Equality and Diversity Policy

Purpose

SB Skills Solutions Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Inclusion Policy is not only about ensuring that we meet our legal obligations but also about making clear our commitment to equality of opportunity and diversity and about reinforcing our ethos in respect of encouraging fairness and equality of treatment for all. Individual employees at all levels have duty to ensure that they uphold the policy, and that they do not unlawfully discriminate, harass or victimise another employee, learner or stakeholder. All staff and learners are required to value and respect their colleagues on the basis of their behaviour, skills and performance in their day-to-day duties. They are further required to fully co-operate with measures introduced by SB Skills Solutions to ensure equality of opportunity and non- discrimination.

Through this policy, SB Skills Solutions recognises its legal obligations and will ensure that all UK and European law in relation to equality of opportunity and diversity issues to which the company is obliged to comply is adhered to and in particular obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005, and all other legislation and regulation relating to equality of opportunity. SB Skills Solutions will ensure that it upholds this legislation and regulation in full.

We will promote fair and equal access to services by all learners, learners and employees on the basis of need and to provide services in a manner which is sensitive to the individual, whatever their background.
We will strive to achieve diversity within our staff teams that best reflects the diversity of the communities in which we work, as well as celebrating diversity, promoting social inclusion and community cohesion.

Scope of this policy

This policy ensures that the talents and resources of employees and learners and learners are utilised to the full and that no job applicant, employee, learner or employer who accesses our services receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, gender, marital or civil partner status, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religious belief, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy or trade union membership or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be relevant to the performance of the duties inherent in the position.
This policy applies to all aspects of service delivery and employment including recruitment and selection, promotion, training, placement, reward and recognition, transfer, redundancy, dismissal, grievance and disciplinary procedures.

Principles

SB Skills Solutions commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

To create an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all our employees, learners and employers are recognised and valued.
To create a working/learning environment that promotes dignity and respect for all. No form of intimidation, bullying or harassment will be tolerated.
To ensure training, development and progression opportunities are available to all and that a comprehensive training and refresher programme is in place to ensure staff are updated with skills to support Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in all aspects of their work.
To promote equality in the workplace and learning environment, which it believes is good management practice and makes sound business sense.
To regularly review all employment practices and procedures to ensure that no job applicants are treated less favourably than others.
To regularly review services to ensure that they are accessible and appropriate to all groups within society.
To treat breaches of the equality policy seriously and take disciplinary action when required.
To provide information and training to all employees and learners so that they are fully aware of the issues relating to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and their responsibilities relating to it.
If any staff member or learners feels that they have been treated less favourably than others, then they should go through the company Grievance Procedure as outlined in the Company Employee Handbook.
To ensure that the policy is fully supported by Directors.
To monitor and review the policy annually.

No Discrimination or Harassment

Victimisation, harassment, intimidation and discrimination of any employee, learner, employer, stakeholder or supplier will not be tolerated. Any individual who believes that they may have been subject to victimisation, harassment, intimidation or discrimination, or that this policy has been breached in any way, should report their concerns to the OPERATIONS DIRECTOR who will fully investigate any allegation. Any complaints received will be taken seriously and dealt with accordingly. Staff who perpetuate victimisation, harassment, intimidation or discrimination will face disciplinary action and potential dismissal. This includes any victimisation or attempted victimisation of individuals on the grounds that they have made complaints or provided information on discrimination. It also includes any inducement, or attempted inducement of other employees to practice unlawful discrimination.

Responsibility

All staff of SB Skills Solutions, their delivery partners and learners accessing their services have a responsibility to promote awareness of and an active commitment to the need to ensure equality of opportunity and the benefits of diversity.

At SB Skills Solutions we believe that every learner, or employee has the right to receive education or employment in an environment which is free from prejudice. Every learner or learner has the right to receive the best possible education.

We are committed to providing all our learners with an equal opportunity to thrive in a setting free from discrimination in all its forms. We strive to be an organisation where adults and young people, whatever their race, religion, gender, abilities, family and social circumstances, will find safety and respect for themselves, their families and their traditions.

Our policy should ensure that every member of our community respects others and is respected, achieves his or her full potential and is welcomed and valued.

To make this commitment real, we aim to develop policies and practices based on the needs of our organisation and the learners accessing this service.

