Our Living & Learning statement this week was:
I understand some characteristics are protected by law.
This week we learnt about the protected characteristics. We discussed what they are and how and why they’re protected.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination is defined as ‘the unfair treatment of people because of who they are or because they have a certain characteristic(s)’. We discussed examples and the impact of discrimination.
Protection from discrimination
We discussed how the protected characteristics are protected by law – The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination based on protected characteristics.
We reminded ourselves of a helpful way to remember the protected characteristics by using the mnemonic:
DR GRAMPSS
Disability
Race
Gender reassignment
Religion or beliefs
Age
Marriage or civil partnership
Pregnancy and/or maternity leave
Sex
Sexual orientation
We are already pretty confident recalling the protected characteristics so we thought deeper about why they are important. What would our world be like if we didn’t have protected characteristics?
Can everyone achieve?
Later in the week, we watched a video celebrating the life and achievements of Jane Goodall (Watch Newsround video here) who is our featured scientist of the half-term. We discussed how important it is that people are able to have the same opportunities regardless of their sex (one of the protected characteristics). In the 1960s, when there were very few female scientists, Jane made significant contributions to the fields of conservation and anthropology. We hope that The Equality Act (2010) will mean that anyone who wants to be a scientist can be one without facing discrimination.
Help at home: Discuss why you think our world is a better place for having protected characteristics.