Equality and Diversity – Briefing for College Managers

Aims of the Briefing Informing staff about new policies and procedures & some background information Increasing staff’s confidence Practicalities – staff know what they should be doing about E&D

What are Equality and Diversity? EQUALITY An organisation that can be said to support or promote equality must have a clear and active regard for inclusiveness, openness, and fairness in people’s interactions with one another. The organisation must also actively combat negative discrimination where this occurs on the basis of irrelevant differences amongst people (as in the characteristics above)

What are Equality and Diversity? DIVERSITY The organisation recognises and respects the differences amongst people with varied ‘characteristics’ (such as gender, race, disability, age, mental capability, sexual orientation, culture, social class, trans-sexuality, religion/belief, etc).

The protected characteristics and strands of discrimination 1.Age 2.Disability 3.Gender reassignment 4.Marriage and civil partnership 5.Race 6.Religion or belief 7.Sex 8.Sexual orientation

Equality and diversity strands and definitions Race A group of people identified by race, colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. Examples include: Romany Gypsies, Jews, Sikhs, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black African, Black Caribbean, White, Irish, Welsh, Turkish, Greek Cypriot, Mixed ethnic group and any other ethnic group/ nationality.

Equality and diversity strands and definitions Disability Persons with a disability as defined within the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 such as those with hearing impairment, visual impairment, physically disabled, learning disability or mental health problems.

Equality and diversity strands and definitions Sex and gender reassignment Women (including girls) men (including boys) and transgender people.

Equality and diversity strands and definitions Religion/ Belief/ Values Religion/ belief is any religion, religious belief or similar philosophical belief but does not include any philosophical or political belief unless it is similar to a religious belief; a profound belief affecting the way of life or view of the world. Non-belief is also covered by the regulations. Examples include: Buddhism, Christianity (protestant, Catholic etc), Hinduism, Atheist, Agnostic, Humanist, and any other religion.

Equality and diversity strands and definitions Age age groups are defined in relation to the appropriate policy or practices under consideration. For example, employment policies and practices may focus on older groups, perhaps in relation to retirement policy. However, a Student Services Attendance policy may be focused towards Students.

Equality and diversity strands and definitions Sexual Orientation As defined under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulation 2003: Orientation towards persons of the same sex (gay/ lesbian) Orientation towards persons of the opposite sex (heterosexual) Orientation towards persons of the same sex and opposite sex (bisexual)

The College’s legal obligations Activity 1 Read through handout 1 a)Using the legislative checklist (Handout 1) identify how the college complies with these requirements b)Using the legislative checklist (Handout 1) identify how your area complies with these requirements

What inspectors are looking for? The two operating principles for the inspection of equality and diversity are: How effectively a provider is narrowing the achievement gap How effectively a provider actively promotes equality and diversity and tackles discrimination

What inspectors are looking for sources of evidence? Lesson observations (See matrix and ATP tips in pack) Tutorial observations Lesson plans, schemes of work Success rate data Value added data Learning support data

What inspectors are looking for sources of evidence? (Cont’d) Impact assessments Course reviews SARs Policies and procedures Enrichment Community links

Sources of data to evidence E&D in college Qualification success rates by ethnicity, disability and gender Value added data by ethnicity, disability and gender Additional learning support by ethnicity, disability and gender Local community data by ethnicity, disability and gender

What inspectors are looking for? (Cont’d) Activity 2 Using handout 2 a)Describe how well your area complies with, and can evidence the two operating principles for inspecting E&D set out by Ofsted

Impact assessments of college policies and procedures Legal requirement to impact assess all college policies, procedures, processes and practices (Ps) Initial assessment needed to screen all Ps. Task is to identify which Ps have, or are likely to have, a negative impact on equality. These require a full impact assessment (which includes learner/client input). Other Ps may have a positive or ‘neutral’ effect and don’t need a full assessment. Highlight in priority order (high, medium, low) all Ps which need a full impact assessment All 6 main equality characteristics to be considered for each P

Activity Look at list of college-wide policies and procedures Recommend which are high, medium or low priority for a full impact assessment (to be carried out centrally within the college) in your view NB - If any of these affect activity in your own departments (e.g. the Student Disciplinary Policy) they should also be addressed as part of your own (divisional or departmental) Impact Assessment and Action Plan.

Equality and Diversity Impact Assessment and Action Plan ( ) (Sample) Division or Department _____________________________ Name of DLM or CLM _____________________ STEP ONE – Impact assessment against the objectives Objectives (1-8) YesIn part NoStrengths (summarise the strengths, including clear details of the quantitative and qualitative evidence for these) Areas for improvement (these should be followed up in Step 2 - the Action Plan) Objective 6: the college impact assesses its policies and practices STEP TWO – Action Plan Area for improvementTarget outcome/impactSpecific actionsMilestones/datesPerson/s responsible Objective No. Note: see a copy of the full guidelines and Action Plan templates in your packs for complete details of the 8 Objectives and how to carry out your impact assessments and action planning

What next? Cascade briefing to your staff Monitoring Departments – via the timelined Action Plan E & D Steering to call in all Departmental Action Plans annually Reporting Departments - via the SAR E & D Steering to report to Principalship & Governors

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