What is the Public Sector Equality Duty?

The single Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) came into effect in April 2011 as a result of the Equality Act 2010. It requires public bodies to promote equality and replaced three pre-existing duties relating to disability, race and gender equality.

The PSED applies to all maintained and independent schools, including academies, and maintained and non-maintained special schools.

Protected Characteristics

The Department for Education (DfE) has published non-statutory advice that sets out schools’ obligations under the PSED.

Paragraph 5.1 explains that the PSED extends to the following protected characteristics:

  • Race, disability, sex, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment

Three Main Elements

Paragraph 5.1 of the document explains that the PSED has three main elements. In carrying out their functions, public bodies are required to have due regard to the need to:

  • Eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
  • Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
  • Foster good relations across all characteristics, and between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

Due Regard

Paragraph 5.4 of the DfE’s advice says that ‘due regard‘ has been defined in case law and means giving “relevant and proportionate consideration to the duty”.

For schools, this means:

  • Decision makers must be aware of the duty to have due regard when making a decision or taking an action, and must assess whether it may have implications for people with particular protected characteristics
  • Schools should consider equality implications before and at the time that they develop policy and take decisions, not as an afterthought, and they need to keep them under review on a continuing basis
  • The PSED has to be integrated into the carrying out of the school’s functions, and the analysis necessary to comply with the duty has to be carried out seriously, rigorously and with an open mind

Specific Duties

The PSED introduces secondary legislation in the form of specific duties. The duties require schools to:

  • Publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the PSED. This information must include, in particular, information relating to people who share a protected characteristic
  • Prepare and publish equality objectives

Schools are required to update this published information at least annually and to publish objectives at least once every four years.

What does our school do to eliminate discrimination?

We have set a clear vision and values and expect all our staff to act in a non-discriminating manner and be mindful to avoid actions that will be deemed as such to the public and our wider community.

We have up-to-date and ratified policies which set out a clear message that discrimination is not tolerated. These include staff code of conduct, behaviour, anti-bullying, safeguarding and child protection.

We understand that it is unlawful to fail to make reasonable adjustments to overcome barriers to using services caused by disability and one of our equalities objectives addresses this.

The governing body and school leaders involved in recruitment will avoid unlawful discrimination in all aspects of employment including recruitment, promotion, opportunities for training, pay and benefits, discipline and selection for redundancy. Another one of our equalities objectives addresses this.

Through a structured curriculum offer, assemblies, workshops and visits, equalities will be discussed with and taught to the children, exemplifying the British Values and school values that we believe in. Our curriculum encourages pupils to challenge discrimination and stereotyping.

Ways we improve equality of opportunity and involve individuals affected by inequality

Information related to pupil achievement and attendance is collected on race, disability and gender with regards to both pupils and staff. This information is used to inform policies, plans and strategies, lessons, additional support, training and activities the school provides.

Where trends in pupil achievement data requires action, this is taken swiftly.

The curriculum includes opportunities to understand the issues related to race, disability and gender.

All pupils are encouraged to participate in school life. Participation is tracked and analysed. Pupils who make a positive contribution, e.g. through eco council and the wellbeing committee reflect the diversity of the school community.

Bullying and harassment are rare. Where incidents happen, they are monitored by race, disability and gender, and this information is used to make a difference to the experience of other pupils. Racists incidents are reported to the governing body on a termly basis.

Visual display are reflective of the diversity of the school community. Our curriculum has been reviewed to ensure it positively promotes minority ethnic, disabled and both male and female role models. Books are regularly purchased to ensure representation.

The school takes part in annual events, such as Jeans for Genes Day, International Women’s Day and Black History Month to raise awareness of issues around race, disability and gender.

 

Equality Objectives (and progress)

Objective 1: Actively promote and prioritise raising awareness, appreciation and celebration of diversity including gender, sexuality, race and religion.

Why we have chosen this objective: From an analysis of our school profile alongside the demographics of our local area we know that our school community is not fully representative of life in Modern Britain. We
want our community to embrace the uniqueness of the human race and to have the opportunity to explore a range of issues pertinent to the protected characteristics as part of their education provision.

To achieve this objective we plan to:
• Teach protected characteristics during PSHE.
• Assemblies to make explicit the protected characteristics when discussing diversity.
• Staff inset on diversity to discuss the legal framework
• Books/texts carefully selected to support teachers and pupils in the exploration of key themes and in their developing spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.

Progress we are making towards this objective:

  • Protected characteristics are covered in the PSHE curriculum.
  • Some planned assemblies include diversity, including protected characteristics.
  • Each term, new books carefully selected to support teachers and pupils in the exploration of key themes related to protected characteristics.

Objective 2: Staff within the school reflect the backgrounds and experiences of the children

Why we have chosen this objective: To ensure that recruitment strategies encourage applications from those who reflect the diversity of our area across all protected characteristics

To achieve this objective we plan to:

  • Remove the need to put names and ages on application forms for posts
  • Ensure the removal of the final section, around medical need, disability or ethnicity before the applications are sent to those who are interviewing applicants in order to reduce unconscious bias.
  • Rewrite advert to appeal to a wider range of applicants
  • Include the ‘Two Ticks’ positive about people with disabilities symbol on all job adverts

Progress we are making towards this objective:

  • A new application portal has been introduced by Oxfordshire County Council. The portal does not allow you to see any details of medical need, disability, age or ethnicity but does currently show names.
  • Job advert portal helps to analyse the use of language/writing style to help appeal to a wider range of applicants

Objective 3 Ensure there is no significant difference in the progress made by different groups of learners.

Why we have chosen this objective: Pupils achieve well at Combe School and make good progress but we want to ensure that this is true across all groups of learners.

To achieve this objective we plan to:
• Ensure quality first teaching
• Reduce unconscious bias
• Use the recovery premium and pupil premium to provide school-based tutoring

Progress we are making towards this objective:

  • We use pupil premium to provide school-based tutoring, prioritising disadvantaged pupils.
  • We invest in staff training and development ensures quality first teaching

School community by equality strand (pupils)

  • Age (as of 29th April 2026)
  • Aged Number % of Total 
    4 5 4.35%
    5 16 13.91%
    6 13 11.3%
    7 16 13.91%
    8 18 15.65%
    9 19 16.52%
    10 15 13.04%
    11 13 11.3%
  • Sex
  • Number % of Total
    Female 60 52.17%
    Male 55 47.83%
  • Ethnicity
  • Ethnicity Number % of Total
    Any Other Asian Background 1 0.87%
    Any Other Mixed Background 4 3.48%
    Any Other White Background 10 8.7%
    Black – African 1 0.87%
    Chinese 1 0.87%
    White – British 92 80%
    White – English 1 0.87%
    White and Asian 3 2.61%
    White European 2 1.74%
  • SEND
  • Demographics Number % of Total
    SEND 19 16.52%
  • Religion or belief
  • Religion Group Percentage Group Size
    Anglican/Church Of England 2.6% 3
    Christian 41.7% 48
    Hindu 0.87% 1
    No Religion 44.3% 51
    Other Religion/Faith 7.0% 8
    Roman Catholic 0.87% 1
    • Sexual orientation- data not collected
    • Gender reassignment- n/a
    • Pregnancy or maternity- n/a
    • Marriage and civil partnership- n/a

Staff data

Staff data is not required as there are fewer than 150 staff.

Our Equality Information and Objectives Policy can be found here.