We aim to:

Ensure that learners can reach their potential in all areas
Ensure that learners can make choices free from prejudice and stereotyping
Oppose any form of racism, sexism or any other form of discrimination
Value every learner’s language and cultural background
Promote respect between cultures.

SB Skills Solutions has responsibility for ensuring full communication, implementation and review of this policy. In addition, the Operations Director has responsibility for ensuring the effective implementation of this policy and for ensuring that all reasonable and practical steps are taken to avoid discrimination.

The Operations Director will ensure that SB Skills Solutions:

Creates an environment where all individuals feel valued and want to work or fully participate in a service.
Develops an Equality & Diversity Action Plan in liaison with key members of staff, ensure this is communicated to all staff, and ensure that actions are taken forward as planned.
Enables all employees and learners to maximise their performance and fulfil their potential.
Ensures all our policies and procedures do not discriminate against any group or individual and are fairly implemented.
Utilises training and awareness programmes where appropriate to ensure we achieve equality of opportunity.
Ensures that employees and job applicants are interviewed, selected and appointed based on merit, using objective and justifiable criteria. Our selection process will be monitored to ensure fairness.
Gives full and fair consideration to applications for employment, work experience, learning and services by people with disabilities, based on the assessment of their abilities rather than disabilities, and consider adaptations to provide facilities for people with disabilities, as far as reasonably practicable.
Endeavours to support any member of staff who becomes disabled as much as possible. The aim will be to retain staff in their existing job or where reasonably practicable, in an alternative of equivalent pay and conditions.
Provides flexible working arrangements where operationally practicable.
Protects all employees, learners and customers by implementing a robust Anti- Bullying and Harassment Policy.
Regularly monitors and analyses the composition of the workforce, learners, employers and client group in order to assess the effectiveness of recruitment practices and highlight areas to be addressed.
Identifies the diversity and needs of current and potential customers/employers and identify areas where needs could be better satisfied.

All tutors develop strategies to ensure appropriate access to classroom equipment and resources which include computer timetables, rotating activities and providing independent choice time.

In the classroom, tutors regularly mix groups working together to enable learners to work with a variety of class members.

As some styles of teaching can advantage learners, we use a variety of strategies which include whole class teaching, group discussions, paired and individual activities

Embedding and Promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in learning

No learner should be made to feel threatened or excluded from participating in learning programmes. Tutors should be mindful of equality, diversity and inclusion, and plan their teaching accordingly. When planning programmes, they will look at embedding the following competencies in their delivery:

An awareness and appreciation of diversity, including race, culture, religion, gender, age and disability
Use handouts and other teaching materials and methods that promote equality of opportunity and diversity
Provide learning resources that allow all learners to participate fully
Assess resources in terms of age or gender bias, example; resources that are inclusive materials and resources that do not include stereotypes and assumptions
Material that does not represent women in a negative way, people’s names in resources are multi-cultural and graphics are multi-cultural

What is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Learning Programme?

Inclusive teaching, which takes account of the diverse learning needs, styles and preferences of learners
Teaching which aims to manage the learning experience in a way which empowers the learner and takes into consideration the diversity of the learner group
Anti-discriminatory teaching, which teaches learners about their rights and responsibilities to each other
Teaching which encourages understanding of how stereotypes, attitudes and prejudiced thinking damage relationships; hinder communication and are, therefore, bad for education and bad for business
Promoting diversity in teaching, which acknowledges and celebrates the contributions of people of all backgrounds, ages, culture, and religions to human progress in all fields

