Contents
Description Page(s)
1.0 Introduction and Overview of Progress 2010/11 3-4
2.0 Equality and Diversity and the Organisational Structure 4-5
3.0 The Legal Context 6-8
4.0 Investors in Diversity 8-11
5.0 Single Equality Scheme and the Common Inspection Framework 11-12
6.0 Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) 12
7.0 Training 12-13
8.0 Fundraising / Events / Notable Achievements 13-16
9.0 Data Analysis – Employees 17-24
10.0 Recruitment and Selection Monitoring Data 2010/11 24-27
11.0 Data Analysis – Governors 27-28
12.0 Data Analysis – Students 28-30
13.0 Plans for 2011/12 30-31
Appendices
1.0 Single Equality Scheme Action Plan
2.0 Equality Impact Assessments Summary
3.0 Action Plan arising from Premises Access Audit
1.0 Introduction and Overview of Progress 2010/11
The 2010/11 academic year has been a busy period in respect of equality and diversity. The year started with an induction to the Investors in Diversity process, shortly after which we received the news that we had achieved Level One Investors in Diversity status.
Since then there have been many exciting events and initiatives, all designed to ensure that as a College we are taking a proactive approach to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, and tackling discrimination, including bullying and harassment. Events have included charity fundraising and a Cultural Olympics day, as well as student-focused competitions to encourage research into different equality and diversity themes while also rewarding creativity, particularly in relation to the ‘design a poster’ competition that ran in November 2010.
In January 2011 we were successfully reassessed for the ‘Positive about Disabled People’ (two ticks) award, for our commitment to ensuring candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for a role are guaranteed an interview.
In March 2011 representatives of the Study Centre and the New College Diversity Club (NC/DC) showcased their exceptional work at the Association of College’s annual Equality and Diversity conference. The team received wonderful feedback, and was highly commended for the workshop, but more importantly for the brilliant work the team is doing.
Much time and effort has gone into ensuring opportunities for emphasising equality and diversity themes are maximised within teaching and learning, through reviews of different Schemes of Work and lesson plans. We are on the verge of publishing a best practice guide to equality and diversity in teaching and learning, which we hope will be a useful resource for staff across College.
Further detail of the highlights of the year will be provided in this report. The report also aims to provide an update on progress made on our Single Equality Scheme action plan, the completion of Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs), an analysis of relevant staff and student data and information regarding how our equality and diversity vision will continue to evolve, to positive effect.
2.0 Equality and Diversity and the Organisational Structure
Throughout the 2010/11 academic year a small number of College employees have had specific responsibilities for developing and implementing the College’s equality and diversity action plans. In the previous equality and diversity annual summary report, these roles were identified as follows:
Equality and Diversity Manager Zoe Shackleton
Equality and Diversity Teaching and Learning Champion Erika Montgomery
Equality and Diversity Staff Mentor Janet Lorriman
These were all fixed-term positions, and their continuation was largely dependent on their impact and added value to the College and its stakeholders.
Following the Investors in Diversity initial assessment, which took place in April 2011, equality and diversity roles were reviewed, taking into account feedback from the individuals who conducted the assessment. Also taking into account the College’s financial position in respect of funding cuts, for the 2011/12 academic year some significant changes have been made in terms of the roles listed above and the purpose and composition of the two equality and diversity steering groups that were responsible for leading on the action plans last year. Therefore, in the current year the Equality and Diversity Strategic Group and the Investors in Diversity Steering Group have been remodelled into one group with fewer members, the Diversity Group, with a more operational focus. The intention behind this change is to encourage members of staff at all levels to contribute to and be aware of the College’s approach to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion into our daily business.
In addition, six Diversity Champions have been appointed, each of whom will have specific responsibility for leading on an equality/diversity project in which they have a particular interest. It is hoped that the Diversity Champions will be able to bring a ‘grassroots’ perspective to the overarching equality and diversity strategy and associated action plans.
The diagram below shows how the equality and diversity positions relate to each other in the College structure.
Figure 1
We look forward to acknowledging and celebrating the successes of the Diversity Group, led and supported by the individuals detailed in Figure 1, over the course of the next twelve months.
3.0 The Legal Context
On 1st October 2010 the main provisions of the Equality Act 2010 became law. The Equality Act combined many separate pieces of legislation into one single Act, consolidating and extending anti-discrimination law. The aim of the Act was and is to simplify and strengthen the law, and remove inconsistencies. It is important that all members of the College community are aware of their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, including that members of the Governing Body are familiar with the General and Specific public sector equality duties.
3.1 What is the Equality Duty?
As a public sector body we have particular responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010. The public sector equality duty consists of a general equality duty, which is set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 itself, and specific duties which are imposed by secondary legislation. The general equality duty came into force on 5 April 2011.
In summary, those subject to the equality duty must, in the exercise of their functions, have due regard to the need to:
1) Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.
2) Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
3) Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
These are sometimes referred to as the three aims or arms of the general equality duty. The Act helpfully explains that having due regard for advancing equality involves:
· Removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics.
· Taking steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people.
· Encouraging people from protected groups to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low.
· The Act states that meeting different needs involves taking steps to take account of disabled people’s disabilities. It describes fostering good relations as tackling prejudice and promoting understanding between people from different groups. It states that compliance with the duty may involve treating some people more favourably than others.
· The new duty covers the following eight protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Public authorities also need to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination against someone because of their marriage or civil partnership status. This means that the first arm of the duty applies to this characteristic but that the other arms (advancing equality and fostering good relations) do not apply.
3.2 Purpose of the general equality duty
The broad purpose of the equality duty is to integrate consideration of equality and good relations into the day-to-day business of public authorities. As a College, for example, if we do not consider how a function can affect different groups in different ways, it is unlikely to have the intended effect. This can contribute to greater inequality and poor outcomes.
The general equality duty therefore requires organisations to consider how they could positively contribute to the advancement of equality and good relations. It requires equality considerations to be reflected into the design of policies and the delivery of services, including internal policies, and for these issues to be kept under review. It is for this reason that we have decided to continue to conduct Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) on our policies, procedures, practices and plans, even though these are not mandatory by law.
Compliance with the general equality duty is a legal obligation, but is also intrinsic to the College’s mission and values. It is our aim that in providing services to meet the diverse needs of our community we should be able to deliver our core business more efficiently.
3.3 Specific Duties
Section 153 of the Act gives Ministers powers to impose specific duties on certain public bodies to enable them to perform the Equality Duty more effectively. Draft regulations were laid before Parliament on 27 June 2011, which would require public bodies to:
• Publish information to demonstrate their compliance with the Equality Duty, at least annually; and
• Set equality objectives, at least every four years.
The new draft specific duties will reduce burdens and bureaucracy on public bodies, moving away from a process-driven approach to a focus on transparency. This will free them up to do what is appropriate in their circumstances, to take responsibility for their own performance, and to be held to account by the public, shifting the approach to focus on performance, not process.
The Government Equalities Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission will each be producing guidance on the specific duties.
The College’s approach to meeting both the general and specific equality duties is set out in the Single Equality Scheme, supported by the Equal Opportunities Policy.
4.0 Investors in Diversity
As stated in the introduction to this report, throughout the 2010/11 academic year we have been working towards Investors in Diversity status at Level Two. We achieved the standard at Level One in September 2010 and after several months of hard work and a rigorous assessment day in April 2011, we received the news in May that we have achieved the standard at Level Two.
This is a fantastic achievement for the College and it reflects the commitment to actively promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, and tackling discrimination that is at the heart of the College’s mission and values. The achievement is also testament to the efforts of the Investors in Diversity steering group, whose members worked tirelessly to ensure that we met the targets we set ourselves on our action plan, and to the students who contributed to focus groups, policy reviews and took the time to enter our competitions.
We are continuing to implement our action plan, in preparation for the formal assessment which will take place in December 2011. The formal assessment will determine whether we have maintained the required standard at Level Two, so there is plenty to do before then!
Feedback received from the initial assessment was mixed and provided a useful insight into the perspectives of both staff and students. While there was significant positive feedback from the assessors which ultimately resulted in the College achieving the required standard, areas of improvement were identified as:
· There is very much a focus on disability and race. When promoting diversity, ensure that the other areas are developed to improve people’s understanding e.g. sexual orientation and transgender.
· The College has responded to this by engaging with an external partner and will be launching a LGBT group on 5th October 2011.
· The steering group needs revising to represent all people in the organisation at the moment given the composition of the group, it feels too strategic and management led. We identified ideal candidates during our visit who were from different levels within the college and this representation will ensure diversity is embedded.
· Composition of the steering group has been reviewed and the two groups that existed previously have now been amalgamated into one group, the Diversity Group, whose members are largely Diversity Champions who have volunteered to be part of the group (see Figure 1).
· Some students who are doing well felt the college focused too much on under achievers.
· Focus groups with students to identify what works well and what could be improved have been held and as a result enhancement tutor groups for students with a GCSE score of 6.4 have been introduced into year 12 this year to focus on our potential high achievers. More student focus groups are planned for the autumn term to reassess student perceptions in this area,
· Ensure key policies are read signed and understood by all staff.
· Policies that all members of staff should be aware of and familiar with are in the process of being updated and will be circulated to staff, with the aim of them signing a statement to say they have received/read/understood the policies, before the end of the autumn term.
· Continue to develop mandatory EDI training ensuring it covers wide subject areas.
· We recently investigated and purchased some online equality and diversity training for staff and managers, which is currently being rolled out to priority groups first (e.g. new staff, onsite catering staff, managers, Governors), then all staff over the forthcoming months.
· Promote governance so that all stakeholders know them and the role they play.