What equality law means
for you as an education provider- further and higher education
 |
This guide is one of a series written by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to explain what you must do to meet the requirements of equality law. These guides will support the introduction of the Equality Act 2010. This Act brings together lots of different equality laws, many of which we have had for a long time. By doing this, the Act makes equality law simpler and easier to understand.
There are two guides giving advice on your responsibilities under equality law as someone who has pupils, students and parents who access the education services you provide. The guides look at the following:
Schools
Further and Higher Education
We have also produced four separate series of guides which:
· explain what equality law means for you if you are providing services, carrying out public functions or running an association;
· explain what equality law means for you if you are an employer;
· explain what equality law means for individual people who are using services, or working and who want to know their rights to equality; and
· explain what equality law means for individual people who are working or using services and who want to know their rights to equality.
· If you require this guide in an alternative format and/or language please contact the relevant helpline to discuss your needs.
England
Equality and Human Rights Commission Helpline
FREEPOST RRLL-GHUX-CTRX
Arndale House, Arndale Centre, Manchester M4 3AQ
Telephone: 0845 604 6610
Textphone: 0845 604 6620
Fax: 0845 604 6630
Scotland
Equality and Human Rights Commission Helpline
FREEPOST RSAB-YJEJ-EXUJ
The Optima Building, 58 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8DU
Telephone: 0845 604 5510
Textphone: 0845 604 5520
Fax: 0845 604 5530
Wales
Equality and Human Rights Commission Helpline
FREEPOST RRLR-UEYB-UYZL
3rd Floor, 3 Callaghan Square, Cardiff CF10 5BT
Telephone: 0845 604 8810
Textphone: 0845 604 8820
Fax: 0845 604 8830
This guidance applies to England, Scotland and Wales. Although this guidance is non-statutory, following it may help you meet your duties under the Equality Act 2010.
This guide is based on equality law as it is at 1 October 2010. Any future changes in the law will be reflected in further editions.
This guide was last updated on 31st August 2010. You should check with the Equality and Human Rights Commission if it has been replaced by a more recent version.
What equality law means for you as an education provider- further and higher education 1
Other guides and alternative formats. 2
The legal status of this guidance. 4
1.1 The further and higher education institutions provisions of the Act 9
1.2 Who has legal obligations under the further and higher education provisions?. 10
1.5 What is discrimination?. 12
1.6 What else is unlawful under the Act?. 12
1.10 Are there any exceptions to the further and higher education institution provisions? 15
2.1 What is discrimination?. 16
Discrimination based on association. 17
Discrimination based on perception. 17
Discrimination because of pregnancy and maternity. 18
What is a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’?. 19
Discrimination arising from disability. 20
Relevance of reasonable adjustments. 21
Harassment related to a protected characteristic. 27
2.4 Obligations to former students. 30
2.5 When are you responsible for what other people do?. 30
Liability for employees and agents. 30
Personal liability of your employees and agents. 31
Instructing and causing discrimination. 32
3.2 What does the Act say?. 33
How do I avoid discriminating in my admission arrangements?. 35
3.4 You must not place terms on a person’s admission to your institution which are discriminatory 38
How do I avoid discriminating in relation to admission terms?. 38
Professional and vocational courses. 40
3.5 You must not refuse to admit a person as a student for discriminatory reasons. 41
How do I avoid discriminating in relation to admission decisions?. 41
Section 4: Providing education and access to any benefit, service or facility and exclusions 42
4.2 What does the Act say?. 42
Studying at another institution or abroad. 43
4.4 How do I avoid discriminating?. 46
Types of education, benefits, facilities and services. 46
Section 5: Dispute resolution and enforcement 56
5.3 Conciliation/Mediation. 57
Equalities Mediation Service (EMS) 57
Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) 57
5.5 Obtaining information (‘the questions procedure’) 58
5.6 Claims brought in the county courts and sheriff court 58
Annex A: Protected characteristics. 60
Annex B: Responsible bodies for further and higher education institutions. 66
Annex C: Public sector equality duties. 67
Current duties on race, disability and gender 67
The new single public sector equality duty. 68
Annex D: Further sources of information. 69
This guidance deals with the further and higher education institutions provisions of the Equality Act 2010 which prohibit further and higher education institutions from discriminating against, harassing or victimising:
· prospective students
· students at the institution
· in some limited circumstances former students (this is explained in more detail in Section 2).
Further and higher education institutions may also have obligations under the Equality Act 2010 as employers, bodies which carry out public functions and service providers. These obligations are not covered in this guidance. This guidance is concerned with their obligations to students (and prospective students). Further and higher education institutions had obligations not to discriminate against people with a protected characteristic under previous equality legislation. As the Equality Act 2010 harmonises the previous equality legislation, much of what is required of further and higher education providers is already being carried out by them. The main new provisions of the Act are:
· new disability discrimination provisions:
· indirect disability discrimination
· discrimination arising from disability
· new protected characteristics:
· pregnancy and maternity
· new positive action provisions.
· Universities and higher education institutions.
· Further education colleges and institutions.
· Designated colleges (in Scotland).
Local authorities and education authorities have obligations in relation to further and higher education as well as having obligations as service providers and bodies carrying out public functions. These duties are not covered by this guidance. Obligations for service providers are explained in separate guidance. http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/information-for-service-providers/
Private training providers do not have obligations under the education provisions but do have obligations under the service provider provisions which are explained in separate guidance. http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/information-for-service-providers/
It is the ‘responsible body’ of a further or higher education institution that is liable for any breaches of the Equality Act. The table in Annex B sets out the responsible body for each type of further and higher education institution.
The responsible body for a further or higher education institution is liable for the actions of its employees and agents of the institution unless it can show that it took ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent the discrimination, harassment or victimisation from taking place. In some circumstances an employee or agent (someone who works for you on your behalf) of the institution may be personally liable for acts of discrimination, harassment or victimisation. This is explained in more detail in Section 2.
The Act protects students from discrimination and harassment based on ‘protected characteristics’.
The protected characteristics for the further and higher education institution provisions are:
· Age.
· Disability.
· Gender reassignment.
· Pregnancy and maternity.
· Race.
· Religion or belief.
· Sex.
· Sexual orientation.
Being married or in a civil partnership is NOT a protected characteristic for the further and higher education institution provisions.
Protected characteristics are explained in more detail in Annex A.
The categories of people covered by the further and higher education institution provisions are:
· Prospective students (in relation to admissions arrangements).
· Students at the institution (including those absent or temporarily excluded).
· Former students (if there is a continuing relationship based on them having been a student at the institution).
· Disabled people who are not students at the institution but who hold or have applied for qualifications conferred by the institution.
Unlawful discrimination is defined in the Act as:
· Direct discrimination (including discrimination based on perception or association).
· Combined discrimination.
· Indirect discrimination.
· Discrimination arising from disability.
· Failure to make reasonable adjustments (for disabled people).
Discrimination is explained in more detail in Section 2.
The Equality Act 2010 also prohibits further and higher education institutions from harassing:
· prospective students
· students at the institution
· in some limited circumstances former students
· disabled people (non-students) who hold or who have applied for a qualification conferred by the institution.
The Equality Act 2010 also prohibits further and higher education institutions from victimising:
· prospective students
· students at the institution
· in some limited circumstances former students
· disabled people (non-students) who hold or who have applied for a qualification conferred by the institution.
Victimisation is defined in the Act as:
Treating someone badly because they have done a ‘protected act’ (or because the institution believes that a person has or is going to do a protected act).
A ‘protected act’ is:
· Making a claim or complaint of discrimination (under the Equality Act).
· Helping someone else to make a claim by giving evidence or information.
· Making an allegation that the further or higher education institution or someone else has breached the Act.
· Doing anything else in connection with the Act.
Harassment and victimisation are explained in more detail in Section 2.
Students with protected characteristics may be disadvantaged for social or economic reasons or for reasons to do with past or present discrimination. The Act contains provisions which enable education providers to take action to tackle the particular disadvantage, different needs or disproportionately low participation of a particular student group, provided certain conditions are met.
These are known as the positive action provisions and allow (but do not require) education providers to take proportionate action to remedy the disadvantage faced by particular groups of students. Such action could include targeted provision or resources or putting in place additional or bespoke provision to benefit a particular disadvantaged student group.
Positive action is not the same as positive discrimination which involves preferential treatment for a particular disadvantaged student group which does not meet the positive action conditions.
It is never unlawful to treat disabled students (or applicants) more favourably than non-disabled students (or applicants).
Positive action is covered in more detail in Section 3.
Most further and higher education institutions are public authorities and will be subject to the public sector equality duties. Complying with the equality duties will help such institutions to meet their obligations under the further and higher education institutions provisions and vice versa.
Further information on the public sector equality duties can be found in Annex C.
There are exceptions to enable single-sex institutions to admit only students of one sex and for a small number of designated institutions with a religious ethos to enable them to have admissions criteria which give preference to members of their own religion for courses which are not vocational. There are also exceptions in relation to courses with a genuine occupational requirement. These exceptions are explained in more detail in Section 3.
A person who believes that they have been discriminated against, harassed or victimised by a further or higher education institution can make a claim under the Equality Act.
In England and Wales a claim can be made to a county court and in Scotland to the sheriff court. The procedure for making a claim and the remedies a court can order are explained in detail in Section 5.
The Act consolidates existing law into a single legal framework and while many of the concepts of discrimination remain the same as in previous equality legislation there are some areas that were not previously covered. This section describes the various types of discrimination and how they apply to the further and higher education provisions.
Direct discrimination occurs when you treat a student less favourably than you treat (or would treat) another student because of a protected characteristic. So a very basic example would be refusing to admit a student because of their race, for example because they are Roma.
It is not possible to justify direct discrimination, so it is always unlawful. There are, however, exceptions to the further and higher education provisions that allow, for example, single-sex institutions to only admit students of one gender without this being unlawful direct discrimination.
