Keeping it legal: compliance issues

1. Keeping it legal: compliance issues Equality & Diversity Simon Vines

2. Equality & Diversity

3. Equality Duties • Race Equality (2002) • Disability Equality (2006) • Gender Equality (2007) • Single Equality (2009)

4. Race Equality: general duty • eliminate unlawful racial discrimination • promote equality of opportunity • promote good relations between persons of different racial groups.

5. Race Equality: specific duties • produce a race equality policy (not a scheme); • assess the effects of your policies on staff and students from different racial groups; • monitor, by racial group, the admission and progress of students, and the recruitment and career development of staff; • set out your arrangements for publishing your race equality policy statement, and the results of your assessment and monitoring; • take reasonable and practical steps to publish the results of your monitoring each year.

6. Disability Equality: general duty • promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people • eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the Disability Discrimination Act • eliminate harassment of disabled people that is related to their disability • promote positive attitudes towards disabled people • encourage participation by disabled people in public life • take steps to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment

7. Disability Equality: specific duties • Produce and publish a Disability Equality Scheme (by 4 December 2006) • Involve disabled people in its production • Review and revise every three years • Create an action plan • Report annually on progress made • Conduct disability equality impact assessments

8. Gender Equality: General Duty • To eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sex • To promote equality of opportunity between women and men.

9. Gender Equality: specific duties • Prepare and publish a gender equality scheme, showing how it will meet its general and specific duties and setting out its gender equality objectives. • In formulating its overall objectives, consider the need to include objectives to address the causes of any gender pay gap. • Gather and use information on how the public authority's policies and practices affect gender equality in the workforce and in the delivery of services. • To consult stakeholders (i.e. employees, service users and others, including trade unions) and take account of relevant information in order to determine its gender equality objectives. • To assess the impact of its current and proposed policies and practices on gender equality. • To implement the actions set out in its scheme within three years, unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so. • To report against the scheme every year and review the scheme at least every three years.

10. Single Equality Duty • Equality Bill to be published April/May 2009 • existing separate equality duties on public authorities covering race, disability and gender will be replaced by a single equality duty, which will also extend to gender reassignment, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief • intended to help public authorities focus their efforts on outcomes, rather than on producing plans and documents

11. Mental Capacity Act The Mental Capacity Act (2005) provides the legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of an adult (aged 16 or over) who lacks the mental capacity to make particular decisions for themselves.

12. Mental Capacity Act The Five Statutory Principles of the Mental Capacity Act • 1. A person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that they lack capacity. • 2. A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision unless all practicable steps to help him to do so have been taken without success. • 3. A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision merely because he makes an unwise decision. • 4. An act done, or decision made, under this Act for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must be done, or made, in his best interests. • 5. Before the act is done, or the decision is made, regard must be had to whether the purpose for which it is needed can be as effectively achieved in a way that is less restrictive of the person’s rights and freedom of action. NB: Capacity only applies to a specific decision at a specific time. A person can be assumed to have blanket non-capacity.

13. Mental Capacity Act In supporting a person to make a decision key factors to establish are: • Does the person have all the relevant information they need to make a particular decision? • If they have a choice, have they been given information on all the alternatives? • Could information be explained or presented in a way that is easier for the person to understand (for example, by using simple language or visual aids)? • Have different methods of communication been explored if required, including non-verbal communication? • Could anyone else help with communication (for example, a family member, support worker, interpreter, speech and language therapist or advocate)? • Does the time of day suit the person? • Is there a location where they feel most at ease? • Could the decision be deferred to a time that best suits the person?

14. Mental Capacity Act The Role of the College in Supporting Learner Orchard Hill College will: • always assume a learner has capacity with regard to the decisions and choices presented to them within College; • always ensure that the circumstances for making a decision are right for the individual learner; • acknowledge that, in the judgment of staff, a learner may make “an unwise decision” but they will still respect and support it provided it does not place the learner or others at risk of harm; • not lead a learner when presenting them with a choice through emphasis or intonation; • only have an involvement in assessing a learner’s capacity within the remit of decisions relating to their learning and being at the College, unless invited to contribute to best interest meetings externally; • strive to maximise the opportunities for all learners to advocate for themselves; • maximise the awareness of opportunities for individual learners through the planning of sessions;

15. Mental Capacity Act • reflect a learner’s dreams and aspirations identified through Person Centred Planning, tutorials and reviews; • work in the best interests of a learner, and in partnership with all appropriate agencies, in the event that the learner’s capacity is in question with regard to a specific decision affecting them or their circumstances; • ensure that when “appropriate help” is given to a learner with decision making it is someone who the learner has chosen and who knows them well; • always gain a learner’s consent before undertaking any medical or therapeutic interventions, for each separate intervention; • always work in collaboration with a learner where they are unhappy about essential interventions (e.g. personal care or emergency medical care) to achieve a level and mode of support that they are comfortable with • ensure consent is gained from prospective learners with regard to medical, therapeutic and other forms of assessment during College assessment days and initial assessment process; • ensure the learner has consented to attending and applying to attend to come to College; • respect a learner’s decision if they express a wish to leave College at any time, ensuring that they can do so safely.

16. Learner Involvement Strategy • From 2007/08 there has been a requirement for every FE provider to create its own learner involvement strategy. • In addition, January 2007 saw the initial event for the National Learner Panel (NLP) which was established by Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, in November 2006, set up to provide the Government with direct access to learners from a wide range of backgrounds, and to ensure that the voice of the learner can influence national policy.

17. Learner Voice How do we best capture the learner voice? • Assessment • Valuation and Planning • Person Centred Reviews • SAR • ILPs • Student Forum – Virtual Learning Environment

18. Accreditations • Investors in People • Matrix Standard (IAG) • Investors in Diversity

19. Policy into Practice Orchard Hill College Mission Statement: • Orchard Hill College ensures a stimulating learning environment where adult students with a range of abilities can and do achieve • OHC provides an empowering and positive environment which enables individuals to aspire, learn and achieve within a self determined and meaningful curriculum

20. Policy into Practice Orchard Hill College Core Principles: • Provides an education service which offers equality of opportunity to all students and staff. • Respects students as individuals and adult learners • Provides learning opportunities within a framework which is flexible and responsive to individual needs • Aims at all times to establish quality relationships and interactions which reflect the student’s adult status and ability to learn.

21. Policy into Practice • Good practice training • Shared concept of good practice • Person centred approach • Joint Planning Development day • Action plans linked to Quality Improvement Plan • Impact assessments

22. Contact Details Simon Vines Vice Principal Orchard Hill College Tel: 020 8254 7820 svines@suttonlea.org