Equality, diversity and inclusion
We aim to be an inclusive employer where everyone feels welcome and treated with dignity and respect.
We aim to do this by:
- providing education and training opportunities to raise awareness and understanding of physical disability, mental health conditions and neurodiversity
- providing awareness programmes to enable us to reflect on the importance of language and behaviour in creating an inclusive workplace
- supporting both your physical and mental wellbeing as well as flexible working arrangements which are open to all to request
- providing all employees with the opportunity to raise issues through established engagement routes such as the staff forum or via our group of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) champions who are representative of all areas of the workforce. EDI meetings are held quarterly and chaired by our Chief Executive
Here are some of the EDI related initiatives we are proud to be a part of:
As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working towards removing barriers to disabled people in our approach to recruitment and in the workplace, along with increasing understanding and awareness of disability.
We are doing this by:
- guaranteeing an interview to anyone who declares they have a disability on their application and meets the essential criteria for the role
- providing reasonable adjustments in the workplace for both new and existing employees
- assisting existing employees with any reasonable requests to support them with their disability such as changes to their working pattern and time off for appointments
- offering training to our managers on how to be disability confident
We have signed up to the Family-Friendly Employers Charter, which sets out how employers can help parents and carers manage their work and caring commitments. Employers must consider three areas:
- family-friendly strategy and culture
- flexible working
- annual leave and supporting parents outside of term time
We are proud to be a recognised Foster Friendly Employer by The Fostering Network.
This means we actively support employees who are foster carers, or who are becoming one. Our policy includes:
- paid time off for fostering commitments
- flexible working arrangements to help balance work and caring responsibilities
By being part of the Fostering Friendly scheme, we show our commitment to children, families and our colleagues who provide them with safe and nurturing homes.
As part of signing the Armed Forces Covenant, we support our armed forces and welcome job applications from members of the armed forces. This also includes reservists, armed forces veterans (including the injured and sick), cadet instructors and military spouses and partners.
We also continue support throughout employment through initiatives such as our:
- Employee Assistance Programme
- mental health support
- entitlement for time-off policy