Equalities & Additional Intervention
Equality of Opportunity and Additional Support
We believe that all children should be equally valued at Chobham. We strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all students can flourish and feel safe. At Chobham we value the talents of everyone and no student is allowed to fail.
Chobham Academy is committed to inclusion and part of our strategic planning involves developing cultures, policies and practices that include all learners. We aim to engender a sense of community and belonging, and to offer new opportunities to learners who may have experienced previous difficulties. At Chobham, every student is an individual and we will respond to learners in ways that take into account their varied life experiences and needs.
We believe that educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, demographic group, ethnicity, additional need, attainment and background. We pay particular attention to the provision for and the achievement of different groups of learners:
- Students from families that are financially disadvantaged (Pupil Premium)
- Students who arrive at Chobham with below nationally expected performance in any curriculum area
- Boys and Girls
- Students from minority faiths, ethnicities, travellers, asylum seekers and refugees
- Students who have English as an additional language (EAL)
- Students who have Special Educational Needs or a disability (SEND)
- Students who are Gifted and Talented (G&T)
- Students who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT)
- Students who are Looked After Children (LAC)
- Young carers, sick children and children from families under stress
Cultural capital
At Chobham we believe in maximising the cultural capital of all students. There are several definitions of cultural capital. Two particularly resonate in the Chobham context:
1. The social assets of a person which promote social mobility in society
2. An Ofsted definition;
- The essential knowledge that children need to be educated citizens
And
- To prepare young people for their future success.
We believe that if our students are to be able to present themselves at their best and excel in a range of social situations, then developing their cultural capital is key. The skills and dispositions involved will assist them in achieving their higher education and employment aims and then help them to thrive at university and in the workplace. In order to develop cultural capital amongst our students we focus upon the following areas:
- Ensuring all students have as broad and deep a knowledge base as possible across all curriculum areas
- Encouraging students to read, watch and research beyond the content of the school curriculum (and providing them with the resources to do these things)
- Ensuring all students see themselves as lifelong learners and are equipped with high level study skills
- Giving all students access to trips and external speakers which broaden their knowledge of society, university and employment
- Building into the wider curriculum opportunities for students to learn about and practise social skills
- Providing opportunities for students to engage in structured discussion on current affairs and other relevant topics
- Providing a range of leadership opportunities for students.
Universal offer
We are committed to providing a core set of experiences to which every student is entitled. This affirms our commitment to equality of opportunity for all students. These experiences include:
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A broad and relevant curriculum focussing upon the particular learning needs of Chobham students
Pupil Premium funding
50% of students in the Chobham secondary phase are in receipt of Pupil Premium (PP) funding. PP funding is allocated to schools on the basis of the number of students they have from disadvantaged backgrounds. The purpose of the funding is to ensure that students in receipt of PP support are enabled to succeed to the same degree as their peers at school who are not from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In order to ensure that the PP strategy is integrated into all areas of Academy strategy we have prioritised the three tiered approach, which research by the Education Endowment Fund has shown to be the most effective way to maximise the impact of our spending:
Tier 1: Teaching (including professional development, recruitment and retention and support for early career teachers)
Tier 2: Academic Support (including structured interventions, small group tuition and one to one support)
Tier 3: Wider Opportunities and Participation (trips, visits, enrichment, careers and personal development)
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/teaching-learning-toolkit/.
This means that we will ensure:
- The gap in attainment and progress between PP and Non-PP students is closed.
- All PP students have access to the same knowledge and cultural capital as their peers and that levels of engagement in all aspects of school life are high.
- All PP students have access to an extensive range of personal development opportunities, in which they have access to a wide and rich set of experiences.
- All our students to leave us with our values – I CHEER and take these into the next level of their education and the wider world.
At Chobham, we want all of our students to be able to succeed equally and that barriers to the success of our PP are removed. We define this success as meaning that:
- PP and non-PP students make comparable progress overall in GCSE examinations
- PP and non-PP students make comparable progress in each individual subject
- PP and non-PP students engage to the same degree in enrichment and extra-curricular activities
- PP and non-PP students behave and learn equally well
- PP and non-PP students have the same access to trips and visits and participate equally
- Ensuring PP students are able to take part in a range of character building activities linked to our values ‘I CHEER'.
