Diversity and Inclusion
“Whenever people listen to one another humbly and openly, their shared values and aspirations become all the more apparent. Diversity is no longer seen as a threat, but as a source of enrichment” – Pope Francis
At St Mary of the Angels Catholic Primary School we aim to celebrate the diversity within our community and the wider world and develop confidence in individual identity through our well structured curriculum. We strive to promote equality in all that we do and we use examples of where this has not always been the case in our society in the past to support learning and promote tolerance.
Children need to learn about all aspects of diversity and feel empowered to discuss what makes all of us unique, valued and respected in terms of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, education, disability, identity, nationality, religion, sexuality, neurodiversity, social background, and beliefs.
We are all made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis)
At St Mary's, our children learn to recognise and celebrate difference. As educators, we have a duty to prepare our children for life in the diverse society we have today. It is vital that future generations are able to appreciate and celebrate differences, accept the views of others and treat each other with respect. We expect our children to express their views with kindness and consideration for the feelings of others. We believe that all people are made in the image and likeness of God.
When designing our curriculum we gave much consideration to promoting equality across all subject areas. Inspirational role models were chosen to represent the many communities across modern Britain and to challenge stereotypes. Many of our role models are significant individuals who have themselves fought for equality. For example, during their time with us at St Mary's the children will learn about the lives of Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafazi, Emmeline Pankhurst and Nelson Mandela.
Staff choose resources carefully so that they reflect the children in our school and communities across modern Britain. Assemblies are carefully planned and delivered to raise our children’s awareness of equality, diversity, embracing the individual and championing uniqueness.
We champion raising awareness through whole school events such as 'Faiths Around the World Week' and themed cultural immersion days, but we firmly believe equality should be promoted all year round and this is reflected in our curriculum.
Over the past few years, we have invested a significant amount of funding in our school and class libraries. We know how important quality, inclusive and representative literature is in developing children’s understanding of the diverse world in which they live.
It is for this reason that this year we will be fundraising to purchase as many books from the ‘Small People Big Dreams’ series as possible. Mrs Thorpe will be using these texts as a stimuli for our monthly Inspirational People assemblies.
Through stories, our children are exposed to challenging themes which will provoke thought, deliberation and empathy. In the tab below you will find examples of the texts shared during Key Stage reading assemblies and our Protected Characteristics reading spine as well as other resources that evidence our commitment to celebration of diversity and inclusion.