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Equality and Diversity Strategy

Children’s Services has key priorities. These provide a framework to develop excellent equality, diversity and inclusion practice. The priorities aim to support positive outcomes for:

  • the children and families we work with and
  • our staff

Our eight priorities

These help us meet the:

This covers people with “relevant protected characteristics”. These are:

  • age
  • disability
  • gender reassignment
  • marriage and civil partnership
  • pregnancy and maternity
  • race
  • religion or belief
  • sex
  • sexual orientation

1. Effective data collection and monitoring

We want to identify where there may be:

  • discrimination
  • unequal representation or disproportionality of different groups

2. Fair access and positive outcomes from inclusive services

We want to ensure that our services meet the needs of:

  • all people protected by the Equality Act
  • people who are experiencing negative outcomes due to poverty or rural isolation

3. Effective engagement

We want to involve people, and our staff, protected by the Equality Act. This includes those from minority and marginalised backgrounds.

We want to:

  • involve them in discussions about services that we deliver
  • enable them to share their views

4. Inclusive partnerships

We want to work with our partners to:

  • prevent discrimination against people protected by the Equality Act
  • promote positive equality practice

5. Personal safety and tackling harassment

We want to ensure our staff and partner organisations:

  • prevent and respond to hate incidents motivated by prejudice
  • address discrimination in the workplace

6. Workforce knowledge and understanding

We want to support our workforce to:

  • improve their practice related to promoting equality
  • prevent and address discrimination

7. Recruitment and retention

We want to enhance equality in recruitment and retention in Children’s Services.

8. Developing confident and knowledgeable leadership and management

We want our managers to take the lead on progressing equality and diversity.