EQUALITY, DIVERSION & INCLUSION

Introduction 

 

1. Our Values 

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AT The Bus and The Beattie Method are founded on the principles of respect, nurture, connection, creativity and transformation. To enact these consistently, we need to understand how inequality, prejudice, and discrimination impact our work and take corrective action wherever we can. 

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We do not take our understanding of these issues for granted. Instead, this policy commits us to examine the ways that we work, to be always learning, and to be accountable to anybody who feels that we could be more sensitive to the needs of our staff, volunteers, students, and other partners. 

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Our work aims to provide a safe and emotionally supportive space in which children and young people can express themselves, build trusting relationships, learn, and be creative. This requires us to understand how inequality, prejudice, and discrimination act as obstacles to education, health, and wellbeing, and try to remove these obstacles. We consider this an essential aspect of safeguarding children – the prevention of harm and the promotion of healthy development and best outcomes for all. 

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Although inequality, prejudice, and discrimination often appear in interactions between people, they have structural and historical origins. This means that they still shape our cultural norms and the behaviour of our institutions. It also means that we have all grown up in an environment that privileges certain people over others, and in which harmful stereotypes have become normal. 

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We must all therefore acknowledge that these power imbalances have been part of our own education and try to correct them in the ways we think about and relate to others. We believe that one of the most effective ways to do this is by engaging in an ongoing process of reflection, using a wide range of educational resources, and drawing on diverse relationships. 

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We consider it everybody’s responsibility to learn about how these issues affect our society and our work, and to take action to address them. AT The Bus does not expect people who have experienced inequality, prejudice, or discrimination to provide ‘solutions’ or to be ‘experts’ or ‘role models’ if they do not want to. At the same time, we do commit to building partnerships with, listening to, and learning from organisations or individuals with lived experience of these issues who have chosen to educate others, and consider this an essential aspect of our work in this area.  

 

2. Policy Aims 

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This policy is intended to help us meet the needs of all staff, volunteers, students, and partners, in particular those needs related to the protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010, or to a person’s background, experiences, identity, abilities, or beliefs. Beyond our statutory obligations, this policy also seeks to embed proactive measures to address inequality, prejudice, and discrimination in every aspect of our practice. We aim to achieve this by making sure of the following: 

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● Our staff, volunteers, and partners are always learning about how inequality, prejudice, and discrimination affect our work, especially regarding the needs of those members of our community whose backgrounds are different to most members of our staff team. 

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● Our facilitation work helps students to celebrate and respect difference, develop self-confidence, and understand inequality, prejudice, and discrimination. 

● We work to recruit people with diverse backgrounds, identities, and skills to all levels of our organisation, and among our professional partners, so that we can draw on as wide a range of experience as possible in doing our work. 

● All staff, volunteers, and partners feel supported, able to contribute, and able to be themselves while working with us, and do not experience prejudice or discrimination due to the intentional or unintentional actions of others. 

● As many students and families as possible can access our service, and that everyone who experiences our provision feels safe, supported, and able to be themselves in whatever way they prefer. 

● That we establish measurement and assessment procedures to evaluate our work in these areas. 

● That we establish robust procedures to learn from and support anybody who feels that we have fallen short in any of these aims. 

 

3. Definitions 

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Our work in this area aims to reduce the impact of inequality, prejudice, and discrimination, especially regarding the protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010. It also aims to guard against other kinds of ‘prohibited conduct’ outlined in the same legislation. We understand these and other concepts relevant to this policy as follows: 

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● EQUALITY refers to removing barriers to equal opportunity and access, and eliminating discrimination, the basis of which is supported by legislation. Equality is about valuing people as equally deserving of respect and care and treating people according to their needs – it is not necessarily about treating everyone the same. INEQUALITY is when these conditions have not been met. 

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● PREJUDICE refers to spoken or unspoken assumptions that we make about other people based on stereotypes or preconceptions relating to one or more of their characteristics. These may be informed by cultural norms, and we may not be aware that we are doing it or that it is harmful. It includes assumptions that we might think are ‘positive’ but which still pre-judge a person before we get to know them. 

 

● DISCRIMINATION is when somebody is treated less favourably because of one or more of their characteristics. Discrimination based on protected characteristics is forbidden by law in many areas of public life, including employment and access to goods and services. It is broken down into two types in the Equality Act 2010: DIRECT DISCRIMINATION refers to when a person is treated less favourably because of one or more protected characteristics; INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION is where an apparently neutral practice is applied equally to all but puts a particular group sharing a protected characteristics at a disadvantage (for example a school hair policy that does not account for the needs of black students, or a workplace food storage policy that does not account for the religious needs of some employees). 

