Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

Purpose of the policy

All members of the BAES community are entitled to be treated fairly, with dignity and respect, and to work and study in a welcoming, safe and supportive environment. This policy exists to ensure that BAES promotes and integrates equality, diversity and inclusion throughout all of its services and activities.

Scope of the policy

This policy applies to all learners enrolled with BAES, all staff, governors, Advisory Board members, subcontractors, visitors and employers providing work placements.

Policy statement

BAES is strongly committed to promoting and embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in all that we do. We welcome all who would benefit from studying with us, regardless of background. We are proud of the diversity of the BAES community and we strive to recognise, value and celebrate individual differences, where everyone is enabled to achieve their full potential. We are opposed to all forms of violent, abusive and discriminatory behaviour, and work conscientiously to tackle inequality and promote diversity and inclusion for all protected characteristics.

To achieve this we will:

1. Provide high-quality, responsive provision, services and support that meet the individual needs of learners, staff and service users
2. Monitor the take up of provision and the achievement of learners according to protected characteristics and take action to close equalities gaps
3. Challenge inequality and discrimination to ensure a safe and equal learning and working environment
4. Embrace and celebrate the diversity of our learners, staff and local communities
5. Promote equality and British Values in our policies, procedures, plans and practices
6. Ensure that learners have a good understanding of equality, diversity, inclusion and British Values
7. Ensure that teaching materials, resources and publicity are inclusive
8. Ensure that our learners and staff reflect the diverse communities of Birmingham
9. Involve staff, learners and stakeholders in securing improvements to our programmes, services and learning and work environment
10. Provide an environment where learners and staff feel safe to disclose protected characteristics
11. Ensure that staff challenge discrimination and promote equality, diversity and inclusion
12. Make reasonable adjustments for the specific needs of individuals
13. Fully investigate complaints of discrimination and harassment, which may result in disciplinary action
14. Ensure that learner and staff views about equality and respect are captured, analysed and acted upon

Compliance with the policy

The policy will be evaluated for compliance through the Service Quality Cycle, including Learning Walks, Audits of Learning and Progress, Area Quality Reviews, Self-Assessment and Learner Voice, and also through complaints, grievances, staff profile, learner profile and achievement.

Responsibility for the policy

The maintenance and updating of this policy is the responsibility of the Head of Performance and Standards and will be reviewed annually. Responsibility for the implementation and compliance with this policy lies with all staff and learners.

Volunteering - testimonials

What our volunteers say...

Carol

“Volunteering is an enriching way of giving back to the community. We can make things better for people and places by sharing our time, abilities and life experiences.

Volunteering is rewarding in so many ways. Helping people gives a sense of achievement that is immeasurable. Being around new people from different cultures and background is a shortcut to meeting the world. You can make new friends. You can challenge yourself to grow and develop confidence with new people and situations. You can learn about the world of work and develop skills to help you at work. You can learn about new careers. When you put a little bit of your spare time to volunteering, it can take you so far.

I am very proud of my volunteering work with BAES because it’s a privilege to be able to help people to make positive changes in their life. I volunteer with BAES because I enjoy helping people to learn. I am challenging myself to develop new skills whilst gaining insight into education work. The learners, volunteers and staff are great role models: I’m always inspired by their resilience, perseverance and spirit.”

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Sunny

"Having lost my job due to health challenges I knew this was in fact an opportunity for me to utilise my time and do something I had wanted to get into for years - volunteering.

I started off with community-based volunteering such as local events, football coaching and the Birmingham Half Marathon. I moved on from those and have recently got into voluntary work with BAES and at a local homeless shelter.

I volunteer because I think too many of us put our power in other people’s hands expecting them to do something, such as politicians when in fact we can start to make change immediately without having to put the responsibility on anyone else. I love meeting new people and the challenges every voluntary position offers is fun and exciting too.

To me volunteering is the lifeblood of any successful community as people giving their time for the greater good and not wishing for anything in return is something we should be encouraging far more than we currently do."

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Sue

"Since volunteering with BAES I have met many really lovely people - staff and students alike. In my experience the teachers really care about their students and in return the students are committed and eager to learn.

During the last year whilst volunteering in 2 ESOL classes I have met learners from all parts of the globe; for example, from Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria, Brazil, Thailand, India, Pakistan ...the list goes on!