Learners with Disabilities – Providing Support

When an learner enrols for training, they are requested to identify any disabilities or learning difficulties, including dyslexia. Not all learners, however, will disclose a disability or learning difficulty during enrolment, perhaps because they fear that their disability will jeopardise their place on the course. It is the responsibility of everyone to take every opportunity to encourage disclosure in a very supportive manner.
If an learner discloses a disability or learning difficulty to any member of staff, then the organisation is “deemed to know”. Unless the learner requests confidentiality, the trainer must inform their Line Manager, so that appropriate supportive measures can be taken.
Learners who face learning with a disability or learning difficulty often give up on learning because tutors do not appear to be aware of their particular needs. In some cases, it is adjustments that need to be made, such as different typefaces (RNB recommend Arial) or cursor sizes, or sometimes all that is needed is a supportive attitude, with additional clarification or support.
Not all disabilities are visible and tutors often feel unsure about supporting learners with less visible disabilities such as mental health difficulties, or medical conditions that might affect learning. There are times when tutors need specialist guidance, so if they feel they need further support, they must speak to their Line Manager.
We are committed to fulfilling our duty to meet the access arrangements requested for our learners in a way that does not disadvantage either them or their peers.
We will always consider a request relating to access to our qualifications, except where acceptance of the request is not logistically possible or where it would undermine the criteria for the assessment.

Managing Diversity

Our tutor will ensure that the following is adhered to in interactions with our learners:

- Do use learner/learner inductions to promote equality, diversity and inclusion within the learning environment
- Do make clear SB Skills Solutions’s stance on the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda
- Do ensure that learners/learners have clear information about who to go to and the processes involved when needing to discuss any issues, e.g., harassment, bullying, unequal treatment, etc
- Do provide evidence of the above in schemes of work and session plans.
- Do use initial assessments to identify needs including those that relate to culture/ethnicity, as well as educational needs, particularly in the case of learners with English as their second language
- Do use individual learning plans to evidence that you have recognised these needs and are celebrating diversity by building on strengths and setting realistic short-term goals which are sensitive to learners’ needs
- Do discuss the profile of the group with your Line Manager and any issues that have been identified about the group, in terms of age range, gender, ethnicity and educational needs, etc

Promoting Diversity

Ensure resources promote diversity both in terms of illustrations and text
Do ensure that handouts and supporting texts are appropriate for each group in terms of your class profiles
Do revisit and update your resources
Do not continue to use the “same old; same old” resources
Do include images of culturally diverse individuals; use a mixture regardless of the gender/ethnic composition of your groups
Do use s/he as opposed to single gender reference when writing materials
Do ensure any illustrations used display an awareness of diversity
Do use positive images of people with disabilities
Do give “diversity aware” examples in handouts and use these positively to challenge stereotypes
Do ensure that the language you use is appropriate in terms of both levels and culture
Do celebrate diversity in your handouts, regardless of your group’s demographic
Do enlarge print if photocopying from a textbook where print is small.
Do ensure that displays reflect diversity
Acknowledge preferred pronouns of individuals

Promoting Inclusion

Be sensitive to the needs of learners who are in the minority in the class
Ensure that the learning environment is accessible, safe and welcoming for all learners
Get to know your learners and ensure that you use and pronounce their names correctly
Involve all learners in decisions that affect them
Review learning and support plans systematically and regularly to ensure their continued relevance and effectiveness
Be open to discussion and re-negotiate learning methods or locations
Select and use materials that promote social and cultural diversity and which challenge stereotypes
Engage, where appropriate, the personal or cultural experience of learners to inform learning and teaching
We promote our policies on inclusion, equality and harassment
Challenge expressions of prejudice (ageism; disability; homophobia; racism; religious intolerance and sexism)
Seek and use feedback from learners to inform planning, sharing and agreeing the aims and desired outcomes of the programme
Use interactive, participatory approaches to learning
Create opportunities to relate the programme to their own experience.
Use informal and formal evaluation and feedback sessions.
Give ownership to personal learning and support plans.

Monitoring

SB Skills Solutions is committed to monitoring learners and employee applications and achievements. A monitoring system involving a routine collection and analysis of information on employees and learners by gender, marital or civil partner status, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, age, disability and sexual orientation will be maintained.

In addition, monitoring of employee information will cover recruitment, promotion and pay in order to ensure that all employment legislation is adhered to and that good practice are adopted to ensure equality of opportunity.

The data collected will be reviewed and, where necessary, appropriate action taken to address the effects of any policy or criteria which are found to have been discriminatory. It will also inform all staff training plans to ensure continued development at individual and company level.

Review

The policy and arrangements will be reviewed periodically by the Operations Director, using feedback from learners, findings from internal and external monitoring activities, staff feedback and changes to legislation.

Manager responsible for this document – Philippa Plumpton (Funding Manager)

Approved on 02/04/2024

Review Due on 02/04/2025