Equality Objectives
Students
In 2019 (the last year of public exams pre-pandemic), there was no gap between FSM and Non FSM students who secured a 4+ in English and Maths. The impact of the lockdown was felt in our KS4 results and, despite extensive efforts, the gap that we had eliminated grew in the years following the pandemic. One of our main focuses at Cardinal Pole Catholic School was to ensure that this gap is significantly narrowed.
In 2024, 70% of students not in receipt of Free School Meals achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and Maths; 68% of students who were in receipt of Free School Meals also achieved this benchmark. This marks not only a significant closing of the gap between FSM and non-FSM but also shows attainment that is statistically significantly higher than students in this group nationally. In fact, Attainment 8 scores in English, Maths, EBacc and Open elements were also statistically significantly higher than national (FFT, 2024). We are very proud of these achievements.
Staff
Training at Cardinal Pole Catholic School includes assessment of students’ results and careful analysis to ensure students of all groups, particularly Free School Meal students, reach the same levels of attainment. Suitable interventions are provided in order to achieve this, up to and including public examination results.
Single Equality Plan Policy
One of our main focuses at Cardinal Pole Catholic School has always been to ensure that this gap is significantly narrowed and is evidenced by the DfE Performance Tables – Narrowing the Gap (see link below), which shows that 67% of our disadvantaged pupils achieve English & Maths GCSE at grade 4+. In 2020, this has risen to 75%.