In order for someone to show that they have been directly discriminated against, they must compare what has happened to them to the treatment a person without their protected characteristic is receiving or would receive. So a gay student cannot claim that excluding them for fighting is direct discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation unless they can show that a heterosexual or bisexual student would not be excluded for fighting. A student does not need to find an actual person to compare their treatment with but can rely on a hypothetical person if they can show there is evidence that such a person would be treated differently.
There is no need for someone claiming direct discrimination because of racial segregation or pregnancy or maternity to find a person to compare themselves to:
· Racial segregation is deliberately separating people by race or colour or ethnic or national origin and will always be unlawful direct discrimination.
· To claim pregnancy or maternity discrimination a female student must show that she has been treated unfavourably because of her pregnancy or maternity and does not have to compare her treatment to the treatment of someone who was not pregnant or a new mother.
It is not direct discrimination against a male student to offer a female student special treatment in connection with her pregnancy or childbirth.
It is not direct discrimination against a non-disabled student to treat a disabled student more favourably.
For Example:
· A further education college rejects a male applicant’s application to a childcare course as they do not think it is appropriate for a male to be working with children. This would be unlawful direct discrimination on the grounds of sex.
· A university gives a student with dyslexia longer to complete his exam than other students. A non-disabled student asks for more time to complete her exam as she accidently missed a question, but this is rejected. This would not be unlawful direct discrimination.
· A student with carpel tunnel syndrome has a scribe to take notes during lectures. Another student requests a scribe as he needs to miss a lecture to attend a wedding. The university does not agree to this request. This would not be unlawful direct discrimination.
Direct discrimination also occurs when you treat a student less favourably because of their association with another person who has a protected characteristic (other than pregnancy and maternity).
This might occur when you treat a student less favourably because their sibling, parent, carer or friend has a protected characteristic.
Direct discrimination also occurs when you treat a student less favourably because you mistakenly think that they have a protected characteristic (other than pregnancy and maternity).
It is discrimination to treat a woman (including a female student of any age) less favourably because she is or has been pregnant, has given birth in the last 26 weeks or is breastfeeding a baby who is 26 weeks or younger.
It is direct sex discrimination to treat a woman (including a female student of any age) less favourably because she is breastfeeding a child who is more than 26 weeks old.
Indirect discrimination occurs when you apply a provision, criteria or practice in the same way for all students or a particular student group, such as postgraduate students, but this has the effect of putting students sharing a protected characteristic within the general student group at a particular disadvantage. It doesn’t matter that you did not intend to disadvantage the students with a particular protected characteristic in this way. What does matter is whether your action does or would disadvantage such students compared with students who do not share that characteristic.
‘Disadvantage’ is not defined in the Act but a rule of thumb is that a reasonable person would consider that disadvantage had occurred. It can take many different forms, such as denial of an opportunity or choice, deterrence, rejection or exclusion.
Indirect discrimination applies to all the protected grounds other than pregnancy and maternity, although something that disadvantages students who are pregnant or new mothers may be indirect sex discrimination.
‘Provision’, ‘criterion’ or ‘practice’ are not defined in the Act but can be interpreted widely and include:
· arrangements (for example, for deciding who to admit)
· the way that education, or access to any benefit, service or facility is offered or provided
· one-off decisions
· proposals or directions to do something in a particular way.
They may be written out formally or they may just have developed as you have worked out the best way of achieving what it wanted to do.
Indirect discrimination will occur if the following four conditions are met:
· You apply (or would apply) the provision, criterion or practice equally to all relevant students, including a particular student with a protected characteristic. and
· The provision, criterion or practice puts or would put students sharing a protected characteristic at a particular disadvantage compared to relevant students who do not share that characteristic, and
· The provision, criteria, practice or rule puts or would put the particular student at that disadvantage, and
· You cannot show that the provision, criteria or practice is justified as a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’.
To be legitimate the aim of the provision, criteria or practice must be legal and non-discriminatory and represent a real objective consideration. In the context of further and higher education, examples of legitimate aims might include:
· Maintaining academic and other standards.
· Ensuring the health and safety and welfare of students.
Even if the aim is legitimate the means of achieving it must be proportionate. Proportionate means ‘appropriate and necessary’, but ‘necessary’ does not mean that the provision, criterion or practice is the only possible way of achieving the legitimate aim.
Although the financial cost of using a less discriminatory approach cannot, by itself, provide a justification, cost can be taken into account as part of the further or higher education institution’s justification, if there are other good reasons for adopting the chosen practice.
The more serious the disadvantage caused by the discriminatory provision, criterion or practice, the more convincing the justification must be.
In a case involving disability, if you have not complied with your duty to make relevant reasonable adjustments it will be difficult for you to show that the treatment was proportionate.
For Example:
An environmental science student with MS suffers from manual dexterity problems, particularly hand tremors. She is prevented from undertaking a practical experiment involving volatile chemicals as she may spill or drop the substances while conducting the experiment. This would pose a health and safety risk to her and other students on the course. This is unlikely to be indirect discrimination as it could be justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
Discrimination arising from disability occurs when you treat a disabled student unfavourably because of something connected with their disability and cannot justify such treatment.
Discrimination arising from disability is different from direct discrimination. Direct discrimination occurs because of the protected characteristic of disability. For discrimination arising from disability, the reason for the treatment does not matter; the question is whether the disabled student has been treated unfavourably because of something connected with their disability.
Discrimination arising from disability is also different from indirect discrimination. There is no need to show that other people have been affected alongside the individual disabled student or for the disabled student to compare themselves with anyone else.
Discrimination arising from disability will occur if the following three conditions are met:
· you treat a disabled student unfavourably, that is putting them at a disadvantage, even if this was not your intention, and
· this treatment is because of something connected with the disabled student’s disability (which could be the result, effect or outcome of that disability) such as an inability to walk unaided or disability-related behaviour, and
· you cannot justify the treatment by showing that it is ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. This is explained above.
For Example:
A student with autism often speaks out of turn during tutorials which can create a disruptive atmosphere for the tutor and other students. Because of his behaviour, he is asked not to attend tutorials. This is likely to be discrimination arising from disability.
If you can show that you:
· did not know that the disabled student had the disability in question, and
· could not reasonably have been expected to know that the disabled student had the disability
· then the unfavourable treatment does not amount to unlawful discrimination arising from disability.
If your agent or employee knows of a student’s disability, you will not usually be able to claim that you do not know of the disability.
For Example:
A student tells his tutor he has cancer and requires time off to attend medical appointments. The student misses a practical experiment which counts towards his final mark as he had a hospital appointment. As the tutor knew the pupil needed time off to attend medical appointments and no reasonable adjustments were made, for example, enabling him to do the practical exercise at another time, this is likely to be unlawful discrimination arising from disability.
By acting quickly to identify and put in place reasonable adjustments for disabled students, you can often avoid discrimination arising from disability, although there may be cases where an adjustment is unrelated to the unfavourable treatment in question.
If you fail to make an appropriate reasonable adjustment, it is likely to be very difficult for you to argue that the unfavourable treatment is justified.
You should be familiar with the reasonable adjustments duty which was first introduced under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The reasonable adjustments duty under the Equality Act operates slightly differently but the object is the same: to avoid as far as possible by reasonable means the disadvantage which a disabled student experiences because of their disability.
The duty requires you to take positive steps to ensure that disabled students can fully participate in the education and other benefits, facilities and services provided for students.
You are required to take reasonable steps to:
Avoid substantial disadvantage where a provision, criterion or practice puts disabled students at a substantial disadvantage.
Avoid substantial disadvantage, where a physical feature puts disabled persons at a substantial disadvantage; this includes removing the physical feature in question, altering it or providing a reasonable means of avoiding it.
Provide an auxiliary aid where without one, disabled students would be put at a substantial disadvantage.
You owe this duty to existing students, applicants and, in limited circumstances, to disabled former students.
You cannot justify a failure to make a reasonable adjustment; where the duty arises, the issue is whether or not the adjustment is ‘reasonable’ and this is an objective question for the courts to ultimately determine.
The duty is an anticipatory and continuing one that you owe to disabled students generally, regardless of whether you know that a particular student is disabled or whether you currently have any disabled students. You should not wait until an individual disabled student approaches you before you consider how to meet the duty. Instead you should plan ahead and anticipate the requirements of disabled students and the adjustments that might need to be made for them. You are not expected to anticipate the needs of every prospective student but you are required to think about and take reasonable and proportionate steps to overcome barriers that may impede people with different kinds of disabilities. For example, while it may be appropriate for university to install a hearing loop in lecture theatres to anticipate deaf students’ needs, they would not be expected to have a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter on the payroll.
For Example:
A university recognises that making an adjustment to provide handouts in advance in electronic format is a common anticipatory need for disabled students, for example students who lip-read, students with dyslexia and students with visual impairments. The university makes this adjustment and agrees timescales to ensure all staff have teaching notes available in this way. This is an example of an anticipatory adjustment.
(Example provided by Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities.)
A disadvantage that is more than minor or trivial is called a ‘substantial disadvantage’. The level of disadvantage created by a lack of reasonable adjustments is measured in comparison with what the position would be if the disabled student in question did not have a disability.
A further or higher education institution will need to take into account a number of factors when considering what a substantial disadvantage might be, such as:
· the time and effort that might need to be expended by a disabled student
· the inconvenience, indignity or discomfort a disabled student might suffer
· the loss of opportunity or the diminished progress a disabled student might make in comparison with his or her peers who are not disabled.
For Example:
A sixth form college has several sites and students are required to move between sites to attend different classes. This is likely to place a student with mobility difficulties at a substantial disadvantage as they may find it hard to move between sites and arrive late for classes as a result. This is likely to be a substantial disadvantage.
These terms are not defined but in general they relate to how the education and other benefits, facilities and services are provided and cover all of a further or higher education institution’s arrangements, policies, procedures and activities.
