Equal Opportunities Policy

Policy Statement

We at The Kids’ Club including The Little Kids’ Club believe that no child, young person, individual or family should be excluded from the Club’s activities on grounds of age, gender, sexuality, class, family status, means, disability, colour, ethnic origin, culture, religion or belief.

The Kids’ Club including The Little Kids’ Club adheres to the UNCRC, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and this policy supports Articles: 2, 3, 14, 23, 30. Please see on the notice board and in the policy file for more information.

We aim to ensure that all who wish to work, or volunteer to help, within our Clubs have an equal opportunity to do so.

We will ensure that our services are fully inclusive in meeting the needs of all children and young people.

We recognise that children, young people and their families come from diverse backgrounds and diverse family structures.

All families have needs and values that arise from their social and economic, ethnic and cultural or religious backgrounds.

Some children and young people have needs that arise from disability or impairment or may have parents/carers that are affected by disability or impairment.

Some children and young people come from families who experience social exclusion or severe hardship.

Some have to face discrimination and prejudice because of their ethnicity, the languages they speak, their religious or belief background, their gender or their impairment.

We understand that these factors affect the well-being of children and young people and can impact on their wellbeing and their experience within the Clubs.

Our settings are committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity and valuing diversity for all children, young people and their families/carers.

We are committed to creating an environment where each child and young person feels a sense of belonging.

Playworkers stand up and protect play and a child’s right to play.

All children need to play, the impulse is innate.

At The Kids Club including The Little Kids’ Club we aim to

To support the creation of enriched play spaces for all children and young people
Provide a secure and accessible environment that is welcoming, in which all children and young people can flourish and in which all contributions are considered and valued;
To explore and promote equal opportunities and look to provide opportunities for the children to explore and understand other cultures through a variety of means including arts and crafts, games, snack;
Include and value the contribution of all families/carers to our understanding of equality and diversity;
Improve our knowledge and understanding of issues of anti-discriminatory practice, promoting equality and valuing diversity;
Challenge and eliminate discriminatory actions; and practice that everyone should take responsibility for their own actions
Make inclusion a thread that runs through all of the activities of the Clubs
Foster good relations between all communities. Home/school/club/pre-school partnership.
Value individual strengths and weaknesses.
Provide activities and opportunities that are appropriate to the age and level of understanding of all our children and young people.
Recognise as Playworkers our own impact on the play space and also the impact of children and young people’s play on the Playworker.
Encourage respect and to value others opinions.
Respect other people’s property and possessions.
Make all children feel valued and good about themselves and others
Ensure that all children have equality of access to play opportunities
Undertake an access audit to establish if the setting is accessible to all children
Avoid stereotypes or derogatory images in the selection of books or other visual materials
Create an environment of mutual respect and tolerance
Help all children to understand that discriminatory behaviour and remarks are hurtful and unacceptable
Discriminatory behaviour and remarks will not be accepted or tolerated in our Our response will aim to be sensitive to the feelings of the victim and to help those responsible to understand stereotypes and overcome their prejudices.
We also aim to be reactive to the differing needs of our families, children and young people and adapt our services to the best of our ability and resources available.

Our Clubs are as accessible as possible for all visitors and service users. If access to the settings is found to treat children or adults with a disability less favourably then we will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments, where possible, to accommodate the needs of these children and adults.

(Reviewed March 2020)