Statement of Intent

Tiny Toez is committed to providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children, their families and its employees. The nursery takes great care to treat each individual as a person in their own right, with equal rights and responsibilities to all individuals, whether they are adult or child.

Legal Framework

• Children Act 1989
• Child Care Act 2006
• Equality Act 2010

Our Commitment to Equality in the Curriculum

The curriculum at Tiny Toez encourages children to develop positive attitudes to people who are different from themselves. Our staff are committed to achieving this by:

Valuing Diversity in Families

At Tiny Toez we welcome the diversity of family life and work with all families. We encourage children to contribute stories of their everyday life into the nursery and we encourage parents and carers to take part in the life of the nursery and to contribute fully.

For families whose first language is not English, we value the contribution their culture and language offers. Managers and staff create an ethos of inclusivity and tolerance where views, faiths, cultures and races are valued.

Children as Individuals — Valuing Children's Rights

Managers and staff encourage children to be independent, and support their right to express themselves as individuals. All children are listened to, their comments and wishes taken into consideration, and they are also taught to respect and value the views and opinions of others.

Staff support children's decisions and provide activities that promote turn taking, sharing and collaboration. We believe that following this approach enhances children's self-esteem, knowledge and confidence.

Ensuring All Children Are Safeguarded

Safeguarding is taken very seriously and is paramount at all times. The setting will always try to ensure all activities are inclusive for each child, and each child's individual needs will be assessed.

Please also see our Trips and Outings Policy for further information.

Admissions

Our nursery is open to all members of the community. No child will be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, religion, colour or creed. We will make every effort to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children and to encourage participation, ensuring that every child is included and supported.

Tiny Toez will strive to ensure that all services and projects are accessible and relevant to all groups and individuals in the community within targeted age groups. We will promote equal access to services by taking practical steps such as ensuring access for disabled people and producing material in relevant languages and media.

Employment and Promotion

Tiny Toez is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment. All vacancies are advertised and all applicants are judged against explicit and fair criteria.

Management will ensure that recruitment, selection, training, development and promotion procedures result in no job applicant or employee receiving less favourable treatment because of a protected characteristic including:

Management Responsibilities

• Not discriminating in the course of employment against employees or job applicants
• Not inducing or attempting to induce others to practise unlawful discrimination
• Bringing to the attention of employees that they will be subject to disciplinary action for unlawful discrimination of any kind

Employee Responsibilities

• Not discriminating against fellow employees, customers, clients, suppliers or members of the public
• Not inducing or attempting to induce others to practise unlawful discrimination
• Reporting any discriminatory action to the Director

Staff & Training

All staff are expected to cooperate with the implementation, monitoring and improvement of this and other policies. All staff are expected to challenge language, actions, behaviours and attitudes which are oppressive or discriminatory.

Tiny Toez recognises the importance of training as a key factor in implementing an effective Equal Opportunities Policy. Equal opportunities is included in our staff induction process and we seek out training opportunities for staff to enable them to develop practices which help children flourish.

Food & Cultural Dietary Needs

We work in partnership with parents and carers to ensure that the medical, cultural and dietary needs of children are met. We help children to learn about a range of food, cultural approaches to mealtimes and eating, and to respect the differences among them.