Where a provision, criterion or practice places disabled students at a substantial disadvantage in accessing education and any benefit, facility or service, the further or higher education institution must take such steps as it is reasonable to take in all the circumstances to ensure the provision, criterion or practice no longer has such an effect. This might mean waiving a criterion or abandoning a practice altogether but often will involve just an extension of the flexibility and individual approach that most further and higher education institutions already show to their students.
For Example:
A college has a strict policy that states no drugs are allowed on the premises. A student with a heart condition carries medication related to her condition. The college allows her to bring her medication with her to college. This is likely to be a reasonable adjustment to the college drug policy.
A competence standard is defined as an academic, medical or other standard applied by or on behalf of an education provider for the purpose of determining whether or not a person has a particular level of competence or ability. It is not a provision, criterion or practice and there is therefore no duty to make reasonable adjustments in relation to the application of a competence standard. However, the duty does apply to the process of demonstrating that a person meets the competence standard.
For Example:
· The mark required to pass an exam would be a competence standard, so would not be subject to the duty to make reasonable adjustments. However, it might be a reasonable adjustment to give a disabled person a longer time in which to complete an exam.
· A student with a visual impairment is provided with his written exam in enlarged text. This would be an example of a reasonable adjustment to demonstrate that he can meet the competence standard.
Physical features of a building or premises include:
· any feature arising from the design or construction of a building
· any feature on the premises, including any approach to, exit from, or access to a building
· any fixtures, fittings, furnishings, furniture, equipment or other moveable property in or on premises, and
· any other physical element or quality.
All these features are covered by the duty, whether the feature in question is temporary or permanent.
Further and higher education institutions are more likely to be able to comply with their duty to make adjustments in relation to physical features if they arrange for an access audit of their premises to be conducted and then act on it.
Sometimes, a further or higher education institution will occupy premises under a lease or other binding obligation (for example, a mortgage, charge or restrictive covenant) under which they cannot alter the premises without someone else’s consent. In such cases, the Act provides that it is always reasonable for the further or higher education institution to have to request that consent, but that it is never reasonable for it to have to make an alteration before having obtained that consent.
In other cases, the terms of the lease may prevent a further or higher education institution from making alterations to the premises. However if the alteration is one which the institution is proposing to make in order to comply with its reasonable adjustments duty, the Act will override the terms of the lease so as to entitle the institution to make the alterations subject to the consent of its landlord, provided certain conditions are fulfilled.
A further or higher education institution may also need to obtain statutory consent before making reasonable adjustments involving alterations to premises, such as planning permission, building regulations approval or a building warrant in Scotland. The Act does not override the need to obtain such consents.
A further or higher education institution must take such steps as it is reasonable for it to take to provide auxiliary aids to avoid the substantial disadvantage experienced by disabled students. An auxiliary aid includes an auxiliary service and covers anything which provides additional support or assistance to a disabled student. This could range from the provision of a particular piece of equipment (which does not become the property of the student) to extra staff assistance. It includes making information available in an accessible format.
For Example:
A university ensures deaf students have access to BSL interpreters and palantypists. This is an example of an auxiliary service which addresses the substantial disadvantage faced by deaf students.
Disabled students on higher education courses may be able to obtain the Disabled Students Allowance which helps provide for the cost of additional study support or equipment a student requires as a result of the effect of their disability; if a piece of equipment is purchased using this allowance, it will remain the property of the individual disabled students once they have finished their course
A useful starting point for a further or higher education institution when determining what might be a reasonable adjustment is to consider how to ensure that disabled students can be involved in every aspect of student life. Often effective and practicable adjustments involve little or no cost or disruption.
Where disabled students are placed at a substantial disadvantage by a provision, criterion or practice, the absence of an auxiliary aid or a physical feature, the further or higher education institution must consider whether any reasonable adjustment can be made to overcome that disadvantage.
Further and higher education institutions should not expect disabled students to suggest adjustments but where they do, institutions should consider whether they would help to overcome the disadvantage and whether they are reasonable. It is good practice for further and higher education institutions to work with students in determining what reasonable adjustments can be made.
There are three types of harassment which are unlawful under the Equality Act:
· Harassment related to a relevant protected characteristic.
· Sexual harassment.
· Less favourable treatment of a student because they submit to or reject sexual harassment or harassment related to sex.
Pregnancy and maternity is not protected directly under the harassment provisions, however, unwanted behaviour (as described below) will amount to harassment related to sex.
Harassment occurs when you engage in unwanted behaviour which is related to a relevant protected characteristic and which has the purpose or effect of:
· violating a student’s dignity or
· creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the student.
The word ‘unwanted’ means ‘unwelcome’ or ‘uninvited’. It is not necessary for the student to say that they object to the behaviour for it to be unwanted.
In this context ‘related to’ has a broad meaning and includes situations where the student who is on the receiving end of the unwanted behaviour does not have the protected characteristic himself or herself, provided there is a connection between the behaviour and a protected characteristic. This would also include situations where the student is associated with someone who has a protected characteristic or is wrongly perceived as having a particular protected characteristic.
For example:
A college tutor makes racist remarks about the local Gypsy and Traveller site stating that it should be shut down as the ‘gypos’ were causing problems in the community. A pupil from a Traveller background is in the class and finds the tutor’s behaviour degrading and offensive. This would be harassment related to the protected characteristic of race.
Sexual harassment occurs when you engage in unwanted behaviour which is of a sexual nature and which has the purpose or effect of:
· violating a student’s dignity or
· creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the student.
‘Of a sexual nature’ can cover verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct including unwelcome sexual advances, inappropriate touching, forms of sexual assault, sexual jokes, displaying pornographic photographs or drawings, or sending emails with material of a sexual nature.
It is unlawful to treat a student less favourably because they either submit to, or reject, sexual harassment or harassment related to their sex.
For Example:
· Following a tutorial, a tutor walks up to a female student who has stayed behind to speak to him and puts his arms around her waist and kisses her and tells her she is ‘very attractive’. The student is offended by his behaviour but doesn’t push him away. This would be less favourable treatment resulting from sexual harassment.
· In the same example, the tutor tries to put his arms around the student but she pushes him away and tells him he is behaving in an inappropriate manner. This is less favourable treatment following rejection of sexual harassment.
Victimisation is defined in the Act as:
Treating someone badly because they have done a ‘protected act’ (or because you believe that a person has done or is going to do a protected act).
A ‘protected act’ is:
· Making a claim or complaint of discrimination (under the Equality Act).
· Helping someone else to make a claim by giving evidence or information.
· Making an allegation that you or someone else has breached the Act.
· Doing anything else in connection with the Act.
If you do treat a student less favourably because they have taken such action then this will be unlawful victimisation. There must be a link between what the student did and your treatment of them.
The less favourable treatment does not need to be linked to a protected characteristic.
For Example:
A tutor shouts at a student because he thinks she intends to support another student’s sexual harassment claim. This would amount to victimisation.
A student who in bad faith gives false information or evidence (that is, they knew that it was false) or makes an allegation that was false and given in bad faith would not be protected against victimisation.
For Example:
A student with a grudge against his tutor knowingly gives false evidence in another student’s discrimination claim against the university. He is subsequently excluded from the course for supporting the claim. This treatment could not amount to victimisation because his evidence was untrue and given in bad faith.
It doesn’t matter whether the original complaint/claim is upheld as long as it was not made in bad faith.
Even after a person has left your institution you must not discriminate against them or harass them. This only applies if the discrimination or harassment arises out of and is closely connected to their previous relationship with you and would have been unlawful if they were still a student. For example, if an ex-student asks for a reference from the college it would be unlawful for the reference to be unflattering because of a protected characteristic of the ex-student, or because they at one time brought or supported a discrimination complaint against the college.
This obligation to former students would include the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled former students if they continue to be at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to former students without a disability. This obligation only applies if the substantial disadvantage arises out of and is closely connected with them having been a student.
For Example:
A college sends an annual newsletter to former students and one former student who has a visual impairment requests that it is sent to him by email rather than in hard copy. The college does not provide him with an electronic copy. This is likely to be an unlawful failure to make a reasonable adjustment.
If someone believes that they are being discriminated against after they have stopped studying with you, they can take the same steps to have things put right as if they were still a student. These steps are explained in Section 6.
As an employer you are legally responsible for acts of discrimination, harassment and victimisation carried out by your employees in the course of employment or by people who take action for you (agents).
It does not matter whether or not you knew about or approved of those acts.
However, if you can show that you took all reasonable steps to prevent your employees or agents from acting unlawfully, you will not be held legally responsible.
It is important that you take steps to make sure your employees and agents understand that they must not discriminate against students, or harass them or victimise them, and that they understand your duties in relation to making reasonable adjustments for disabled students.
An employee (of a further or higher education institution) is personally responsible for their own acts of discrimination, harassment or victimisation carried out during their employment, whether or not the employer is also liable.
For Example:
A lecturer racially discriminates against a student. The college is able to show that it took all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment and therefore was not liable. The student can still make a claim of discrimination against the lecturer.
If the relationship is one of a person paying for someone else to take action for them and someone taking action for them (their ‘agent’) rather than employer and employee, the agent is personally responsible in the same circumstances.
Employees or agents will still be responsible for their acts of discrimination, harassment or victimisation even if they did not know their actions were against the law.
But there is an exception to this. An employee or agent will not be responsible if their employer or principal has told them that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing and he or she reasonably believes this to be true.
It is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to £5,000, for an employer or principal to make a false statement in order to try to get an employee or agent to carry out an unlawful act.
As a further or higher education institution you must not instruct, cause or induce someone to discriminate against, harass or victimise another person, or to attempt to do so.
Both the person who receives the instruction and the intended victim will have a claim against whoever gave the instructions. This applies whether or not the instruction is carried out, provided the recipient or intended victim suffers loss or harm as a result.
It only applies where the person giving the instruction is in a legal relationship with the person receiving the instruction such as employer and employee or agent and principal.
