Equality, Diversity & Inclusivity

Maidstone Grammar School is dedicated to ensuring that all members of the school community and the wider community are treated equally, fairly, and with respect by the school and by each other. This applies to the school as a place of education, a business, and an employer. 

Prejudice, discrimination (direct or indirect), and victimisation are not tolerated, and we work hard to instil in our pupils a strong understanding of right and wrong, including the importance of inclusion, acceptance, and compassion towards others. The school’s main priority is to provide the best education and care that we can and establish a cooperative working relationship between home and school, to aid the development, progress, and needs of all the children in our care.

Our Single Equality Plan Policy (Plan) sets out how the school will satisfy its duties under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate all discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other behaviour prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, to foster good relations between persons with and without protected characteristics and promote equality of opportunity regardless of whether a person has a protected characteristic (such as race, gender, transgender, disability, age, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief and sexual orientation). The school aims to comply with this duty, in both the delivery of its services and the employment of its staff. It is created by Maidstone Grammar School’s Governing Body with the help of the Headmaster/SLT/pastoral leaders/staff/students in line with the Equality Act 2010 and is the foundation of all the school’s other policies
– particularly the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Policy and Information Report, Admissions Policy, Anti-Bullying Policy and the Behaviour Policy.

The School is committed to providing an environment that welcomes, protects and respects all people. In order
to do this our Equalities Objectives, to be achieved by 2026 are:

• To use performance data to monitor student achievement and respond to variations between groups of learners, subjects, key stages, trends over time and comparisons with national data and other similar schools. At MGS, we monitor SEN, PPG, EAL, Transferees/Girls joining in the Sixth Form, Most Able and Most Able Disadvantaged students on a termly basis. We are looking to maintain positive Value Added/Progress for all students at MGS. There are two particular targets we must continue to address to achieve this:
  • By 2026, the performance of female students will be in line with the boys in achieving positive Value Added/Progress in their A-Levels (at the end of Y13).
  • By 2026, the performance of disadvantaged students at GCSE and A-Level will be in line with non-disadvantaged students in achieving positive Value Added/Progress in their GCSEs and A-Levels.
• To reduce prejudice and increase understanding of equality through direct teaching across the curriculum and through our Inspire to Belong Programme; By 2026 95% of students will agree that the school actively seeks to raise understanding and awareness of key equality issues (including in relation to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender, disability), as shown through a student survey.
• To continue to reduce all incidents of inappropriate behaviour and / or bullying arising from prejudiced ideas related to special educational need and disability, health, race, socio-economic group, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy or maternity, marital status or civil partnership, sex, gender reassignment or age; By 2026 the school will see a decrease in racial incidents from 5% of the total incidents reported in the academic year to 3% of the total incidents reported. Other hate incidents including homophobic, biphobic, transphobic and anti-disability incidents will be no more than 2% of total incidents reported.
• To monitor and promote the involvement of all groups of students in the extra-curricular life of the school including leadership opportunities, including students with SEND; The school will introduce monitoring of student participation in extra-curricular activities from 2022 and by 2026, 70% of students formally categorised as SEN will participate in one or more extra curricular activities on a regular basis.
• To improve accessibility across the school for students, staff and visitors with disabilities, including access to specialist teaching areas. New building work will be designed with accessibility as a key priority and this will be evidenced from the plans and designs of buildings completed in this period.