● HARASSMENT is another example of prohibited conduct in the Equality Act 2010. It refers to unwanted behaviour, including for example communications, remarks, or gestures, which are intended or have the effect of violating a person’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for that person. 

● VICTIMISATION is also prohibited conduct under the Equality Act. It refers to derogatory treatment directed at somebody who has made or is believed to have made a complaint under the Equality Act, or who has supported or is believed to be supporting a colleague in doing so. 

● DIVERSITY refers to the many visible and non-visible differences between individual people’s experiences, backgrounds, beliefs, abilities, and identities. AT The Bus believes that embracing and celebrating diversity benefits individuals as well as the whole of our organisation and wider society. Furthermore, we believe that despite any differences between people, we are all equally deserving of respect and care, and all share the same need to be recognised for who we are and to feel empowered in our lives. 

● INCLUSION refers to measures taken to ensure that a service or experience is accessible to everybody, and sensitive to all participant’s needs, regardless of any difference in those needs based on any of the considerations discussed in this policy. 

 

The nine PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS as outlined in the Equality Act 2010 are: 

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● age 

● disability 

● gender reassignment 

● marriage and civil partnership 

● pregnancy and maternity 

● race (meaning colour, nationality, or ethnic origin) 

● religion or belief 

● sex 

● sexual orientation 

 

For the purposes of this policy, AT The Bus also has regard for two additional characteristics that can reduce opportunity and negatively impact education, health, and wellbeing, and which therefore require additional consideration and support: 

 

● economic hardship and poverty 

● caring responsibilities 

 

4. Areas of Action 

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AT The Bus aims to embed proactive measures to address inequality, prejudice, and discrimination in every area of our practice: 

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a. Recruitment, Employment, and Operations 

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● Our workforce does not currently reflect the broader population or the population of young people that we are working with, particularly in terms of racial diversity. We will seek to address this through extending access to employment opportunities, including: targeting job advertisements and other communications to ensure the widest possible reach, extending opportunities beyond our current networks; offering training to support applicants whose circumstances have reduced their access to formal qualifications; ensuring that selection panels have received training on the impact of unconscious bias and the benefits of a diverse workforce. 

● We will undertake regular analysis of workforce diversity data at all levels of the organisation, including staff and volunteers, leadership, and Trustee members and proactively seek to address issues that are identified. 

● We commit to paying a fair living wage in line with the Living Wage Foundation to support potential employees without independent financial resources and commit to fair pay regardless of any protected characteristic. 

● We will require a minimum standard of training in this area for all staff, and will seek out further opportunities for training in specific areas as and when the need arises. 

● We believe one of the best ways to address inequality, prejudice, and discrimination is to take responsibility for improving our own understanding. We aim to do this by engaging with a wide range of educational resources, acknowledging that expertise in this area is diverse and always developing. 

● AT The Bus is an inclusive workplace and an inclusive service. We aim to ensure that no staff, volunteers, or partners feel that any lack of consideration on our part has prevented them from contributing fully to our work. We commit to endeavouring to make appropriate arrangements to ensure accessibility for any need relating to one or more protected characteristics. 

● AT The Bus commits, where possible, to finding flexible working solutions for staff, volunteers, and partners who are parents or have caring responsibilities. We will also consider how to support those who are re-entering the job market for other reasons, such as health- or wellbeing-related time off. 

● If we are to offer an emotionally supportive experience for our students, their families, and schools, the mental health of our own staff must be a priority. We therefore ensure that our team has opportunities to raise concerns or seek support through management processes, regular supervisions and team discussions. 

● We have effective complaints and whistleblowing procedures and commit to managing complaints in a timely and sensitive manner (see the Staff Handbook). 

 

b. Facilitation 

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● Respect, nurture, connection, creativity, and transformation are the foundational principles of The Beattie Method and AT The Bus. We commit to developing facilitation practices, projects, and educational resources that celebrate diversity and inspire positive attitudes towards self and others. 

● Our workshops support participants to learn about different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences and, most importantly, to develop the emotional resources to build trusting, mutually beneficial relationships with one another and with our staff. 

● We acknowledge that inequality, prejudice, and discrimination have shaped our culture, and therefore often appear, intentionally and unintentionally, in people’s behaviour. This creates obstacles to education, health, and wellbeing, and we must be vigilant about supporting one another to overcome these. 

● AT The Bus facilitators and volunteers always challenge any prejudiced or discriminatory behaviour from our students. If such behaviour occurs in one of our workshops, facilitators will respond in a way that: (a) supports any victims, reassuring them that such behaviour does not reflect on them and they are valued by the group; (b) clearly communicates to the group and any students who have behaved in such a way that this is unacceptable; and (c) provides opportunities for learning and reparation for those involved after the event. Each of these steps will be enacted using language that is appropriate to the age and understanding of the students involved. 