Employment Tribunals will deal with complaints from an employee or agent who has received the instructions and the victim can make a claim in the same way as they would for any other claim under the act. So if you instruct a member of staff to discriminate against a student on grounds of their sex then the member of staff can make a claim to an Employment Tribunal and the student can make a claim to a county or sheriff court.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission can also take action for unlawful instructions to discriminate.
It is unlawful for you to help someone else carry out an act which you know is unlawful under the Equality Act.
However, if the person giving assistance has been told by the person he or she assists that the act is lawful and he or she reasonably believes this to be true, he or she will not be legally responsible.
It is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of (currently) up to £5,000, to make a false statement in order to get another person’s help to carry out an unlawful act under the Equality Act.
You must not discriminate against a person in relation to admission to your institution. It is your institution’s responsible body that is liable for ensuring there is no such discrimination. This varies depending on the type of institution as set out in Annex A.
You must not discriminate against or victimise a person:
· in the arrangements you make for deciding who is offered admission as a student
· in relation to the terms on which you offer to admit the person as a student
· by not admitting the person as a student.
You must not harass a person who has applied for admission as a student.
As a single-sex institution you are permitted to admit students of only one sex and this would not constitute sex discrimination. This applies if you are a single-sex institution that admits students of the opposite sex on an exceptional basis or in comparatively small numbers and only to particular courses or classes. There are special transitional provisions if you are a single-sex institution that is turning co-educational.
For Example:
A women’s college which admits only female students is not discriminating unlawfully against men. If the college admits a small number of men to make up the numbers on the Oriental languages course, it will still be regarded as a single-sex college and is not discriminating by refusing to admit men to other courses.
These exceptions only apply to admissions and do not apply to the provision of education, or access to any benefit, facility or service or to exclusions.
For Example:
A men’s college which admits daughters of college staff does not allow the female students to use the college sports centre. This would be unlawful sex discrimination.
There are exceptions under the Act in respect of certain jobs whereby they can be lawfully restricted to people of a certain race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or age, or who are not transsexual or not married/in a civil partnership (see Employment Guidance). You can treat someone differently as a result of their protected characteristic by refusing to admit them to courses which train people only for such jobs.
For Example:
A Catholic theological college can refuse to admit women to a course which is only designed to prepare candidates for the Catholic priesthood as women cannot become Catholic priests. However, a Church of England college could not confine training for the priesthood to men since women may also become Anglican priests.
An institution which has been designated as one with a religious ethos can admit students that share its religion or belief over those that do not, but only for the purpose of preserving its religious ethos and only in relation to admissions to courses which do not constitute vocational training. This exception only applies to a very small number of Catholic sixth form colleges in England and Wales
This means that everything your institution does in relation to deciding who is admitted to the institution must be non-discriminatory. This covers everything from course design and setting admission requirements to the information you provide about the institution and the course and the application and admissions process.
How and where you market your institution and courses will have an impact on the type of students you attract. In any marketing material you use you should avoid discriminatory messages and stereotypical images which might result in people with particular protected characteristics believing that their application would not be welcome.
For Example:
A further education college prospectus contains a number of images of students at the college. All the images are of young people and this has the effect of dissuading an older applicant from applying. This may result in unlawful indirect discrimination on the grounds of age.
Marketing material for a plumbing course only features photographs of white men. A female applicant is put off applying from the course as she doesn’t believe her application will be accepted. This may be unlawful indirect sex discrimination and is an example of gender stereotyping.
All admissions information and application forms should be available in accessible formats to ensure that you comply with your reasonable adjustments duty to disabled people.
For Example:
A person with learning difficulties wishes to apply for a short course at a further education (FE) college. He orders the college prospectus but finds it very difficult to understand so contacts the college to see if they have an Easy Read version or if someone could talk him through the course options. He is told that the prospectus is only available in one format and that while he can talk to course tutors once he has decided which course he wants to apply for there is no one who can talk to him about the range of different courses available. This is likely to be an unlawful failure to make a reasonable adjustment.
The extended positive action provisions of the Act allow you to advertise that you welcome applications from all groups and particularly target groups that you think are under-represented on a particular course. They also allow you, in certain circumstances, to run courses for people with specific protected characteristics.
You can use positive action measures to alleviate disadvantage experienced by people sharing a protected characteristic, reduce their under-representation in relation to particular activities or meet their particular needs.
You can lawfully advertise courses as open to disabled people only as it is not unlawful to treat disabled people more favourably than non-disabled people.
Many institutions will run a variety of events to attract applicants such as recruitments fairs, open days, mentoring schemes with local schools, campus tours, taster courses and summer schools. Such events should not exclude people with particular characteristics by, for example, arranging them at times which coincide with a religious holiday which might prevent people from a certain religion from attending and could result in unlawful indirect discrimination unless it could be shown to be a proportionate way of meeting a legitimate aim.
For Example:
A large university arranges all its open days on Saturdays. The practice of holding all open days on a Saturday instead of on a variety of different days places practising Jews at a disadvantage and therefore could lead to a successful complaint of unlawful indirect religion or belief discrimination.
However, a smaller institution running only a single event, for example, might find after consideration that a Saturday was the only day which was suitable for the great majority of potential applicants, and was therefore objectively justified.
The application process is the means by which people access admission to your institution and therefore it is vital that the process itself does not discriminate against applicants.
If you use assessment methods such as interviews and written tests these should be applied to all applicants and not just those with particular protected characteristics.
For Example:
· A college asks all disabled applicants to undergo a medical check before offering them a place on health-related courses. Non-disabled applicants are not required to undergo a medical check. This would be unlawful direct disability discrimination.
· A university interviews all women who apply for a degree in engineering to try to ascertain if they are serious about a career in engineering. Men who apply for the engineering degree are not interviewed. This would be unlawful direct sex discrimination.
You need to make sure you make reasonable adjustments to the application process and any assessment within that process for disabled people.
For Example:
An applicant with multiple sclerosis is invited to an assessment day for a university course. She contacts the university and explains that her disability means that she gets tired very quickly and asks if she can have rest breaks between the different stages of the day or have her assessment spread over several days. The university replies that she must be assessed in exactly the same circumstances as all other applicants and makes no adjustments for her. This is likely to be an unlawful failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Terms of admission should not discriminate against a person with a protected characteristic. Terms which indirectly discriminate against people with a protected characteristic or in the case of a disabled applicant, result in discrimination arising from disability, will be unlawful unless you can show they are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
The Equality Act provisions do not prevent you from charging higher tuition fees for certain types of international students if this is permitted by other legislation. International students may also be subject to separate immigration requirements. Detailed information can be found at the website of the UK Council for International Student Affairs (www.ukcisa.org.uk).
You should ensure you do not offer admission to a person with a protected characteristic on terms which are less favourable than those which you offer or would offer to someone without the protected characteristic, unless to do so would be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim (in the case of indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from a disability or direct discrimination on the ground of age).
For Example:
A college only offers scholarships for students who excel at rugby. This is likely to indirectly discriminate on grounds of sex and race as it is more likely that white male applicants will receive the scholarship than any other category of student.
Although the Act does not prevent you from setting admission requirements, you should ensure that the criteria you use, and the way you apply them, do not discriminate.
Criteria which exclude people with a particular protected characteristic will result in direct discrimination. Direct discrimination is always unlawful, except in limited circumstances in relation to age where it can be justified if there is a genuine reason for having concerns about the age of people on a course and imposing a particular age requirement is appropriate and necessary as a result.
For Example:
A university refuses admission to a 16-year-old applicant for a teaching course on the grounds that he would be unable to undertake the teaching practice elements of the course. This would be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim and therefore lawful age discrimination.
Reviewing your admissions requirements regularly will help you to ensure that they do not make it more difficult for people with a particular protected characteristic to be admitted as this could lead to indirect discrimination. Using criteria which can be tested objectively will also help you to avoid discriminating.
For Example:
A Catholic college tells an applicant that while being gay will not result in him not being admitted, he must not tell other students that he is gay. This would be unlawful discrimination because of sexual orientation.
You should ensure that disabled people are not discriminated against because of something arising as a consequence of their disability, unless you can show it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Stating that you require an applicant to have a certain medical or health-related characteristic in order to be admitted to a course might result in disability discrimination.
You will need to have arrangements in place to deal with the reasonable adjustment needs of disabled applicants and you may need to make reasonable adjustments to enable disabled applicants to demonstrate their ability to meet the course requirements.
Some institutions choose to accept students with learning difficulties onto courses even though they may not be able to complete the whole course or achieve the qualification. This is good practice and increases participation.
For Example:
A student with Down’s syndrome is accepted onto a BTEC Higher National performing arts course on the understanding that he will only be assessed for part of the qualification and will not receive the qualification.
(Example provided by ALLFIE.)
Some of the courses that you run may be validated by external bodies such as trade organisations and qualifications bodies such as the General Medical Council or the British Floristry Association. These organisations may set entry requirements for these courses and while you may not be able to control the entry requirements, you should ensure that they are not applied in a discriminatory way. It is good practice to work with such bodies to try to ensure that any entry requirements do not unlawfully discriminate against any applicants and to find ways to assess applicants against any entry requirements in a way that does not discriminate and allows for any necessary reasonable adjustments to be made for disabled applicants.
Qualifications bodies and trade organisations have obligations under the Equality Act when awarding qualifications. These obligations are explained in the Employment Guidance. http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/information-for-employers/
It is unlawful for you to reject applicants on the grounds of a protected characteristic unless, in relation to direct age discrimination, you can show your actions were a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. If a person is refused a place on a course because they cannot comply with a condition of admission this could amount to indirect discrimination and in the case of a disabled applicant, discrimination arising from disability, unless this is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. You must also consider your duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants before rejecting a disabled applicant.
If your admissions criteria are non-discriminatory (see Section 3.3 above) and you follow them, and you ensure that the people making admissions decisions are aware of the rules and the principles of fair admission and abide by them, then you are unlikely to refuse admission to a person for a discriminatory reason. Unless the decision-makers are well trained in these principles there is a danger that they may make prejudiced or unfair judgments which could result in acts of unlawful discrimination.
