Diversity and Inclusion 

The celebration and promotion of the diverse community that we serve here at Our Lady’s is something that we prioritise in every aspect of our school including:

• Policies
  • All of our policies here at Our Lady’s are written in accordance with and to safeguard all protected characteristics under the Equality Act (2010). For additional information and detail on how we fulfill this commitment, please see Policies here most notably our Anti Bullying, Behaviour, Child on Child Abuse, Diversity and Safeguarding policies. 

  • The Halo Code at Our Lady's

    • We are proud to announce our part in the Halo Collective and that our school policies support the Halo Code. 
    • Our school champions the right of students and staff to embrace all Afro-hairstyles. We acknowledge that Afro-textured hair is an important part of our Black community’s racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious identities, and requires specific styling for hair health and maintenance. 
    • We celebrate Afro-textured hair worn in all styles including, but not limited to, afros, locs, twists, braids, cornrows, fades, hair straightened through the application of heat or chemicals, weaves, wigs, headscarves, and wraps.

    • In this school, we recognise and celebrate our community’s identities. We are a community built on an ethos of equality and respect where hair texture and style have no bearing on a child or staff member’s ability to succeed.

• Curriculum

  • Our curriculum reflects the community we serve and helps every pupil see themselves in what they learn. Each subject's curriculum map shows how we do this.

  • Assemblies are led by senior leaders, year teams and pupils. They introduce pupils to a wide range of cultures, faiths and people, in keeping with our Catholic ethos and values.

• Language and culture days​​​​​​​
  • Our community speaks a large number of languages at home. On our language and culture days, pupils share their own heritage with classmates through food, music, dress, presentations and displays.

• Celebrating our community through the year

  • Black History Month: pupils have enjoyed time outdoors with the Manchester charity Black Girls Hike and heard engineer Sam Buah talk about his route into engineering and architecture.

    • International Women's Day: we welcomed back former pupil Maria Edwards, now a professional footballer.
    • Iftar: pupils from our Muslim and Catholic communities shared an Iftar meal, with talks from a local Imam and Father Nicholas.

• British values and respect for everyone

  • Pupils learn about democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. They learn these through PSHCE, RE, assemblies and the student council's democratic elections. Pupils learn about the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010, and why every person deserves dignity and respect. For us, this flows from the Catholic belief that every person is made in the image of God.