time they are 2, children begin to notice skin colour and gender differences. So it’s natural to be curious and notice differences and it is good to all about them. We chat about diversity with our children from when they start in EYFS. We explain how everyone is different and that’s a positive thing. It’s good to have some things in common with our friends but also to respect differences too. If children ask our teachers and LSAs tricky questions, we try to answer them as openly and accurately as we can using language that our children can understand. We build on this knowledge as they move through our school and we encourage our parents/carers to do the same too. If a child says something discriminatory, we take it seriously, and try hard to not overreact, but not ignore it either. The key is to respond in a non-judgemental way using phrases such as: ‘Let’s talk about this for a short while… ‘or we say, ‘What do you think made you say that?’
Being a role model

Our children’s most important role models.: In first place – parents/carers and in joint 2nd – staff members. If we want our children to grow up to be kind and empathetic, we as a whole school community need to show that. If someone makes a rude or inappropriate comment, our children need to see us speaking up to counteract prejudice and stereotyping when it occurs. Using someone’s skin colour, religion, gender, culture, appearance, nationality, sexuality, age, language or family background as an insult or as part of a ‘joke’ can have a profound effect. Allowing it or joining in with ‘jokes’ at someone else’s expense creates a society where that behaviour is seen as acceptable and may pave the way for ridicule, name calling, bullying, suspension and even more serious forms of discrimination.
Being careful with words

It isn’t hard to change words we use, especially when we know certain words and phrases can be extremely harmful to individuals and also shape society’s perception of certain groups. People should not be defined by their differences or disabilities, so for example, we talk about someone having additional special needs, rather than being special needs.

Children learn words from friends, families and teachers/LSAs. So if we hear our children using offensive, derogatory or outdated terms, we pick up on it gently but quickly and explain that the term is unkind or even rude. We need to help educate, which may include disciplinary actions.
Emphasising positives

We encourage our children to look for positives in themselves and in others, for example, if our children are in the same year group with a child who uses a mobility aid, they might point out that ‘Lily can’t walk very well.’ This is a chance for our staff to to ask, ‘What is Lily good at?’ And find out that Lily is great at drawing and making. It’s important that our children learns to see what Lily can do rather than what she can’t. We might also use the opportunity to encourage our children to be helpful to others (in a respectful way) with the things that are tricky for them. We remind our children that when they have difficulties, it makes them feel good when others offer to help.
Encourage empthay and kindness

The ability to imagine how other people are feeling is an important skill for our children to develop. Reading all kinds of stories with diverse characters, and talking about what the characters might be feeling, is a very good way to build empathy. We have invested heavily in ensuring we have a wide range of books for our children to learn from and enjoy. We also need to be a good role model here. When we have respectful relationships and interactions with others in a kind and caring way, our children learn from our example.
Tackle bullying

It’s a sad fact that children who behave differently or look different in some way from their peers still all too easily become targets for bullying, especially as they get older. We talk to our children a lot about differences – it’s important to address why hurting another person’s feelings on purpose is always wrong. If our children hurts another child’s feelings – we remind them of their responsibilities and we teach them to apologise, outlining why they are sorry too. We ask them how they would feel if someone said or did something similar to them. This helps them to understand that all people have feelings and all people matter, because God loves everyone and created everyone equally.

Why have we joined the B&DIDP partnership?

1. We believe our world is a wonderful place, and our diversity is to be celebrated. It enriches us and makes us stronger and more interesting; our differences should actually bring us together! Part of our school vision states that… “We are a fully inclusive school; we welcome children of all backgrounds, beliefs, cultures and circumstances. We recognise and celebrate our differences, too. God loves us unconditionally, and made us all unique. Therefore, every single child and adult in our community is special.” …. “We love to work with our whole community; indeed, we were made to live in community with one another. Everyone has a part to play in educating our children including parents, governors, staff, members of our local community, and organisations in our own country and around the world. And as we help our children, so we help one another and build a better, more richly-connected world. “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” We want to use the opportunity of the B&DIDP programme to strengthen the outworking of our vision.

2. For the 16% of our children who are not White-British, we have to empower them to see that they have every opportunity and every right to succeed, achieve and enjoy. We want them to flourish in our school community, to see themselves as equal and not disadvantaged in any way. We want them to feel proud of their culture, their background, their skin colour, their hair style, and their way of life, where that may appear different to the other 84%. We want them to learn about amazing scientists and important figures in history who represent their diversity. We want them to take their rightful place in contributing to our society at every level and in every way. We also want our curriculum itself to be diverse and inclusive, and for our children to study amazing people who may share their skin colour, have a similar accent, or come from their country of family origin. What about our class reader books? Are our stories all about white children? And our assembly discussions? And the countries we study in geography? And the inventors we study in D&T? We want our entire curriculum offering to be intentionally promoting and celebrating all of the diversity and beauty and success represented in our world.

3. For the 84% of our children who are classed as White-British, and who live in our mainly White-British community, they need to understand that the world is a very diverse place, and if they step outside their immediate Basingstoke community, they would see the world as it really is. We must help them to realise the beauty in our difference, as well as the equality in our difference. We want them to also be in a place to stand up for the injustice and inequality that exists in our world, and to play their part in creating a more just, fair and equal society. We have to purposefully educate them that the world isn’t representative of the world that they see in our school, and that every person, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion, culture, identity or otherwise has every chance to flourish, enjoy and make a difference.

With a desire to strengthen our approach to these three areas, we felt that the B&DIDP programme was a great vehicle to do just that – and to do it alongside other Basingstoke organisations and schools. We couldn’t do it alone … it takes a whole community to raise a child.

What are our primary aims through the B&DIDP programme?

1. Ensure that our curriculum is explicit and purposeful in embedding learning opportunities about diversity, so that children of diverse backgrounds see themselves as important, valued, and having every opportunity to be successful.

2. All children develop a strong sense of courageous advocacy in order that they stand up for injustice, whether in the classroom, on the playground, more widely in our school, in our community, or in our world. This includes strengthening pupil voice in our school, particularly where it has been hindered by COVID bubbles.

Finally it’s worth stating that this isn’t a ‘project’; it’s not something to last for a year and then drop when a new priority comes along. We have a moral duty to educate all of our children that they are loved, they are valued, they can all be successful, and that they can make a difference to each other and in our world.