For Example:
The admission tutor for a car maintenance course interviews a transsexual woman and decides that she would not be suitable for the course as she would not fit in with the other students on the course. This would be unlawful direct gender reassignment discrimination.
You must not discriminate against a student at your institution in the provision of education, or access to any benefit, facility or service, by excluding them or by subjecting them to any other detriment. It is your institution’s responsible body that is liable for any acts of discrimination. More detailed information about responsible bodies can be found in Annex A.
You must not discriminate against a student:
· in the way you provide education for the student
· in the way you give the student access to a benefit, facility or service
· by not providing education for the student
· by not affording the student access to any benefit, facility or service
· by excluding the student
· by subjecting them to any other detriment
Your legal obligations to all your students cover all your services, facilities and benefits, both educational and non-educational, from teaching and learning to the physical environment, and any leisure and accommodation facilities. This is not an exhaustive list however and the education, benefits, services or facilities that you provide may differ from those at another institution or over time.
In addition you must not discriminate against a student by excluding them. Any behaviour or exclusion procedures, practices or decisions which discriminate may be unlawful.
Discriminating against students by subjecting them to any other detriment is also unlawful. ‘Detriment’ is not defined in the Act but signifies a disadvantage of some kind and can be interpreted broadly.
Your students do not need to be studying full time to be protected under the Act. All types of course are covered including undergraduate, postgraduate, part-time, distance learning, short, research, e-learning, informal and optional study skills courses.
Some key areas of activity for further and higher education institutions are covered below.
If your students study at another institution or overseas for a period of time, you must ensure that you do not discriminate in any of the arrangements you make and that you liaise with the other institution in relation to the particular needs of your students to avoid discriminating against them. If you are made aware that discrimination has occurred, you will need to liaise with the institution to try and resolve the issue and may need to arrange study at an alternative institution.
If the institution is in England, Scotland or Wales, they will have the same duties under the Act towards these students as you. Northern Ireland FE and HE institutions are covered by separate equality legislation. If the institution is overseas, your students may well also be covered by domestic or regional equality legislation covering that particular country. In some circumstances the other institution may be considered to be acting as your agent therefore making you liable for their actions. This is covered in more detail in Section 2.
For Example:
A university only arranges study abroad in countries where women and LGBT groups have very restricted lives. This would be sex and sexual orientation discrimination and it is not a defence to argue that it has no control over the discriminatory practises in the overseas institutions. The university should find equivalent placements in alternative countries for these students.
If students from other institutions visit your institution you will have obligations under the Equality Act not to discriminate against, harass or victimise them.
Work placement providers based in England have duties as employers under the Act towards a student (see Employment Guidance). You must ensure that you do not discriminate in any of the arrangements that you make with work placement providers and that where relevant they are made aware of the needs of their placement students with protected characteristics. If you are told that discrimination has occurred, you will need to negotiate with the work placement provider to try and resolve the issue and may need to find an alternative placement.
You must also ensure that a work placement provider is aware of the need to make reasonable adjustments for those disabled students who require them.
For Example:
A student with a visual impairment who requires all written material to be in large font is studying on a degree course with a work placement element. The university fails to advise the work placement provider of the student’s reasonable adjustments needs and as a result the work placement provider fails to make the necessary reasonable adjustments.
These obligations do not apply to anything done in connection with the content of the curriculum. This means that you are not restricted in the range of issues, ideas and materials you use in your syllabus and will have the academic freedom to expose students to a range of thoughts and ideas, however controversial. Even if the content of the curriculum causes offence to students with certain protected characteristics, this will not make it unlawful unless it is delivered in a way which results in harassment or subjects students to discrimination or other detriment.
For Example:
A college course includes a module on Mein Kampf. A Jewish student finds this offensive and complains that having this on the syllabus is discrimination. This would not be unlawful discrimination or harassment.
Although these are often thought of as educational provision, they are in fact service providers under the Act and their legal obligations towards students are covered by the services provisions of the Act accordingly (see Services Guidance).
However, you will need to ensure that you do not act in a discriminatory way in respect of your student body in your dealings with your student union and it is good practice to work closely with the union in ensuring that students enjoy a discrimination-free environment.
For Example:
A university’s Equalities Officer gives a seminar to union officers on the university’s provisions for supporting students with the range of protected characteristics as a way of increasing students’ awareness about the provisions in place and to encourage a close working relationship with the union. This is good practice.
Regular reviews of your practices, policies and procedures will help to ensure they do not discriminate against students with a protected characteristic. Students’ needs or the make-up of your student body may vary over time and you need to be sufficiently flexible in your policies to accommodate these.
The importance of training your staff effectively cannot be overestimated. All staff, whether they work in academic or support departments need to be fully aware of the requirements under the Act and the implications of these on your education provision and delivery.
The equality duties will help to ensure that all your activities are non-discriminatory. You should already be carrying out equality impact assessments in respect of race, disability and gender, and these will provide a useful reference for meeting your equality duties towards people with the range of protected characteristics under the Act.
You should ensure that your induction procedures do not unlawfully discriminate against any students.
For Example:
A university arranges induction events which take place during the school summer holidays, making it difficult for women with childcare responsibilities to attend. As women are more likely than men to have childcare responsibilities this would result in unlawful indirect sex discrimination unless the university could justify their actions, by for example showing that there was no other time they could hold the events.
A university library holds a series of induction sessions for each course group on how to use the library services. A disabled student is unable to attend the session for her course group because of the scheduling of her personal care arrangements. She informs the relevant library staff of this, and asks if she could attend an alternative session, she is told that she must attend the session for her course group. This is likely to be an unlawful failure to make a reasonable adjustment.
Course provision which meets the needs of students with the range of protected characteristics will help you to avoid discriminating against them.
Courses that are delivered flexibly are likely to reduce your chances of inadvertently discriminating by, for example, excluding women with childcare responsibilities.
Flexibility may also be necessary for some disabled students, if they are required to attend medical appointments or need to take more frequent breaks from learning. Such flexibility may be a reasonable adjustment for some disabled students.
Although the actual content of courses is not subject to the discrimination provisions, you must ensure that your courses are taught in a way that will not subject students to discrimination.
For example:
A lecturer covering apartheid in South Africa repeatedly refers to ‘niggers’ when talking about black people. This creates an offensive environment for a number of students. This is likely to be unlawful harassment.
The way in which the curriculum is taught is crucial to challenging stereotypes and addressing inequality, for example through positive representations of under-represented groups.
Students often transfer between courses or progress onto a higher course level. You should not discriminate in the practical arrangements necessary to facilitate the progression or transfer nor in relation to the new course. In relation to all students, you should ensure that the requirements for progression or transfer are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim to avoid claims of indirect discrimination or discrimination arising from a disability. In relation to disabled students, you may need to consider whether reasonable adjustments are necessary to the process by which competence is assessed and also what reasonable adjustments should be put in place to the facilitate their progression or transfer.
You should seek to ensure that field trips you arrange do not discriminate against any of your students.
Failure to think about the range of your students’ needs could result in unintentional indirect discrimination:
For Example:
On a trip involving an overnight stay in dormitory-style accommodation, a university refuses to take a student who is in the process of changing gender. This would be unlawful gender reassignment discrimination.
You may be required to make reasonable adjustments to enable students with a range of disabilities to access field trips.
Senior management at strategic level and library staff need to think about provision for the needs of students with protected characteristics to avoid unintentional discrimination. Students with disabilities may require a range of reasonable adjustments such as low unit photocopiers, priority workstations, books in alternative formats, help with reaching books on higher shelves and flexible loan periods. Your ICT staff will be well versed in ensuring the compatibility of students’ assistive software with your IT systems.
For Example:
A university librarian asks a breastfeeding mother to feed the baby in the toilets instead of the open area as she is offending other students. This would be unlawful pregnancy and maternity discrimination (or sex discrimination if the baby is over six months old).
Whether your institution is campus or town based, multi or single site, its physical environment plays an important role in the student experience. It is good practice to manage your environment in such a way that it enhances rather than detracts from students’ participation in college or university life. Particular areas to think about include:
· leisure, recreation, entertainment and sports facilities, including changing facilities
· toilet facilities
· car parking
· campus or college shops.
You may already have had an access audit to consider the needs of a wide range of disabled people and be following a rolling programme of estates works. The Centre for Accessible Environments has a range of guidance on access audits and inclusive design (www.cae.org.uk). You may also have made reasonable adjustments to physical features as part of your anticipatory reasonable adjustments duty.
You may not however have thought about the range of needs of students with other protected characteristics and should do so to avoid indirectly discriminating against them. The Equality Challenge Unit together with the Association of College and University Business Officers (CUBO) and the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) have published guidance on Managing Inclusive Building Design (www.ecu.ac.uk).
Your institution will have a range of support services for students which may include the following:
· careers advice and training
· catering
· childcare
· counselling
· disability and/or equalities office
· finance
· scholarships and bursaries
· health
· international students services
· language learning
· spiritual facilities
· welfare services.
You must not discriminate in the provision of these services and careful thought needs to be given to the implications of the Act on service delivery and for training and supporting frontline staff.
Accommodation raises issues for all students with protected characteristics. It is an area requiring particular thought to avoid potential discrimination, by managing students’ wide-ranging needs. This includes the physical adjustments for some disabled students to provision for students with families, the specific needs of students undergoing gender reassignment and single gender halls/flats for certain religious groups.
The Equality Challenge Unit (www.ecu.ac.uk) has produced guidance on this area both on its own (Inclusive Campus: Accommodation and Social Space, Guidance) and in association with the Association for Student Residential Accommodation (Asra) and College and University Business Officers (CUBO) (Handbook for Student Accommodation Providers – Support and Guidance for Equality and Diversity).