● People (especially children and young people) who are feeling stressed or anxious, or are dealing with mental health difficulties, can find it hard to regulate their strong feelings. At such times, they may be inconsiderate of the needs and feelings of others, and this may include behaving in a prejudiced or discriminatory way. While it is essential to make clear that this behaviour is unacceptable, it is also important to understand why it has happened, and support learning and reconciliation where possible. 

● One of the best ways to reduce prejudice and promote anti-discriminatory behaviour is to make sure we are always learning about ourselves and other people. AT The Bus sessions are designed to support the development of social skills, mutual respect, and meaningful, trusting relationships. Facilitators therefore always model respectful, caring behaviour. 

● AT The Bus facilitators also draw on a wide range of educational resources, including stories, images, and art books, that offer opportunities to learn about diverse cultures and experiences. These resources are integral to the design of our studio spaces and form the basis for group discussions and creative project work. 

● We commit to treating all students in our workshops, who visit our studio, or who attend our partner schools (as well as their families and friends) as individuals whose needs are respected, including by making special provisions where necessary. 

● When referrals are made to our charity, we will communicate with schools or other host organisations to identify any students who need extra support – not by making assumptions based on characteristics that the student may appear to have, but through conversation with professionals who know them, and their families. We will continue to learn through discussions with students after the referral has begun. 

● We will endeavour where possible to collect data on protected characteristics for the students that we work with. We will use this to inform our work in this area, making sure that it remains anonymised, that no data is ever compromised and that our staff are aware of their obligations under data protection legislation. 

 

c. Children and Young People’s Voice 

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● We will always seek advice from the young people who attend our workshops, as well as from others in our host schools and communities, to better understand how to meet their needs effectively. 

● Our referral forms offer students an opportunity to tell us about themselves and what they hope to get out of attending our sessions. 

● Our Young Ambassador programme offers students who attend our host schools an opportunity to support our work, learn about our practice, and contribute to their community. 

● Through discussion during our sessions, and through other means including surveys and meetings, we will draw on the experiences of our students, our Young Ambassadors, and other children and young people in our host settings, to inform our work in this area. 

● Where possible, we will also seek input from the staff in our host settings, the families of our students, and the local community where we work. 

 

d. Partnerships 

● Partnership is one of The Beattie Method’s key areas of practice. We need to build trusting, meaningful relationships if we want to create a nurturing environment in which people feel able to be creative. 

● One of the most effective ways that we can achieve the aims of this policy is through building mutually beneficial partnerships that support learning and empowerment for all. AT The Bus will always assess how its partnerships: (a) develop our understanding of inequality, prejudice, and discrimination; (b) showcase and celebrate diverse perspectives; and (c) empower people affected by these issues. 

● We partner with schools and other organisations that have excellent expertise in this area, and we commit to exploring ways that we can collaborate with our partners on training and reflective discussion where possible. 

● We also work with visiting artists, authors, and other creative people. This offers opportunities to develop educational projects that celebrate diversity and address issues of inequality, prejudice, and discrimination. 

● As part of our ongoing training in this area, we will also seek input from individuals and organisations who specialise in tackling inequality, prejudice, and discrimination, and arrange sessions in which our staff can build their literacy regarding specific issues relevant to this work. 

● AT The Bus is always keen to learn from our partners, students, and colleagues, and will always listen carefully to challenges to our practice and seek to make improvements where necessary. We also commit to challenging prejudice and discrimination wherever we encounter it in our professional relationships and supporting learning wherever we can. 

 

e. Communications 

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● AT The Bus will always strive to further the aims of this policy through our organisational communications. This means ensuring that a clear statement of our support for these principles, and this policy itself, are available in accessible formats on our website. 

● We will always endeavour to create communications content that is accessible for as many people as possible. 

 

Roles and Responsibilities 

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1. Trustees 

● Taking strategic responsibility for the contents of this policy and ensuring that issues of equality sit at the heart of the charity’s culture and values. 

● Ensuring that Trustees regularly consider this issue, seek feedback from staff and review this policy as required. 

 

2. Chief Executive 

● Ensuring that the actions set out in this policy are delivered 

● Ensuring a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and that The Beattie Method principles regarding accessibility and access permeate all that we do. 

 

3. Facilitation Team 

● Use the principles of The Beattie Method to ensure that all sessions are carefully designed and executed so that children and young people from all backgrounds feel welcomed and included. 

● Ensure that supporting materials (art work, books etc) are carefully selected to ensure that diversity is celebrated and welcomed. 

 

4. All Staff 

● Be mindful of equalities, diversity and inclusion in all our work, following the actions set out in this policy and the Staff Handbook. 

● Share ideas for future actions and improvement.