City of York Council

Equalities Impact Assessment

Who is submitting the proposal?

Directorate:		People Directorate
Service Area:		Education Support Services
Name of the proposal :		Millthorpe School - School Capital Works at Millthorpe School to Accommodate the Expected Demand for Pupils Places from within the Millthorpe Catchment Area by September 2022
Lead officer:		Claire McCormick
Date assessment completed:		16-09-21
Names of those who contributed to the assessment :
Name	Job title		Organisation	Area of expertise
Claire McCormick	Planning & Policy Officer		CYC	Project Executive for CYC for the development of the project working in tandem with Millthorpe School and South Bank Trust
Alex Collins	School Business Manager		Millthorpe School	Project Administrator for Millthorpe School for the development of the project working in tandem with CYC.

Step 1 – Aims and intended outcomes 

1.1	What is the purpose of the proposal? Please explain your proposal in Plain English avoiding acronyms and jargon.
	The report provides details about the capital work needed to create additional accommodation to fulfil an expected temporary 3-year demand for pupils living in Millthorpe’s catchment area in Secondary Planning Area West (SPA West).

1.2	Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.)
	N/A

1.3	Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests?

	The stakeholders are CYC to create additional places in the Millthorpe catchment area due to the increasing demand of parents/pupils wanting to attend Millthorpe School; Millthorpe School whose building cannot accommodate additional pupils without adaptations; South Bank Trust as Millthorpe School is a part of the trust.
1.4	What results/outcomes do we want to achieve and for whom?  This section should explain what outcomes you want to achieve for service users, staff and/or the wider community. Demonstrate how the proposal links to the Council Plan (2019- 2023) and other corporate strategies and plans.
1.4	As above, the outcomes are for the pupils attending the school and the staff that teach and supervise those pupils. Links to the Council Plan: Well paid jobs and an inclusive economy The spaces being created at Millthorpe School will provide additional pupils with a place at a good and increasingly popular school. A greener and cleaner city   The adaptations at Millthorpe School will be created using the existing footprint.  Getting around sustainably A travel plan will be devised to scrutinise the movement of people and vehicles and to develop ideas to resolve this.  This will be provided alongside the planning application. A better start for children and young people The spaces being created at Millthorpe School will provide the pupil places needed to fulfil the expected, forecasted demand.

Step 2 – Gathering the information and feedback 

2.1	What sources of data, evidence and consultation feedback do we have to help us understand the impact of the proposal on equality rights and human rights? Please consider a range of sources, including: consultation exercises, surveys, feedback from staff, stakeholders, participants, research reports, the views of equality groups, as well your own experience of working in this area etc.
Source of data/supporting evidence		Reason for using
Feedback from stakeholders – school and trust		Helps to demonstrate the full and wider impact of the proposed works.

Step 3 – Gaps in data and knowledge

3.1	What are the main gaps in information and understanding of the impact of your proposal?  Please indicate how any gaps will be dealt with.
Gaps in data or knowledge		Action to deal with this
N/A

Step 4 – Analysing the impacts or effects.

4.1	Please consider what the evidence tells you about the likely impact (positive or negative) on people sharing a protected characteristic, i.e. how significant could the impacts be if we did not make any adjustments? Remember the duty is also positive – so please identify where the proposal offers opportunities to promote equality and/or foster good relations.
Equality Groups and Human Rights.		Key Findings/Impacts More pupils means increased diversity.  Increased diversity means adapting spaces to meet requirements.	Positive (+) Negative (-) Neutral (0)	High (H) Medium (M) Low (L)
Age
Disability		CYC is asking Millthorpe School to take more pupils from its catchment due to the increased popularity of the school and the forecasted requests for places. The UK/York is seeing a significant increase in pupils with SEMH.  Adding more pupils into a school building creates increased levels of anxiety for some pupils due to pupils moving en masse around a school with a number of areas impacted by over-crowding.   Mobility/physical disability:  The increase in pupils to the school may include some with mobility/physical disabilities. Currently, those with mobility/physical disabilities have to take circuitous and time consuming routes to get to lessons due to mass movement of people in corridors and along paths.  Sensory disabilities: An increase of pupils to the school may include pupil/s with sensory disabilities where currently crowded corridors, noise levels, long dining queues, not enough areas to sit and time to eat erodes choices and independence.  Resolving some of the issues of over-crowding before additional pupils arrive from September 2022 through this project will reduce risks, triggers of stress and anxiety and increase independence.
Gender		Creating unisex toileting areas that are able to be supervised removes stigma of non-binary people using gender designated facilities.
Gender Reassignment		As above.
Marriage and civil partnership
Pregnancy and maternity
Race
Religion and belief		Creating unisex floor to ceiling cubicles and toiletting areas allows pupils the guaranteed reassurance of privacy.  Re-purposing space allows for the creation of smaller rooms/intervention spaces and a prayer room.
Sexual orientation		Removal of communal urinals in favour of individual cubicles reduces risk of homophobic incidents among boys using toilets.
Other Socio-economic groups including :		Could other socio-economic groups be affected e.g. carers, ex-offenders, low incomes?
Carer
Low income groups		Adapting the dining operation and seating set up will promote affordable, healthy eating for pupils from lower income families who may increase as a result of additional pupils accessing the school.
Veterans, Armed Forces Community
Other
Impact on human rights:
List any human rights impacted.