For Example:
· A university ensures that there are sufficient rooms for female Muslim students on the upper floors of their residential accommodation blocks so that these students can walk around their rooms without their heads being covered. Where only ground-floor accommodation is available, the university provides window screening allowing light to enter but not people to see in.
(Adapted from a real-life example from ECU’s Inclusive Campus: Accommodation and Social Space, Guidance 2008.)
· A university builds a new hall of residence with en suite rooms and wifi access, and allocates all of the rooms to male students. The other halls of residence to which female students are allocated have shared bathroom facilities and no wifi access. This would be unlawful sex discrimination.
These come in a variety of forms including the following:
· Written examinations.
· Vivas, orals and presentations.
· Practicals and performances.
· Dissertations and coursework.
· Work-based assessment.
It is important for you to ensure that you do not discriminate against students with protected characteristics. Assuming a uniformity in students’ cultural, linguistic, religious or lifestyle experiences could result in you, for example, indirectly discriminating against students from particular racial groups.
It is also important to try to avoid discriminating indirectly against students in the timing of examinations and assessments. For example students may have difficulty attending examinations or assessments because of issues surrounding the side effects of medication, religious prayer times or festivals or caring responsibilities.
You may need to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students to the process by which competence is assessed, such as providing readers, interpreters, amanuenses, rest breaks, extra time, assistants, flexible deadlines or alternative assessment methods. The Disabled Students Allowance for students in higher education can cover the funding of a helper or an item of equipment for assessment or exams but it is your responsibility to cover the cost of flexible exam arrangements and to provide materials in accessible formats. More information about the scope of the Disabled Students Allowance can be found on Skill’s website at www.skill.org.uk. Discussion with the students themselves is vital to ensure the most appropriate adjustments are made, although students may not be aware of all the adjustments that could be put in place.
Such adjustments are not intended to compromise the qualification itself. You are entitled to differentiate between students when assessing or examining them. However, the standards by which you judge performance must be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
You are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to your assessment methods, although not to the application of the particular academic, medical or other standard you are applying to determine whether or not the students have a particular level of competence or ability. Such a standard is known as a competence standard.
For example:
A student, with a condition similar to epilepsy that was triggered by stress, became particularly stressed around exam time, which aggravated his condition. The university department agreed to provide him with a reasonable adjustment to their assessment methods in the form of a ‘seen’ exam, which helped to reduce his stress over the exam periods.
You should avoid discriminating when awarding, renewing or extending qualifications to your students, including any form of authorisation, approval or certification that you make.
For example:
A student who has undergone gender reassignment during the course of their time at the college notifies the college of their change of gender and change of name. The college then issues a course certificate with their old name. This would be unlawful gender reassignment discrimination.
You also have similar legal obligations towards disabled people who are not students at your institution when conferring qualifications on them.
For example
A university liaises with the community college where a disabled person is studying on a course validated by the university, to ensure it does not discriminate against the disabled person when validating the qualification.
These should be planned carefully so as to avoid unintentional discrimination. The location of such ceremonies, such as in a religious building chosen for its size, could discriminate against certain religious groups by discouraging them from being able to attend which could lead to indirect discrimination unless it could be objectively justified. Reasonable adjustments may be necessary for some disabled students to enable them to participate in ceremonies in the same way as their non-disabled peers.
When drawing up behaviour, suspension and exclusion policies, you should consider whether any proposed criteria might adversely impact on a student because of their protected characteristic and whether the application of them would be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Those making decisions about discipline and exclusions should be aware of the institution’s obligations under the Equality Act and take care not to make assumptions that may lead to unlawful discrimination.
For example:
· Two male students are caught fighting by a female member of staff. One of them is a black student and the other a white student. The female member of staff feels intimidated by the black student as she perceives him to be a threat to her and so she suspends him. The other student is not punished. This is likely to be unlawful race discrimination as both the students had been fighting but only the black student was suspended.
· A student acquires a physical impairment during his further education course. The student is unable to attend some of his lessons, because the buildings are not accessible, and cannot hand in his assignments on time because he requires longer to complete them due to his disability. The college removes him from his course because of his poor attendance record and for not handing in assignments. This is likely to be unlawful discrimination arising from disability as the reason that he handed his assignments in late is connected to his disability so he is being punished for something arising from his disability.
You will need to consider whether reasonable adjustments should be made for disabled students.
For example:
A student with autism shouts at his tutor and uses inappropriate language. The college would usually consider suspension as a sanction for such behaviour. However, the college takes into account that the tutor had missed a tutorial session and that this had distressed the student who finds it difficult both to cope with unexpected changes to routine and to express himself when he is upset. As a result, the college does not suspend the student but decides to deal with the student in a different way. This is likely to be a reasonable adjustment to make.
In all your other dealings with students you should ensure that your treatment of them is fair. The denial of an opportunity or choice, or anything which a reasonable student would consider altered their position for the worse could result in unintentional discrimination. The detriment need not be physical, economic or disciplinary for example, but the fact that the student has an unjustified sense of grievance alone would not be enough.
For example:
An atheist is allocated a shared flat in one of the newest accommodation blocks on campus. Her flatmates are all devoutly religious and make her life in the flat very difficult, taunting her about her beliefs. She makes a complaint to the university which is upheld but rather than moving her flatmates, she is moved to an older residential block in a less desirable location. By taking this action, the university has subjected her to a detriment.
This section explains what happens if someone makes a complaint against you and what legal action they can take. It also explains what action may be taken to put right any discrimination, harassment or victimisation that is found to have taken place.
It is usually in everyone’s best interests to attempt to resolve disputes without the need for legal action. In many instances the person who believes you have discriminated against them will approach you before commencing legal proceedings. You are likely to have a complaints procedure which should be able to deal with complaints of discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
It is good practice to make students aware of your complaints procedure and to ensure that all students know what it is and how to set it in motion.
Defending a claim can be lengthy, expensive and draining, and it can have a damaging impact on your reputation. It is likely to be in everyone’s interest to try to put things right before a claim is brought. However, you will want to decide whether the person making the complaint has cause for complaint or not.
Consider the information given in this guide. You will need to make a realistic assessment about whether what you or your staff and agents have done (or failed to do) amounts to discrimination, harassment or victimisation. You may need to conduct an investigation into the complaint in order to form this view. You may need to get legal advice on this.
You must make reasonable adjustments to any internal complaints procedures to prevent disabled people from being placed at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with people who are not disabled. Failure to do so will itself amount to unlawful discrimination.
Although, as stated above, it is good practice to try to resolve disputes internally wherever possible, there are occasions where this will not be practical or appropriate, or a student wants to pursue legal action rather than trying to resolve the dispute. There is no legal requirement to go through the complaints procedure first. The questionnaire procedure (explained in Section 5.5 below) may in fact resolve a dispute without the need for further action.
If the matter cannot be resolved through your internal complaints procedure, then there are various mediation and conciliation services that might assist you in resolving the dispute.
This is a free service which is funded by (but independent to) the Equality and Human Rights Commission for resolving disputes about discrimination. It can deal with any complaints under the Equality Act that can be brought in a county court (England and Wales) or sheriff court (Scotland).
As a further and higher education institution you cannot request that a complaint is referred to the EMS; only the person making the complaint can make such a request. If a complainant wishes to use the EMS; they must be referred by the Commission or by an advice agency or law centre that is recognised by the Commission as a third-party referrer.
If the Commission refers the case to mediation, the EMS will contact you and the complainant and confirm agreement from both that you are willing to proceed with mediation. You do not have to agree to participate in mediation.
Agreeing to participate in the mediation process does not prevent a complainant from pursuing a case through the court but if a full settlement is reached through mediation then the claim cannot be pursued in the court. The time limit for bringing an action in court is extended by three months where a person is referred to this mediation service by the Commission. No information disclosed to a mediator during the mediation process may be used in any subsequent court case without the permission of the person who disclosed it.
If you are a university or higher education institution in England or Wales, a student can make a complaint that you have discriminated against them to the OIA. They will usually have to have exhausted your internal complaints procedure. There are several issues that the OIA cannot hear complaints about, such as questions of academic judgment, but they can hear complaints of discrimination.
If a student makes a complaint to the OIA within six months of the alleged discrimination, then the time limit for bringing an action in court is extended by three months.
Further information can be obtained from the OIA’s website at www.oiahe.org.uk.
If someone thinks they may have been discriminated against, harassed or victimised because of a protected characteristic, they can obtain information from you to help them decide if they have a valid claim or not.
There is a set form to help you do this (see www.equalities.gov.uk), but your questions will still count even if you do not use the form, so long as you use the same questions.
If this happens to you, you should reply to the request. You are not legally required to reply, or to answer the questions, but it may harm your case if you do not. Follow the instructions in the form.
The questions and the answers can form part of the evidence if the case goes to court.
If you do not respond to the questionnaire within eight weeks of its being sent, then the court can take that into account when making its judgment. The court can also take into account answers which are evasive or unclear.
You can find more information about procedures in the county court at www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk and about procedures in the sheriff court at www.scotcourts.gov.uk/sheriff/index.asp.
Anyone who believes that you have discriminated against, harassed or victimised them can make a claim to a county or sheriff court. In England and Wales a person who does not have mental capacity, or who is under 18 will have to make a claim through a ‘litigation friend’ who is an adult appointed to conduct the claim on their behalf (often, but not always, their parent).
A claim must normally be started (and, in Scotland, served on the institution) within six months of the alleged discrimination. Where there has been a continuing process of discrimination taking place over a period of time, the six months begins at the date of the last discriminatory act. Courts have the discretion to consider a claim brought outside the six-month period if they consider that it is fair to do so.
The time for bringing a claim is extended to within nine months of the alleged conduct taking place where a dispute is referred to the Equalities Mediation Service by the Commission or a complaint has been made to the OIA.
A county or sheriff court can:
· Declare that you have unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised the person making the claim, or declare that no unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation has taken place.
