Leighton Park stands against everything to do with discrimination, exclusion, harassment, bullying and hatred in whatever form it takes. We actively promote fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance. Leighton Park seeks to be a leading school in this regard, which delights in being diverse, open-minded and with a culture of compassionate inclusion. Leighton Park is a place where everyone is respected, yet we recognise that tolerance is but a step on the journey to acceptance and celebration of our human uniqueness. We aspire to remain agile in terms of dismantling the barriers and challenges to inclusion that may arise over time in schools and wider society.
We encourage applications from young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and others who would benefit from the transformative impact of our full bursaries.
We have a shared vision of what we understand DEI to mean at Leighton Park:
Diversity: the ways people differ, their uniqueness
Equity: taking into account individual need, for example differentiation of work
Inclusion: working pro-actively and strategically to ensure individuals are welcomed, valued, represented, respected and free to learn, excel, socialise and contribute without feeling othered, excluded or threatened
Our DEI vision is rooted in our commitment to equality to ensure that all individuals have a fair and equal opportunity to make the most of their unique lives and talents. Our commitment to DEI is also firmly rooted within (and informed by) our Quaker Principles and our commitment to nurture future global changemakers.
Our seven Quaker values of respect, integrity, simplicity, equality, peace, truth and sustainability embody our commitment to the well-being of our whole school community. In particular, we seek to safeguard and support people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act (2010). We also pledge to uphold the rights of all diverse young people not to be discriminated against as enshrined in Article 2 of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition, the statutory safeguarding document for schools and colleges ‘Keeping Children Safe In Education’ (2022) places a statutory expectation upon schools to prevent bullying, including prejudice based and discriminatory bullying.
Our aspiration is for our ongoing shared commitment to DEI to permeate all aspects of school life and partnerships, whilst being mindful that there may always be more to do to ensure all diverse school stakeholders feel included and a genuine sense of belonging.
We are keen to build on existing skills, strengths and actions already taken, some relating to racial and LGBT+ inclusion and others to broader inclusion, sometimes working with single protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010 and at other times in a more nuanced and intersectional way. We recognise that human identities and relationships are complex and that a genuine commitment to DEI should be lived and modelled throughout all aspects of school life.
Leighton Park School has policies and procedures in place to support all with protected characteristics – pupils and staff alike – and to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment. These cover each of the following characteristics as identified by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Leighton Park School’s Patron of Reading, Steve Cole, returned for another successful Meet the Author event with 323 Year 4 and 5 children and their teachers from eight primary and … Read More +
Eight star bakers returned to Leighton Park on Monday 22nd April for the Grand Final of Super Chefs 2024! The pupils, from four schools across Berkshire, were the winners of … Read More +
Leighton Park celebrated Easter early this year, raising money for charity in the last week of term in a gesture of generosity. Individuals were invited to contribute a fixed cost … Read More +
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