Use the following guidance to inform your responses:

Indicate:

- Where you think that the proposal could have a POSITIVE impact on any of the equality groups like promoting equality and equal opportunities or improving relations within equality groups

- Where you think that the proposal could have a NEGATIVE impact on any of the equality groups, i.e. it could disadvantage them

- Where you think that this proposal has a NEUTRAL effect on any of the equality groups listed below i.e. it has no effect currently on equality groups.

It is important to remember that a proposal may be highly relevant to one aspect of equality and not relevant to another.

High impact (The proposal or process is very equality relevant)	There is significant potential for or evidence of adverse impact The proposal is institution wide or public facing The proposal has consequences for or affects significant numbers of people The proposal has the potential to make a significant contribution to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights.
Medium impact (The proposal or process is somewhat equality relevant)	There is some evidence to suggest potential for or evidence of adverse impact The proposal is institution wide or across services, but mainly internal The proposal has consequences for or affects some people The proposal has the potential to make a contribution to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights
Low impact (The proposal or process might be equality relevant)	There is little evidence to suggest that the proposal could result in adverse impact The proposal operates in a limited way The proposal has consequences for or affects few people The proposal may have the potential to contribute to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights

Step 5 - Mitigating adverse impacts and maximising positive impacts

5.1	Based on your findings, explain ways you plan to mitigate any unlawful prohibited conduct or unwanted adverse impact. Where positive impacts have been identified, what is been done to optimise opportunities to advance equality or foster good relations?
As step 4.

Step 6 – Recommendations and conclusions of the assessment

6.1	Having considered the potential or actual impacts you should be in a position to make an informed judgement on what should be done. In all cases, document your reasoning that justifies your decision. There are four main options you can take:
- No major change to the proposal – the EIA demonstrates the proposal is robust.  There is no                         potential  for unlawful discrimination or adverse impact and you have taken all opportunities to    advance equality and foster good relations, subject to continuing monitor and review.
- Adjust the proposal – the EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. This involves taking steps to remove any barriers, to better advance quality or to foster good relations. - Continue with the proposal (despite the potential for adverse impact) – you should clearly set out the justifications for doing this and how you believe the decision is compatible with our obligations under the duty - Stop and remove the proposal – if there are adverse effects that are not justified and cannot be mitigated, you should consider stopping the proposal altogether. If a proposal leads to unlawful discrimination it should be removed or changed. Important: If there are any adverse impacts you cannot mitigate, please provide a compelling reason in the justification column.
Option selected		Conclusions/justification
No major change to the proposal.		The project will enhance equality, choice and independence.

Step 7 – Summary of agreed actions resulting from the assessment

7.1	What action, by whom, will be undertaken as a result of the impact assessment.
Impact/issue		Action to be taken	Person responsible	Timescale
Additional pupils causing overcrowding.		Make adaptations to resolve issues of overcrowding.	Claire McCormick/South Bank Trust.	To be complete by September 2022.

Step 8 - Monitor, review and improve

8.1

How will the impact of your proposal be monitored and improved upon going forward?   Consider how will you identify the impact of activities on protected characteristics and other marginalised groups going forward? How will any learning and enhancements be capitalised on and embedded?

Over-crowding causes anxiety, and additional pupils in school from September 2022 will enhance this issue for everyone in crowded, noisy corridors and toilet areas that cannot be properly supervised. Resolving these issues in the worst affected areas will allow for better supervision, will lower stress levels and will improve health and safety.  Creating teaching, break out and intervention space by re-organising internal areas to make them work better will enable school to teach additional pupils without the need to build new teaching spaces.  Long lunchtime queues mean some pupils often decide to skip lunch leading to tiredness and poor performance in the afternoons.  All pupils, but in particular those with anxiety/SEMH/disabilities and those receiving free school meals will benefit from being able to spend a longer amount of time eating and digesting food, leading to more nutritious choices and ultimately better levels of concentration in lessons during the afternoon.