Please let us know if you require this newsletter in an alternative format

FE and Skills Equality Briefing January 2016

Quick news links

Treating inspections like a Nobel Prize is the secret of Ofsted success (TES

FE December)

Greater Manchester local authority achieves outstanding first under new

Ofsted inspection regime (FE Week December)

Employment law cases 2016 eight decisions to look out for (Personnel

Today December)

We would love to hear from you if

you have something to contribute

to future publications

To mark the start of the new year

Pinnacle are offering a FREE

personalised Diversity Calendar 2016

pack with all e-learning orders

January is a natural time for contemplating the year ahead But what about

your equality priorities and objectives Can you show they are being

addressed effectively Our new FE equality audit tool is proving very popular

and could help This comes with the Embedding Equality Intranet Resource

2016 (see p2) You can also download a free section of the audit too here

Now available ndash Embedding Equality Intranet Resource 2016

New for the 2016 edition

bull Fundamental British values

bull New equality audit for FE and skills

bull Equality and inspection guidance

bull Latest news articles and data

bull Learn from the latest EDI projects

bull New activities embedding tips

And much much more

There is a wealth of guidance out

there but making the most of it

can be difficult This resource

brings it all together in a neat

package and all staff can access

it Let us do all the leg-work so you

can focus on being outstanding

500+ pages easy-access activities

recommendations news and

guidance to help you embed

equality If you buy one equality

resource for 2016 make it this one

Info downloads Resource guide Sample Order form

Visit httpwwwembeddingequalitycouk for a 76-page sample and a full

FREE section on sexgender equality

Upload to your intranet or VLE

Create extra copies for colleagues

Engage learners design staff training

Place in your library resource centres

Use in planning meetings

Print selected pages to use in sessions

David Bowie bent gender rules and changed life for us freaks and queerslsquo

(Telegraph January)

While gender fluidity is having what we in the media call lsquoa momentrsquo one of its

most ardent proponents has left the stage Bowie ndash Ziggy Stardust the Thin

White Duke Jareth the Goblin King ndash would probably be delighted to still

be blurring gender boundariesafter his untimely death Long before Eddie

Izzard appeared on our screens patiently explaining between jokes that itrsquos

perfectly possible for a man to wear a dress and still be straight Bowie was

defying labels He appeared in a dress on the cover of The Man Who Sold the

World and then later on Top of the Pops wearing such dramatic make up that

nobody knew whether he was a man or a woman

School grades lsquolinked to where you liversquo (BBC January)

The Social Market Foundation has examined test results of cohorts born in 1970

and 2000 and found regional differences have become much greater For

pupils born in 1970 the study says that location was much less of an influence

with a much a stronger link to factors such as social background Family

background and income remain important but the study says the geographic

area a child comes from has become a more powerful predictive factor

How to give students with learning difficulties a voice (TES FE January)

Back in April 2015 Robin Ferguson an FE learner studying for a traineeship at

Derwen College stood on stage at the NUS studentsrsquo union annual conference in

front of a 1000-strong audience His three-minute speech was punctuated by

spontaneous applause from the crowd and when he finished they responded

with a standing ovation Everyone in the audience was aware that they were

watching a moment in history unfold before them Fergusonrsquos address was all

the more powerful because he has Downrsquos syndrome

Prime minister to announce new generation of mentors to help struggling teens

(govuk January)

Christine Hodgson Chair of Capgemini UK and the Careers and Enterprise

Company has agreed to lead a major campaign to encourage business people

and professionals to volunteer to act as mentors to young teens at risk of

dropping out of education or achieving less than they could

Equality news summary (1 of 3)

Now available - Diversity Calendar and Planner 2016

A simple and effective way to

promote equality diversity health

and wellbeing

Keeping up-to-date with the

equality calendar is as easy as

turning a page or the click of a

button

Prices from only pound9999 (+VAT and

postage)

Download one month sample

bull Work together to schedule your

promotionembedding themes

bull Use the calendar licence to add

your logo and organisation

name print additional copies

and use on screens

bull Multi-faith dates key equality

health and wellbeing events and

celebrations inspiring quotes

Download order form

How does the process work

1 Complete your order form and email to us

2 We will confirm your costing and send a proof of your calendar

3 We will print two high quality full colour calendars and include in your

pack together with a disc with the master and monthly files

Please place your calendar order by 14th December 2015

The equality calendar - planning ahead

Faith dates are not included

in our summaries as there

are simply too many A

monthly guide to multi-faith

dates can be found in the

Pinnacle equality calendar

Thursday 14th January 2016 - STI Awareness Day

Sunday 17th January 2016 - World Religion Day

Created by the Bahai faith in 1950 this day promotes interfaith under-standing

and harmony

Wednesday 27th January 2016 ndash Holocaust Memorial Day

HMD is the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust

and other genocides The 2016 theme is lsquoDonrsquot Stand Byrsquo The Holocaust and

subsequent genocides took place because the local populations allowed

insidious persecution to take root For more information visit wwwhmdorguk

February - LGBT History Month

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans History Month celebrates the lives and achievements of the LGBT community For more information visit wwwlgbthistorymonthorguk

