Nine Schools awarded Certificate of Commitment to Equality & Diversity
Posted 17th October 2022
We are delighted to announce Benton Park School, Lawnswood School, Oatlands Junior School, Prince Henry’s Grammar School and Roundhay School have successfully completed the first stage of the RED Award and have been awarded the Certificate of Commitment to Equality & Diversity.
They join Coppice Valley Primary School, Crawshaw Academy, Highfield Primary School and Talbot Primary School who successfully achieved this in the summer term.
Development of the RED Award, which is exclusively for schools in the Red Kite Alliance, has been led by Christopher Lillington, Assistant Headteacher at Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Otley.
“It has been exciting to see so many of our colleagues from primary and secondary schools across the Alliance, as well as colleagues from central Red Kite teams, such as Teacher Training, signing up so quickly to be part of this important programme. The Award has been created to support schools in strengthening and celebrating their provision in terms of equality, diversity, respect for individuals and community cohesion. At such a time in the wider world, this work seems more important than ever.” said Christopher Lillington.
The award is underpinned by the values of the Red Kite Alliance, which include “Equality of opportunity for all young people and the staff who work in our schools” as well as “the unique nature of each school and its place within its own community.”
Caroline Johnson, Headteacher at Colton Primary School, said “The RED Award is perfect for Colton as we develop our Curriculum for Life. As an inclusive school, respect for others and empathy form part of our core values. We celebrate difference and hope that taking part in the award will support us to widen the experiences we offer our children and help them to become kind, compassionate citizens. Everyone has the right to the best possible education, and we need to shine a light into any dark corners we may find.”
The award provides a framework within which school can evaluate their current provision, a route map to help schools build on what they already do well and embed a cohesive, inclusive and respectful ethos across the whole school and a vehicle for schools to celebrate the richness and diversity of their whole school community and their achievements in this area of provision.
“Red Kite Alliance has for many years shown its commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion through supporting a variety of leadership and staff development programmes such as the Women into Leadership programme and those specifically for colleagues from different under-represented groups. Individual schools do much more through their curriculum and we were keen to both celebrate and enhance this work. The RED Award allows all Alliance schools to evaluate their provision, share ideas and ensure that respect, equality and diversity are central to work at all levels within our schools.” said Richard Sheriff, Director of the Red Kite Alliance.
If you would like your school to get involved, more information can be found here.