Equality and Diversity Policy – 1st4sport
Designated Equality and Diversity Officer: Tracey Vaccarezza
Writer/reviewer of this policy: Tracey Vaccarezza
Version: 2		Date: 20/07/22

This policy aims to protect staff, learners and any related third party from discrimination. Solihull MBC’s Recognised Delivery Centre aims to prevent any discrimination related to the nine protected characteristics within the Equality Act 2010, which are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation. 

The Head of Centre Tina Wiggin is responsible for ensuring that this policy is published, implemented and accessible to all personnel, learners and any relevant third parties. The Head of Centre will also ensure that all personnel have read and understood this policy and that any amendments to the policy are communicated to relevant parties. 

Different Types of Discrimination 

Direct Discrimination 	
Where someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic. 

Discrimination by Perception 	
A person being treated differently due to others thinking they have a disability when they do not. 

Indirect Discrimination 	
A person or organisation has arrangements in place that seem to treat everyone in an equal, non-discriminatory way but these arrangements put people with the same disability at a disadvantage to others who do not have a disability. 

Harassment 	
Behaviour that is deemed offensive by the recipient. This could be a person creating an environment that is intimidating, degrading, offensive because to people with a disability. 

Victimisation 	
When an organisation puts a person at a disadvantage because they have made an allegation or supported an allegation about discrimination. 

Solihull MBC’s Recognised Delivery Centre aim to promote equal opportunities and eliminate discrimination by: 

•	Ensuring that all staff, learners and any related third parties are treated equally at all times. 
•	Ensuring that all staff are responsible for creating an open and friendly learning environment.
•	Ensuring that staff are selected for employment will be on the basis of aptitude and ability.
•	Ensuring that a learner enrolling onto a course has completed an initial assessment and meet the pre-requisites of the qualification. 
•	Ensuring that learners are aware of the access arrangement (special consideration/ reasonable adjustments) procedures offered by the centre to support learners with their assessment 
•	Taking all allegations or incidents of discrimination seriously and responding to them swiftly. 
•	Ensuring a zero tolerance on any acts of discrimination on the nine protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010.

Access to Assessment Arrangements 

Solihull MBC’s Recognised Delivery Centre is committed to providing ongoing support to learners with particular requirements to prevent any discrimination. We provide accessible services to learners through reasonable adjustments to assessment and applying for special consideration where these are required, to support learners completing each course to their full ability. 

Access arrangements ensure that the conduct of reasonable adjustments and special considerations reduce substantial disadvantage caused due to a learner’s disability or difficulty. In accordance with the Equality Act 2010, we have a commitment to provide access for learners with particular needs to prevent discrimination in the delivery of qualifications and the assessment of learners. 

Reasonable Adjustments 
Reasonable adjustments to assessment are adjustments made prior to the delivery of a qualification and are in place before a learner takes an assessment to enable a learner with particular needs to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding to the levels of attainment required by the specification for that qualification. 
It is the learner’s responsibility to make the centre aware of any required reasonable adjustments to assessment. The centre will then apply for approval from the 1st4sport Qualifications Compliance and Risk Team.

Special Considerations 
Special Considerations are an arrangement put in place at the time of an assessment to allow competence to be demonstrated by learners who have been disadvantaged due to a temporarily experienced illness, injury or an adverse effect outside of the learners control. 

To ensure that we can assist learners in managing their individual situation and create an accessible learning and assessment environment for all we intend to:

•	ensure this equality and diversity policy is understood and complied with by any personnel involved in assessment and also by learners. 
•	promote equality within of each learning programme and in the conduct of all qualification assessments.
•	adhere to related procedures and regulations regarding reasonable adjustments and special consideration; requesting permission to grant these for each learner from 1st4sport Qualifications.  
•	ensure buildings and assessment sites used for delivery and assessment are accessible to all learners, as far as is practicable.
•	ensure appropriate equipment/personnel (including technological equipment or any assistant personnel, i.e. reader, scribe, practical assistant, etc.) is available for selected adjustments to delivery and/or assessment.
•	use assistive equipment and personnel within the reasonable adjustments framework, as outlined by 1st4sport Qualifications, without disadvantaging others who are not affected by particular requirements. 

Procedure to Request a Reasonable Adjustment or Special Consideration 

The request and supporting evidence is evaluated by the Designated Equality and Diversity Officer within 5 working days of receipt.

A Special Consideration request is made by a learner.

The learner needs to submit evidence to support their request.

A Reasonable Adjustment to Assessment request is made by a learner at the application stage. The learner needs to submit evidence to support their request.

The following procedure should be followed by learners when they are requesting a reasonable adjustment to assessment or special consideration. The Designated Equality and Diversity Officer will then review this, before submitting onto 1st4sport Qualifications.  

The Designated Equality and Diversity Officer will submit a Reasonable Adjustments/Special Consideration Request form on Athena and will attach the evidence to support the request.

The 1st4sport Qualifications Compliance and Risk Team will review the request and supporting evidence. Outcomes will be communicated to the centre within 10 working days of receipt to enable any arrangements to be made in good time.