Equality Information
At Longbenton High School, equality means making sure that every pupil, member of staff, parent, carer and visitor is treated fairly and with respect.
We want every young person to feel safe, valued and able to take part fully in school life. This includes pupils of all backgrounds, abilities, identities and experiences.
As a school, we have legal duties under the Equality Act 2010. We also have a duty called the Public Sector Equality Duty. In simple terms, this means we must think carefully about equality when we make decisions, write policies, plan support for pupils and organise school life.
The government states that schools must publish details of how they comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty every year, and must publish equality objectives at least every 4 years.
Public Sector Equality Duty
The Public Sector Equality Duty means that we must give proper consideration to 3 important aims.
We must:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not.
- Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not.
Protected characteristics include age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
For pupils and families, this means that equality is not just about having a policy. It is about the everyday work of the school. It affects how we teach, how we support pupils, how we respond to bullying, how we make reasonable adjustments, how we remove barriers and how we help pupils understand and respect each other.
How We Comply With the Public Sector Equality Duty
Longbenton High School complies with the Public Sector Equality Duty in the following ways.
- We monitor pupil achievement, attendance and behaviour so that we can identify whether any group of pupils is at risk of falling behind or experiencing barriers to school life. This includes looking carefully at groups such as pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils, boys, girls, pupils from different ethnic backgrounds and pupils with other protected characteristics.
- We promote equality through our curriculum, tutor programme, assemblies, personal development work and enrichment activities. We want pupils to learn about the wider world, understand different perspectives and treat others with kindness and respect.
- We challenge discrimination, prejudice and bullying. This includes racist, sexist, homophobic, biphobic, transphobic and disability related language or behaviour. Where concerns are raised, we deal with them seriously and support pupils to understand the impact of their actions.
- We make reasonable adjustments for pupils, staff and visitors with disabilities. This may include adjustments to learning, access to the school site, communication, medical support or pastoral support.
- We review school policies to make sure they support equality and inclusion. This includes policies linked to behaviour, anti bullying, safeguarding, SEND, attendance, curriculum and recruitment.
- We use pupil voice, parent feedback, staff feedback and governor oversight to help us understand how inclusive our school is and where further improvement is needed.
- We aim to recruit, support and develop staff fairly. We expect all staff to promote equality and model respectful behaviour.
- We work with families, external agencies and the local authority where additional support is needed for individual pupils.
This information is reviewed and updated annually.
Equality Objectives 2024 to 2028
Our equality objectives help us focus on the areas where we want to make further improvements. These objectives are reviewed at least every 4 years, with progress considered annually.
Objective 1: Improve representation across the curriculum and wider school life
We will continue to develop our curriculum, assemblies, displays and personal development programme so that pupils see a wide range of people, cultures, histories and experiences represented positively.
This matters because pupils should be able to see themselves reflected in school life, while also learning about people whose lives and experiences may be different from their own.
Objective 2: Reduce gaps in outcomes for key groups of pupils
We will continue to monitor achievement, progress, attendance and behaviour for different groups of pupils, including pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and other vulnerable groups.
Where gaps are identified, leaders will put support in place and check whether that support is making a difference.
This matters because equality is not only about treating everyone the same. Some pupils need additional support or different approaches so that they can achieve as well as others.
Objective 3: Strengthen accessibility and inclusion for pupils with disabilities or long term health needs
We will continue to review the school environment, school policies and support systems so that pupils with disabilities or long term health needs can take part fully in school life.
This includes access to learning, movement around the school site, communication with families, reasonable adjustments and support for medical needs.
This objective links closely to our Accessibility Plan, which is available on our Policies page.
Objective 4: Strengthen pupil, parent and staff voice on equality and inclusion
We will continue to gather feedback from pupils, parents, carers and staff so that we can better understand people’s experiences of school.
This may include surveys, pupil voice activities, parent communication, staff feedback and discussion with governors.
This matters because the best way to improve inclusion is to listen carefully to the people who experience school life every day.
Accessibility Information
Longbenton High School wants its website and published information to be accessible to as many people as possible.
This means that parents, carers, pupils, staff and members of the public should be able to access important school information clearly and easily, including people who use assistive technology or need information in a different format.
Public sector websites are expected to meet accessibility requirements and publish an accessibility statement. Government guidance says that public sector bodies should publish an accessibility statement explaining how accessible their website or app is. It also confirms that primary and secondary schools are partially exempt from some accessibility regulations, but still need to publish an accessibility statement for the content people need in order to use their services.
We also have an Accessibility Plan, which explains how we aim to improve access to the curriculum, the physical environment and information for pupils with disabilities.
Parents and carers can request paper copies of information from the school free of charge. If you need information in a different format, please contact the school office.
Contact: lhs@longbenton.org.uk
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Website Accessibility Statement
Longbenton High School is committed to making its website accessible and easy to use for as many people as possible.
We want users to be able to:
- read the website clearly
- navigate the website easily
- access key information using different devices
- request information in another format if needed
We know that some parts of the website may not yet be fully accessible. For example, some older PDF documents may not be fully compatible with screen readers. Where possible, we will work to improve this over time and provide information in an alternative format when requested.