· Impose an injunction (in England and Wales) or specific implement or interdict (in Scotland) requiring you to do something (such as admit the person as a student) or to prevent you from repeating any discriminatory act in the future.
· Order you to pay compensation including compensation for injury to feelings.
· Order you to pay interest on any compensation.
· Order either party to pay costs.
The protected characteristics for the further and higher education institution provisions are:
· Age.
· Disability.
· Gender reassignment.
· Pregnancy and maternity.
· Race.
· Religion or belief.
· Sex.
· Sexual orientation.
Being married or in a civil partnership is NOT a protected characteristic for the further and higher education institution provisions.
The Act defines age by reference to a person’s age group and when it refers to people who share the protected characteristic of age, it means they are in the same age group.
An age group can:
· mean people of the same age or a range of ages
· be wide such as ‘people under 50’
· be narrow such as ‘people in their mid-50s’ or people born in a particular year
· be relative, such as ‘older than me’ or ‘older than us’
· be linked to actual or assumed physical appearance which may bear little relation to chronological age such as ‘the grey workforce’.
A person could therefore belong to various age groups: a 19 year old could, for example, belong to groups that include ‘young adults’, ‘teenagers’, ‘under 50s’, ‘under 25s’ or ‘19 year olds’.
A person is a disabled person (someone who has the protected characteristic of disability) if they have a physical and/or mental impairment which has what the law calls ‘a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.
There is no need for a person to have a medically diagnosed cause for their impairment; what matters is the effect of the impairment not the cause.
In relation to physical impairment:
· Conditions that affect the body such as arthritis, hearing or sight impairment (unless this is correctable by glasses or contact lenses), diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, conditions such as HIV infection, cancer and multiple sclerosis, as well as loss of limbs or the use of limbs are covered.
· HIV infection, cancer and multiple sclerosis are covered from the point of diagnosis.
· Severe disfigurement (such as scarring) is covered even if it has no physical impact on the person with the disfigurement, provided the long-term requirement is met (see below).
· People who are registered as blind or partially sighted, or who are certified as being blind or partially sighted by a consultant ophthalmologist, are automatically treated as disabled under the Act.
· Mental impairment includes conditions such as dyslexia and autism as well as learning disabilities such as Down’s syndrome and mental health conditions such as depression and schizophrenia.
The other tests to apply to decide if someone has the protected characteristic of disability are:
· The length the effect of the condition has lasted or will continue: it must be long term. ‘Long term’ means that an impairment is likely to last for the rest of the person’s life, or has lasted at least 12 months or where the total period for which it lasts is likely to be at least 12 months. If the person no longer has the condition but it is likely to recur or if the person no longer has the condition, they will be considered to be a disabled person.
· Whether the effect of the impairment is to make it more difficult and/or time-consuming for a person to carry out an activity compared to someone who does not have the impairment, and this causes more than minor or trivial inconvenience.
· If the activities that are made more difficult are ‘normal day-to-day activities’ at work or at home.
Whether the condition has this impact without taking into account the effect of any medication the person is taking or any aids or assistance or adaptations they have, like a wheelchair, walking stick, assistance dog or special software on their computer. The exception to this is the wearing of glasses or contact lenses where it is the effect while the person is wearing the glasses or contact lenses, which is taken into account.
For example:
Someone who has ADHD might be considered to have a disability even if their medication controls their condition so well that they rarely experience any symptoms, if without the medication the ADHD would have long-term adverse effects.
Progressive conditions and those with fluctuating or recurring effects are included, such as depression, provided they meet the test of having a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Gender reassignment is a personal process (rather than a medical process) which involves a person expressing their gender in a way that differs from or is inconsistent with the physical sex they were born with.
This personal process may include undergoing medical procedures or, as is more likely for school pupils, it may simply include choosing to dress in a different way as part of the personal process of change.
A
person will be protected because of gender reassignment where they:
· make their intention known to someone – it does not matter who this is, whether it is someone at school or at home or someone like a doctor:
· once they have proposed to undergo gender reassignment they are protected, even if they take no further steps or they decide to stop later on
· they do not have to have reached an irrevocable decision that they will undergo gender reassignment, but as soon as there is a manifestation of this intention they are protected
· start or continue to dress, behave or live (full-time or part-time) according to the gender they identify with as a person
· undergo treatment related to gender reassignment, such as surgery or hormone therapy, or
· have received gender recognition under the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
It does not matter which of these applies to a person for them to be protected because of the characteristic of gender reassignment.
This guidance uses the term ‘transsexual person’ to refer to someone who has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.
The Act lists pregnancy and maternity as a protected characteristic. Pregnancy and maternity discrimination is covered in Section 2.
Race means a person’s:
· colour, and/or
· nationality (including citizenship), and/or
· ethnic or national origin
and a racial group is composed of people who have or share a colour, nationality or ethic or national origins.
A person has the protected characteristic of race if they belong to a particular racial group, such as ‘British people’.
Racial groups can comprise two or more racial groups such as ‘British Asians’.
The protected characteristic of religion or belief includes any religion and any religious or philosophical belief. It also includes a lack of any such religion or belief.
A religion need not be mainstream or well known to gain protection as a religion. It must, though, be identifiable and have a clear structure and belief system. Denominations or sects within religions may be considered a religion. Cults and new religious movements may also be considered religions or beliefs.
Belief means any religious or philosophical belief and includes a lack of belief.
‘Religious belief’ goes beyond beliefs about and adherence to a religion or its central articles of faith and may vary from person to person within the same religion.
A belief which is not a religious belief may be a philosophical belief, such as humanism or atheism.
A belief need not include faith or worship of a god or gods, but must affect how a person lives their life or perceives the world.
For a belief to be protected by the Equality Act:
· It must be genuinely held.
· It must be a belief and not an opinion or viewpoint based on information available at the moment.
· It must be a belief as to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour.
· It must attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance.
· It must be worthy of respect in a democratic society.
· It must be compatible with human dignity and not conflict with the fundamental rights of others.
A person’s sex refers to the fact that they are male or female. In relation to a group of people, it refers to either men or women or to either boys or girls.
Sexual orientation means the attraction a person feels towards one sex or another (or both), which determines who they form intimate relationships with or are attracted to.
Some people are only attracted to those of the same sex (lesbian women and gay men).
Some people are attracted to people of both sexes (bisexual people).
Some people are only attracted to the opposite sex (heterosexual people).
Everyone is protected from being treated worse because of sexual orientation, whether they are bisexual, gay, lesbian or heterosexual.
Sexual orientation discrimination also covers discrimination connected with manifestations of that sexual orientation.
|
Type of institution |
Responsible body |
|
Universities in England, Wales and Scotland |
The governing body |
|
Higher education institutions in England and Wales |
The governing body |
|
Further education institutions in England and Wales |
The governing body |
|
Designated institutions in Scotland |
The governing body |
|
A college of further education in Scotland under the management of a board of management |
The board of management |
|
Any other college of further education in Scotland |
The board of governors of the college or any person responsible for the management of the college, whether or not formally constituted as a governing body or board of governors |
The public sector equality duties are unique pieces of equality legislation. They give public bodies, including further and higher education institutions legal responsibilities to demonstrate that they are taking action on equality in policymaking, the delivery of services and public sector employment.
The duties require public bodies to take steps not just to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment, but also to actively promote equality.
The purpose of the equality duties is not to be process driven and bureaucratic but rather to offer an outcome-based method of ensuring that institutions are best meeting the needs of all their students.
The duties provide a framework to help institutions tackle persistent and long-standing issues of disadvantage, such as gender stereotyping in subject choice, attainment gaps between white and black and minority ethnic students and low participation rates of disabled people. They also provide a strategic and systematic means of tackling major entrenched disadvantage across the sector.
Institutions are currently bound by three separate duties for race, disability and gender. These are similar in their spirit and intention but where differences do exist between the different duties, these reflect the differing nature of discrimination faced by different groups and the lessons learned from the introduction of earlier duties.
The Equality Act will introduce a single public sector equality duty, which will apply to all protected characteristics. The new duty will not be commenced at the same time as the majority of the other provisions of the Equality Act. The new duty is explained more fully below but until it has commenced, the current duties will continue to apply.
Institutions are under a duty to eliminate racial discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and to promote good relations between persons of different racial groups. Institutions must produce a race equality policy which is a written statement of their policy for promoting race equality.
There is also a duty to assess and monitor the impact of policies on students and staff of different racial groups, in particular the admission and progress of students and the recruitment and career progress of staff. Such steps as are reasonably practicable should be taken to publish annually the results of the monitoring.
Institutions are under a duty, when carrying out their functions, to have regard to the need to: promote equality of opportunity between disabled and other people; eliminate discrimination and harassment; promote positive attitudes to disabled people; encourage participation by disabled people in public life, and take steps to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment.
Institutions are also required to publish a disability equality scheme, which is required to show how the institution is meeting its general duty to promote disability equality across all of its areas of responsibility.
Institutions have a general duty to promote equality of opportunity between men and women and a specific duty to publish a gender equality scheme, including an action plan showing how the institution intends to fulfil its duties. Institutions must revise and review the plan every three years and report on progress annually.
Guidance for institutions and information on the legal requirements of the current duties can be found on the Commission’s website at: www.equalityhumanrights.com/publicsectorduties
The Equality Act harmonises the existing three duties into one new duty, which will cover all seven equality strands: age, disability, gender, gender identity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation.
The single public sector equality duty will require public authorities to:
· Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
· Advance equality of opportunity.
· Foster good relations.
The Commission advises public bodies to prepare for the new duty by gathering information and starting to consult and involve stakeholders with regard to the new strands, which will help them begin to identify their priorities for action.
The Commission will be producing a separate code of practice and sector specific guidance on the single public sector equality duty.
Further and higher education institutions may find the following websites useful when seeking to understand and meet their responsibilities to promote equality and diversity and tackle discrimination.
Please note that some of the government websites contain a disclaimer reflecting the recent change of administration. However, the information contained within continues to reflect the current legal position.
