Understanding Latest Requirements, Implementing Equality Analysis & Developing Single Equality Schemes (2 day programme)
This two-day workshop brings participants up-to-date on the latest legislation and how to meet it in a robust but efficient manner. It includes the latest requirements under the Equality Act including The Specific Duties Regulations 2011, Equality Analysis (Impact Assessment) and Single Equality Schemes
Equality and Diversity have long been important dimensions for all organisations but especially for so for those working in or with the Public Sector where and Inspection Frameworks, Performance Monitoring, Tendering and Contractual Renewal all require staff to be kept well-informed and the latest legislation and regulation met promptly.
Many organisations struggle to achieve this. For example Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills highlighted within their 2009/10 annual report that
“the majority of providers were judged to be just satisfactory” and “training for staff in equality and diversity is insufficient. This leads to ineffective practice in developing learners’ understanding about equality and diversity”
The introduction of the Equality Act means it is now essential that all Public Sector Bodies and Organisations that receive public funding, or work with organisations that do, ensure their knowledge is current and that they have considered the practicalities and necessities in respect of carrying out Equality Analysis and the introduction of Single Equality Schemes.
Day 1
Clearly explains the latest and key legislation before going on to demonstrate what effective implementation really looks like.
Day 2
The second day majors on completing Equality Analysis (Impact Assessment) and developing Single Equality Schemes (SES).
For Whom
The workshop is designed to help participants to understand how to meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. It is suitable for representatives from all organisations and businesses, especially those involved in strategic operational, and HR management roles within public sector and/or national/large regional organisations receiving government funding, including representatives from:
- Schools
- FE Colleges
- Independent Training Provider Organisations
- Infrastructure Organisations
- Public Sector Bodies
- All Bodies using or hoping to use Public Funding
Participants are encouraged to bring their Equality and Diversity Impact Assessment and Single Equality Scheme toolkits to the workshop to use as a base for discussion and review. Exemplar toolkits are provided for those looking to introduce impact assessments for the first time or wishing to evaluate different approaches.
DAY 1: Understanding the Latest Legislation
Covers the latest and key legislation but equally importantly, grasps the nettle of what effective implementation really looks like, providing a rich fund of highly practical ideas. In so doing, the workshop brings participants up to date with the latest requirements and explores the very real ways in which political correctness can go astray and create unnecessary extra burden
Day 1 Aims and Objectives
As a result of this workshop delegates will:-
- Understand the potential impact of equality and diversity legislation, - with signposts about the importance of Equality Analysis tools
- Understand individual and organisational responsibilities – and the growing emphasis upon organisational duties
- Be in a better position to challenge unacceptable behaviour
- Be in a position to clearly articulate the considerations which have shaped, and which continue to shape, equality and diversity including:
- Legal
- Business
- Demographic
- Cultural
- Be able to relate more easily to academic concepts and models used in the study; to the definition and application of equality and diversity strategies
- Be equipped with practical and tangible ideas to audit and develop best practice within both the workplace and from a service delivery perspective
- Understand better the basic components of the Equality Act
- Understand better the specific duties placed on schools and colleges (optional)
Day 1 Content
This course:-
- Examines the economic, legal and demographic drivers which are currently shaping equality and diversity issues
- Discusses how these three drivers are impacting upon service delivery, employment and your stakeholders in the public and private sector
- Revisits prevailing legislation on discrimination with signposts about the impact of both recent judicial decisions and those in Parliament
- Defines new concepts and terms on discrimination and allied issues
- Reconciles these drivers with your existing employment and service delivery policies, protocols and procedures
- Includes The 2010 Equality Act – Key components
- Key Components of The 2010 Equality Act and the 2011 Specific Duties Regulations
- Examines prevailing best practice in the public and private sector on equalities and diversity
- Highlights what external scrutiny regimes are looking for when they inspect your existing provision on equalities and diversity
- Provides opportunities for problem solving and sharing issues from your workplace
- Highlights prevailing and expected changes within the equality and diversity legislative framework
- Signposts the gradual shift from an individual to an organisational focus upon these issues
- Highlights the proven importance of Equality Analysis Tools and Single Equality Schemes as a way of addressing the new and growing public equality duties.
(day 2 provides practical guidance on implementation) - Signposts sources of external information and advice on all these issues
Day 2: Meeting the Requirements of the Equality Act
Day 2 majors on Equality Analysis (Impact Assessment) and Single Equality Schemes (SES) but also provides guidance on how the 2012 public sector duties regulations
The Equality Act and the most recent Government decisions have, in some areas, re-formulated and/or extended existing protections found in the anti-discrimination legislation previously in force. The Act already embodies new policy initiatives which seek to embed equality and fairness in employment and service provision in both public and private sector organisations.
The latest Government announcements are about less "red tape" in meeting the Equality Act and consequently align well with Excellence in Learning’s pragmatic approach. Building on this flexibility, the Government has just laid before Parliament new regulations for approval which they say will "assist public authorities in the better performance of the Equality Duty". Specifically, the regulations will require public authorities to publish:-
- equality objectives, at least every four years
- information to demonstrate their compliance with the equality duty, at least annually
Public Authorities will need to include, in particular, information relating to their employees (for authorities with 150 or more staff) and others affected by their policies and practices, such as service users. The Government are setting great store on greater transparency without " burdening public authorities with unnecessary bureaucratic processes, or the production of superfluous documents.". Public authorities will have flexibility in deciding what information to publish, and will be held to account by the people they serve.