I think it's wonderful that people from so many different countries and cultures can enjoy working together and learning from each other. Also, their dedication to learning English, with all that entails, (a new alphabet probably, the formation of the letters, learning difficult English spellings and pronunciations etc…) fills me with admiration.

Sometimes people bring in food to share, or talk about their families and show photos, which can make the classes quite a sociable event. I find that as a volunteer you have a lot to learn from the students, at the same time as you are helping them with their learning. In fact, it's a two-way street and a great one to travel down!"

BAES Video Induction

Induction Video

Induction Video with Sign Language

Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice

Overview

As a local authority Birmingham City Council (the council) and Birmingham Adult Education Service collect, holds and processes information, including personal data about you.
We understand that your personal data is important to you, and we have a responsibility to you regarding the information we hold about you, to ensure that the information we collect is used proportionately, correctly and safely.

Being transparent with you and providing accessible information about how we use your information demonstrates our commitment to the General Data Protection Regulations, hereafter referred to as GDPR. (Regulation (EU) 2016/679).

We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and in this document we explain how we will handle your personal data.

Purpose BAES use learner information

Why do we collect and use learner information?

We collect and use learner information under the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Education and Skills Funding Agency contract for the provision of learning. We also collect learner information to pass to the Learning Records Service who create a Unique Learner Number (ULN) for each learner

We use the learner data to:

• Report to the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Education and Skills Funding Agency
• Obtain unique learner numbers from the Learning Records Service
• Support learning
• Monitor and report on learner progress
• Provide appropriate pastoral care
• Assess the quality of our services
• Comply with the law regarding data sharing
• Carry out statistical analysis that allows us to target and plan the provision of services

The categories of learner information that we collect, hold and share with the West Midland Combined Authority and the Education and Skills Funding Agency:

• Personal information (name, unique learner number, date of birth, address)
• Characteristics (where provided) such as ethnicity, residency status, employment status, disability
• Achievement of qualifications and learning goals, destination information

The categories of learner information we collect and hold within Birmingham Adult Education Service:

• Email address, phone number
• Income based benefits claimed
• Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons)
• Disclosures made regarding learner health issues and convictions
• Support needs to provide appropriate learning support
• Emergency contact details provided by learners
• Online initial assessments outcomes (where applicable)
• The starting point of your learning, your reason for learning and information about your progress information towards your learning goals.
• Learner photos for ID cards

The categories of learner information that we collect, hold and share with other agencies with your consent:

• Laser Learning Portfolio e-system (health and social care learners) – name, address, date of birth, email, phone number
• Equal Platform (health and social care learners)- name and email address
• Results of assessments e.g. dyslexia assessments for exam access arrangements – relevant awarding body and Joint Council for Qualifications.

Other agencies with whom we may be obliged to share information:

• Local authority social services
• Police
• Department of Work and Pensions
• Public Health England

Timespan for storing learner data

We hold learner data for the year in which the learner studies plus 6 years; the exception is enrolment data which is held for the year in which you study plus 25 years. Safeguarding records are held for 3 years or until the learner leaves BAES, whichever is the later date.

Qualifications

For learners enrolling for qualifications, the Learning Records Service will give us a learner’s unique learner number (ULN) and may also give us details about the learner’s previous learning or qualifications.

Why we share learner information?

We do not share information about our learners with anyone other than those listed above without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.

Our learners aged 16-19

We will also share certain information about learners aged 16+ with our local authority as they have responsibilities in relation to the education or training of 13-19 year olds under section 507B of the Education Act 1996.

This enables them to provide services as follows:

• Post-16 education and training providers
• Youth support services
• Careers advisers

Your Rights

Under data protection legislation, parents and learners have the right to request access to the information about them that we hold. You also have the right to:

• ask for access to information about you that we hold
• have your personal data rectified, if it is inaccurate or incomplete
• request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing
• restrict our processing of your personal data (i.e. permitting its storage but no further processing)
• object to direct marketing (including profiling) and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics
• not to be subject to decisions based purely on automated processing where it produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you

If we are processing your personal information using your consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time. For further details on the rights you have please see our privacy notice on our website at https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/privacy

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance or directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

Contact

If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact the Information Line on 0121 303 4318 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.