Equality and Human Rights Commission:
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the independent advocate for equality and human rights in Britain. It aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people, and promote and protect human rights. The Equality and Human Rights Commission helplines advise both individuals and organisations such as employers and service providers.
Website: www.equalityhumanrights.com
Helpline – England
Email: info@equalityhumanrights.com
Telephone: 0845 604 6610
Textphone: 0845 604 6620
Fax: 0845 604 6630
08:00–18:00 Monday to Friday
Helpline – Wales
Email: wales@equalityhumanrights.com
Telephone: 0845 604 8810
Textphone: 0845 604 8820
Fax: 0845 604 8830
08:00–18:00 Monday to Friday
Helpline – Scotland
Email: scotland@equalityhumanrights.com
Telephone: 0845 604 5510
Textphone: 0845 604 5520
Fax: 0845 604 5530
08:00–18:00 Monday to Friday
Acas – The Independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Acas aims to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. It provides impartial advice, training, information and a range of problem resolution services.
Telephone: 0845 747 4747
Website: www.acas.org.uk
The Alliance for Inclusive Education (Allfie)
Allfie is a national network led by disabled people to promote inclusive education for all students. It provides a range of resources and training for educators and parents.
Telephone: 020 7737 6030
Email: info@allfie.org.uk
Web: www.allfie.org.uk
Association of College and School Leaders (ACSL)
The ACSL is the professional association and trade union for secondary school and college leaders.
Telephone: 0116 299 1122
Email: info@ascl.org.uk
Black Training & Enterprise Group (BTEG)
BTEG is a national charity set up to support and provide a voice for black and minority ethnic training providers. It also runs the Centre for Educational Success which aims to raise and improve the educational attainment of children and young people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.
Telephone: 020 7843 6110
Email: info@bteg.co.uk
Website: www.bteg.co.uk
British Humanist Association (BHA)
The BHA is a national charity supporting and representing non-religious people who seek to lead ethical lives. They carry out a range of activities including campaigns, lobbying and briefing government. They also provide information to schools to support education about humanism, and on the inclusion of non-religious pupils and their parents in schools and colleges.
Telephone: 020 7079 3580
Email: info@humanism.org.uk
Website: www.humanism.org.uk
Changing Faces
Changing Faces is a UK charity that supports and represents people who have disfigurements of the face or body from any cause. They offer expert advice, resources and training programmes in education to enable teachers to understand and respond to the challenges facing children and young people with disfigurements.
Telephone: 0845 4500 275
Email: info@changingfaces.org.uk
Website: www.changingfaces.org.uk
Citizens Advice
The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice, and by campaigning and influencing policymakers.
Telephone: 020 7833 2181 (admin only, no advice available on this number)
Website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
The Council for Disabled Children (CDC)
The Council for Disabled Children provides an information service to parents and professionals on the needs of disabled pre-school children, pupils and students.
Telephone: 020 7843 1900
Email: cdc@ncb.org.uk
Website: www.ncb.org.uk/cdc
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
An important source of government information for universities and other education providers.
Website: www.bis.gov.uk
Department for Education
Information on the main standards schools are required to follow, as well as guidance on complex issues.
Website: www.education.gov.uk
Directgov
Directgov is the UK government’s digital service for people in England and Wales. It delivers information and practical advice about public services, bringing them all together in one place.
Website: www.direct.gov.uk
Education Unions
A comprehensive list of education unions can be found at:
www.teachernet.gov.uk/professionaldevelopment/professionalassociations/unions/
Estyn
Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales.
Telephone: 029 2044 6446
Email: enquiries@estyn.gov.uk
Website: www.estyn.gov.uk
Equality Challenge Unit (ECU)
ECU supports the higher education sector to realise the potential of all staff and students, whatever their race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief, or age. ECU works in partnership with HEIs and sector organisations, undertaking projects and research and providing practical support and guidance.
Telephone: 020 7438 1010
Email: info@ecu.ac.uk
Website: www.ecu.ac.uk
Fawcett Society
Fawcett is the UK’s leading campaign for equality between women and men. They campaign on women’s representation in politics and public life; pay, pensions and poverty; valuing caring work, and the treatment of women in the justice system.
Telephone: 020 7253 2598
Website: www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES)
GIRES provides a wide range of information and training for trans people, their families and professionals, including a Home Office-funded toolkit for education professionals to combat transphobic bullying.
Telephone: 01372 801 554
Email: info@gires.org.uk
Website: www.gires.org.uk
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
HEFCE distributes public money for teaching and research to universities and colleges and aims to promote high-quality education and research. HEFCE also plays a key role in ensuring accountability and promoting good practice. This includes work to widen participation of under-represented groups in higher education, including the Aimhigher programme.
Telephone: 0117 931 7317
Email: hefce@hefce.ac.uk
Website: www.hefce.ac.uk
HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE)
HMIE is the education and training inspectorate for Scotland.
Telephone: 01506 600200
Textphone: 01506 600236
Website: www.hmie.gov.uk
Irish Travellers Movement in Britain (ITMB)
The ITMB seeks to raise the profile of Irish Travellers in Britain and increase their say in decision-making processes and forums. The ITMB seeks to challenge discrimination and develop national policies that ensure the inclusion of Irish Travellers in all levels of society.
Telephone: 020 7607 2002
Email: info@irishtraveller.org.uk
Website: www.irishtraveller.org.uk
Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)
LSIS is the sector-owned body that aims to accelerate the drive for excellence in the learning and skills sector, building the sector’s own capacity to design, commission and deliver improvement and strategic change. They are responsible for developing and providing resources that help colleges and providers implement initiatives and improve quality.
Telephone: 024 7662 7900
Email: enquiries@lsis.org.uk
Website: www.lsis.org.uk
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB)
The MCB is a charity set up to promote cooperation, consensus and unity on Muslim affairs in the UK. It aims to promote greater and more effective participation from the Muslim community at all levels of the education system. The MCB undertakes campaigning and lobbying and provides advice on educational issues affecting Muslim pupils and students.
Telephone: 0845 26 26 786
Email: admin@mcb.org.uk
Website: www.mcb.org.uk
National Aids Trust (NAT)
The NAT is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to transforming society’s response to HIV. It has produced a practical resource for teachers providing suggestions on how to integrate learning about HIV into the national curriculum for different subjects within key stages three and four.
Telephone: 020 7814 6767
Email: info@nat.org.uk
Website: www.nat.org.uk
National Bureau for Students with Disabilities: Skill
Skill is a national charity promoting opportunities for young people and adults with any kind of impairment in post-16 education, training and employment.
England and Wales
Telephone and textphone: 020 7450 0620
Email: skill@skill.org.uk
Website: www.skill.org.uk
Scotland
Telephone and textphone: 0131 475 2348
Email: admin@skillscotland.org.uk
Website: www.skill.org.uk
Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted)
Ofsted is the education and training inspectorate for England and regulates those providing education and skills for learners of all ages.
Telephone: 0300 123 4234
Email: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk
Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk
Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA)
QCDA is the government agency responsible for developing the curriculum, improving and delivering assessments, and reviewing and reforming qualifications.
Telephone: 0300 303 3010
Textphone: 0300 303 3012
Email: info@qcda.gov.uk
Website: www.qcda.gov.uk
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA)
QAA is an independent body funded by subscriptions from universities and colleges and through contracts with the higher education funding bodies. It carries out external quality assurance in universities and offers guidance on maintaining and improving quality assurance processes.
Telephone: 01452 557000
Email: comms@qaa.ac.uk
Website: www.qaa.ac.uk
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
RNIB is the UK’s leading charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people with sight loss. They campaign to eliminate avoidable sight loss and support research into sight loss and eye health issues.
Telephone: 020 7388 1266
Email: helpline@rnib.org.uk
Website: www.rnib.org.uk
Scope
Scope is a charity that supports disabled people and their families, and works to ensure high-quality education and support for all children and young people with cerebral palsy and complex needs. Scope has produced a range of training materials to encourage inclusion in all educational settings.
Telephone: 0808 800 3333
Email: response@scope.org.uk
Website: www.scope.org.uk
Scottish Education and Training
Scottish Government site looking at all aspects of education and training in Scotland.
Website: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education
Skills Funding Agency (SFA)
The SFA is one of the successor agencies to the Learning and Skills Council, and is responsible for all government-funded post-19 education and training.
Telephone: 0845 377 5000
Email: info@skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk
Website: http://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/
Stonewall
Stonewall is the UK’s leading lesbian, gay and bisexual charity and carries out campaigning, lobbying and research work as well as providing a free information service for individuals, organisations and employers. It offers a range of resources including information for primary and secondary school teachers, youth workers, parents, local authorities and young people on homophobic bullying.
Telephone: 0800 050 2020
Email: info@stonewall.org.uk
Website: www.stonewall.org.uk
The UKRC
The UKRC is the government’s lead organisation for the provision of advice, services and policy consultation regarding the under-representation of women in science, engineering, technology and the built environment (SET). It works with a range of organisations including education institutions.
Telephone: 01274 436485
Website: www.theukrc.org
Women’s National Commission (WNC)
The WNC is the official and independent advisory body giving the views of women to the UK government. It is an umbrella organisation representing women and women’s organisations in the UK to ensure women’s views are taken into account by the government and are heard in public debate.
Telephone: 0303 444 4009
Email: wnc@communities.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.thewnc.org.uk
Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA)
The YPLA is one of the successor agencies to the Learning and Skills Council. It provides financial support to young learners; funds academies, general FE and sixth form colleges, and other 16-19 providers; and supports local authorities to commission suitable education and training opportunities for all 16-19 year olds.
Telephone: 0845 337 2000
Email: enquiries@ypla.gov.uk
Web: www.ypla.gov.uk
Please note: These organisations are those which the Commission is aware of as being relevant contacts for inclusion in this guidance. It is not a definitive list. Please contact us if you know of other organisations which should also be included.