If you need information from this website in a different format, such as a paper copy, large print or a more accessible document, please contact us.
Email: lhs@longbenton.org.uk
Telephone: 0191 218 9500
We will review this accessibility statement regularly.
Gender Pay Gap Information
Longbenton High School does not currently publish a separate gender pay gap report because the reporting requirement applies to employers with 250 or more employees.
Where relevant, gender pay gap information for North Tyneside Council can be viewed through the government gender pay gap service. The latest North Tyneside Council report is available on the government gender pay gap website available here.
Financial Information
As part of our commitment to transparency, we publish information about the school’s finances. This helps parents, staff, and the wider community understand how the school is funded and how money is spent.
Staff Earning Over £100,000
Maintained schools are required to provide details of any staff earning over £100,000. This information is shown in bands of £10,000 to make it easy to understand.
At our school, currently there is one member of staff earning between £100,000 and £109,999. There are no other staff members earning over £110,000.
| Salary Band (£) | Number of Individuals |
|---|---|
| 100,000 – 109,999 | 1 |
| 110,000 – 119,999 | 0 |
| 120,000 – 129,999 | 0 |
| 130,000 – 139,999 | 0 |
| 140,000+ | 0 |
Why we publish this:
- It is a legal requirement for transparency in maintained schools.
- It allows the public to see how resources are allocated and ensures accountability.
- Publishing in bands protects individual privacy while still meeting legal requirements.
School Financial Benchmarking
We also provide a link to our School Financial Benchmarking page, which is an official government tool. This service allows anyone to compare our school’s financial data with other schools nationally. It includes information such as:
- Staff costs
- Income and expenditure
- Pupil numbers
- How resources are used efficiently
You can view our dedicated benchmarking page here.
Why this is useful:
- Parents can see how the school’s finances compare with other schools.
- It helps the school monitor efficiency and make informed decisions about resources.
- It provides confidence that public money is being used appropriately to support pupils’ learning.
Trade Union Facility Time
Trade union facility time means paid time given to a recognised trade union official so that they can carry out trade union duties during normal working hours.
This might include supporting staff, attending meetings, taking part in consultation, or representing staff in formal employment processes. It helps make sure that staff can access proper representation and that the school can work constructively with recognised trade unions.
The Trade Union Facility Time Publication Requirements Regulations 2017 previously required relevant public sector employers to publish information each year about the amount and cost of trade union facility time. The regulations came into force on 1 April 2017 and included information such as the number of union officials, the percentage of working time spent on facility time, the cost of facility time and the percentage of paid facility time spent on trade union activities.
However, this publication requirement was repealed from 18 February 2026 by the Employment Rights Act 2025. As our reporting period is 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, this information is no longer required to be published for this reporting year. We have chosen to include the information below for openness and clarity. 2025/2026 acdemic year will be the final publication of this information as per the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Reporting Period
1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
Relevant Trade Union Officials
This table shows the number of school employees who were recognised trade union officials during the reporting period.
| Information | Number |
|---|---|
| Number of employees who were relevant trade union officials | 3 |
| Full time equivalent number of employees who were relevant trade union officials | 3.0 |
Percentage of Working Time Spent on Facility Time
This table shows the percentage of working time that relevant trade union officials spent on facility time.
| Percentage of working time spent on facility time | Number of employees |
|---|---|
| 0% | 0 |
| 1% to 50% | 3 |
| 51% to 99% | 0 |
| 100% | 0 |
Cost of Facility Time
One member of staff received 0.4 FTE release time for facility time.
The member of staff is paid a full time salary of £51,048.
The cost of this facility time is calculated as follows:
| Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Full time salary | £51,048 |
| Facility time allocation | 0.4 FTE |
| Annual cost of facility time | £20,419.20 |
This means the annual salary cost of the facility time release is £20,419.20.
Percentage of Pay Bill Spent on Facility Time
This calculation shows the cost of facility time as a percentage of the school’s total pay bill.
| Information | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total cost of facility time | £20,419.20 |
| Total school pay bill | £20,419.20 |
| Percentage of total pay bill spent on facility time | 0.40% |
Finance will need to insert the school’s total pay bill for the reporting period before this percentage can be finalised. This figure cannot be calculated from one member of staff’s salary alone because it needs the full payroll cost for the school.
Paid Trade Union Activities
Paid trade union activities are time spent on wider recognised trade union activity during paid facility time.
For this reporting period, the school’s paid trade union activity was linked to the 0.4 FTE facility time allocation.
| Information | Figure |
|---|---|
| Facility time allocation | 0.4 FTE |
| Paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time | 100% |
Local Authority Pooled Arrangement
Longbenton High School contributes to a local authority pooled arrangement for trade union facility time.
This means that trade union representation is organised in a shared way across the local authority. It allows recognised union officials to support staff and work with schools on employment matters, rather than each school having to arrange all support separately.
The Cabinet Office of HM Government has also confirmed that the public sector facility time reporting service is now closed and that public sector organisations are no longer required to submit facility time data.