Inspecting special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision – how...
How well do you identify and meet the needs of students with special educational needs – those with and those without education, health and care (EHC) plans? Are you using your ‘best endeavours’ to...
View ArticlePromoting fundamental British values – are you taking a whole-college approach?
Under the 2015 inspection framework, Ofsted will evaluate how well colleges actively promote Fundamental British Values (FBV) and prepare learners for life in modern Britain. Outstanding colleges are...
View ArticleNew legal duty to report cases or suspicions of FGM
Are your staff aware that a new mandatory reporting duty for FGM (female genital mutilation) came into force in October 2015? Do teachers and front-line staff understand the implications of this new...
View ArticleAre you on track to publish new four-year equality objectives by 6 April 2016?
Your new four-year equality objectives must be published by 6 April 2016. When the Equality and Human Rights Commission sampled college websites, they found that not all had published their equality...
View ArticleRace equality – how far have we come?
How Far Have We Come? Lessons from the 1965 Race Relations Act was published by the Runnymede Trust in December 2015. Fifty years on from the Act, how far do you think we have come? What are your...
View ArticleHow Trans-friendly is your organisation?
Would your staff know how to respond if someone in the team suddenly announces that they intend to undergo gender reassignment? Or if they are on an interview panel and one of the applicants is a Trans...
View ArticleWill you be ready to publish your new four-year equality objectives by 6th...
One of the specific duties of the Equality Act 2010 requires colleges and universities to publish equality objectives by April 2012 and then every 4 years. Which means that your next set must be...
View ArticleAre your staff equality champions or bystanders?
New research reveals that offensive remarks are frequently made about lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) people. But most people who overhear these offensive comments or language don’t intervene. What...
View Article‘You don’t look disabled’
Did you know that many people believe ‘real’ disability can be seen and anyone not visibly impaired is not really a disabled person? Even though seventy percent of people’s impairments are unseen? Do...
View ArticleHow are you creating resilience to extremism and radicalisation?
In part, leaders help to create resilience to extremism and radicalisation by providing safe spaces for staff and students to discuss topical, and at times sensitive and contentious issues. Ofsted has...
View ArticleDouble discrimination: Trans and BAME
Your staff might support trans students well, and the same might be said for students from ethnic minority backgrounds. But would your staff know how best to support a student who is both trans and...
View ArticleAre your job adverts inadvertently discriminating?
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has warned that thousands of people could be at risk of being denied jobs each year due to unlawful, discriminatory adverts. What about your recruitment...
View ArticlePride and Prejudice in education
Did you know that new research has discovered that despite progress, ongoing discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) staff and students still persists in colleges and universities?...
View ArticleTeenage mental health
The Ofsted 2015 inspection framework has an increased focus on safeguarding, supporting vulnerable learners and meeting individual learner needs. Do tutors know that it’s likely that at least three...
View ArticleHow do you promote the British value of mutual respect?
How do staff in your organisation promote fundamental British values by tackling intolerance and promoting respect and good relations? Did you know that ECU has produced updated guidance for staff...
View ArticleIs a ban of the face veil against fundamental British values?
Ofsted hit the headlines in January when the Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, made a statement on the wearing of the niqab (face veil). What do you and your staff think? Or are we getting...
View ArticleDo you know the equality implications of the HE white paper?
The Government has published the higher education white paper ‘Success as a knowledge economy: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice’. Are you aware of the implications of the white...
View ArticleLocal area SEND inspections – are you ready?
New duties regarding provision for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) came into force in September 2014. From May 2016, Ofsted has been carrying out...
View ArticleMind the Gap
Have you met your legal duties to publish your gender pay gap? How does your figure compare to the UCU’s league table of the top and worst colleges and universities in the sector?
View ArticleAll power to the Bump
Did you know that three in four working mothers experience pregnancy and maternity discrimination? That despite 77% of working mothers experiencing discriminatory or negative experiences, only around a...
View Article