Public authorities and bodies including FE Colleges have been required to publish their equality information and objectives since January 2012 and Schools by 6 April 2012.
Excellence in Learning's pragmatic approach and top quality Equality Act compliant toolkits will assist you and your organisation in meeting these different deadlines.
We show you how to:-
- Carry out an audit of present arrangements for service users/clients and ensuring they are Act compliant.
- Plan a strategy for removing any identified policies, procedures or barriers that hinder equality in the provision of services or employment opportunities
- Establish, with regard to the strategy and its planned implementation, a clear and comprehensive policy on equality towards staff and service users/clients.
- Ensure that policy is communicated to all staff together with the clear message that it is unlawful to discriminate.
- Provide staff with training on their legal responsibilities together with awareness of the Equality Act, in order to enable them to apply the law effectively, intelligently and sensitively.
- Gather and make available within the organisation, the relevant information needed by staff, enabling them to comply with their responsibilities under the Equality Act.
Day 2 Content
Day 2 is split into 5 distinct but related sections
1 Prevailing legal situation and expectations
- Snapshot of the existing equality law framework
- Steady shift in the burden of proof
- Vicarious liability
- Implications for public sector organisations
- Implications for stakeholders
- Expectations - Ofsted Inspection and similar scrutiny regimes
2 What should real compliance with the Equality Act look like?
- Aims behind the new three public equality duties– governance/management/implementation
- Existing data and intelligence
- New sources of data and intelligence
- Fast-track equality and diversity assessments
- In depth assessments – positive/neutral/adverse
- Consultation and Involvement strategies/processes
- Action Planning – Joining up to Single Equality or Diversity Specific Schemes
- Publication
- Monitoring and Review
- Quality Assurance
- Links to Single Equality Schemes or Equal Opportunities Policies
3 Working through and engaging with each of the processes
This session looks in more detail at each of the above key stages and processes and how they can be made to work in practice - in a way that's user friendly for you!
This session includes
- a user-friendly Equality Analysis tool for, and within, a Single Equality Scheme
- case studies showing how the Equality Analysis tool can either "fast track" policies and procedures (employment or service delivery) OR subject them to a more detailed journey through consultative and subsequent decision-making stages
- an illustration of how to use an Equality Analysis Tool to identify areas for improvement in employment or service delivery
4 Making the Link to Real Action!
A Single Equality Scheme or an Equal Opportunity Policy? This session joins up the "dots" linking equality impact assessments with the actual content of your Single Equality Scheme or Equal Opportunity Policy. This session includes:-
- An A to Z template covering the nine essential topics for inclusion in a Single Equality Scheme. These nine topics embrace employment service delivery and stakeholder topics. They also cover access issues, corporate governance and links to other policies or procedures.
- Integration of your Impact Assessments within a Single Equality Scheme
- Information about tried and trusted Equality Steering Groups - their importance with quality assurance and consistency
- Elephant traps to avoid - such as having a cumbersome policy process and series of action points which might look nice on paper but don't actually meet the equality duties in a way that works for you!
5 Sources of further help/signposting to other support
Many organisations approaching the new public equality duties and the Equality Act for the first time are likely to find that others have met the same or similar situations before. Using the experiences of others can often provide a fast and effective range of ways to assess impact. This session highlights some of the options available for tapping into such resources.
The workshop concludes with the latest breaking political and legal news - inviting delegates to collectively speculate about the further direction and thrust of the Equality Act with sources of post-workshop advice and often free resources.
Delivery Style
The workshop delivery style is lively, participative and sensitive to your needs. Throughout the day a range of activities will be undertaken, including:-
- Formal tutorials
- Templates Checklists and Guidance
- One-to-one Interviews
- Group Workshops
- Open Plenary Debates
- Problem Solving and Sharing
- Open “Surgery” on your policies and practice
- Benchmarking best practice in the public and private sectors
- You the jury – your verdict on real people with real discrimination cases. What should the manager have done? What were the options? What elephant traps were opening up?
- Demographic quiz
- Media observatory
Internal Staff Training and Development
This workshop, as with most of our good practice workshops, can be delivered on your premises. This approach is favoured by many of our clients as it provides a quality, value-for-money and highly effective route for staff development.
Running workshops internally, allows participants explore how key issues will impact on them and their organization and as a team begin to agree development action and priorities.
Typical costs for a one day good practice workshop, excluding VAT, are just £1290 + £30/person. Even with groups as small as 6 costs per person costs for internal workshops are lower than attending our open events and savings increase further when delegate travel-time costs and convenience are factored in.
More information at:
http://www.excellence-in-learning.co.uk/index.php?page=internal
Related Equality and Diversity Workshops
- E&D in Education: Narrowing Gaps in Student Achievement - Core & ClassroomTechniques
- E&D Legislation: Understanding Latest Legislation 2013
Certificates of Professional Development.
Formal Certificates of Development will be issued, by post, to participants who complete this workshop. These certificates will detail the key learning aims and the face-to-face learning hours undertaken, enabling participants to update their CPD records and logs accordingly. The workshop also allows time, during the day, for participants to reflect on and record their personal learning development and consider how best to apply the knowledge gained on return to work. This element of the programme is designed to maximise the benefits from attending and enable participants to make better review judgments when recording their CPD activities.