Thursday 4th February - World Cancer Day

A global observance that helps raise peoplersquos awareness of cancer and how

to prevent detect or treat it Cancer is considered a disability under the

definition given in The Equality Act 2010 For more information visit

wwwworldcancerdayorg

Monday 8th February 2016 - Chinese New Year

This is the most important annual festival celebrated by Chinese and Chinese

descendants and is based on the lunar calendar 2016 is lsquoYear of the

Monkeyrsquo

Tel 01472 822510 equalitypinnacletrainingsolutionscouk wwwmypinnaclecouk

Exams timetabled to accommodate Ramadan (BBC January)

This years key GCSE and A-Level examinations have been timetabled to take

into account the Muslim holy month of Ramadan exam boards have said

The Joint Council for Qualifications said many core exams had been set for

before Ramadan starts on 6 June but there had been no large scale changes

Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission lsquoState of the Nation 2015rsquo report

(EDF January)

The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission published its annual State of

the Nation Report in December 2015

State of the Nation 2015 Social Mobility and Child Poverty in Great

Britain identifies lsquosome signs of progress but they do not nearly go far enough or

fast enough to address the gulf between the divided Britain of the present and

the One Nation Britain we aspire to becomersquo

Oxford marks Hebdo attack with Voltaire (BBC January)

Academics at Oxford University are using Voltaire and other historical defenders

of free speech to mark the first anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris

Lecturers and students have translated essays about free speech and are

publishing them as a free e-book

lsquoWersquore losing the fight for more black principalsrsquo (TES FE January)

One day Shakira Martin the National Union of Studentsrsquo vice-president for FE

wants to be a college principal For anyone this is a bold ambition As a black

woman Ms Martin believes realising it will be especially tough ldquoI know it is

going to be difficult ndash the glass ceiling still existsrdquo she says ldquoFE is a diverse sector

but most of the staff from minority ethnic backgrounds are on the front linerdquo

Girls can be pirates too (Guardian December)

Jude Benthamrsquos twin girls are still only three but already she says their world is

being shrunk by casual gender discrimination on a shocking scale ndash from health

checks to dressing up avenues are being closed off all the time

This years 100 Women season (BBC) featured two weeks of stories about awe-

inspiring girls and women - from Siberia to the US Venezuela to Palestine Find

out more online

Equality news summary (2 of 3)

This guide shows how we can help you embed and promote equality in

2015-16 Please use the links on the right to download further information

and email us with any questions at equalitypinnacletrainingsolutionscouk

All of our e-learning courses are personalised with your logo and provider name You

will have full reporting capability Roll-out is easy with the one-page Quick-Start guides

users register with your unique course code and generate their own certificates

Learner equality e-learning 2016

Ideal for use in induction or any time of

year this activity is interactive and

informative covering An introduction

to equality and diversity Respect and

behaviour Prevent and fundamental

British values Me and my learning

Est 60 minutes From pound399+VAT

Resource guide

Order form

Request free trial

Staff equality update e-learning 2016

This updated course reinforces Prevent

principles and the promotion of

fundamental British values The content

also reflects the new Common

Inspection Framework (live from

September 2015)

Est 90-120 minutes From pound399+VAT

Resource guide

Order form

Request free trial

Embedding equality e-learning 2016

Aimed at staff delivering learning the

updated version of this course has a

section which reinforces Prevent

principles and the promotion of

fundamental British values Content

also reflects the new Common

Inspection Framework

Est 120 minutes From pound399+VAT

Resource guide

Order form

Request free trial

Pinnacle Resource Guide 201516 (1 of 2)

Pinnacle Resource Guide 201516 (2 of 2)

Promoting British Values Training Pack 2016

We have a duty to promote lsquofundamental

British valuesrsquo as part of the governmentrsquos

Prevent duty Through popular demand we

have developed a comprehensive resource

pack to help you hit the ground running with

colleagues and learners

Resource guide

Download

sample

Order form

Equality Intranet Resource 2016

There is a wealth of equality guidance out

there but accessing and benefiting from it can

be difficult This embedding resource brings it

all together in a neat package Let us do the

leg-work for you 500+ pages of activities

recommendations news and guidance to help

you embed equality across provision and

services

Resource guide

Download

sample

Order form

Diversity Calendar 2016

A simple and effective way to promote

equality diversity health and wellbeing across

your organisation Keeping up-to-date with the

equality calendar is as easy as turning a page

or the click of a button Personalised resource

from only pound9999 exc

One month

sample

Order form

Diversity Diary 2015-16

The files for this ever-popular resource are freely

available online This is a staff diary with a

difference - equality information tips and

guidance on each page not to mention the

monthly planners and summaries Inspection

legislation protected characteristics

embedding tips reminders for key equality

dates multi-faith dates and more

Resource guide

Download files

Employment law changes in 2016 eight things employers should know (Personnel

Today December)

In 2016 employers will begin to feel the impact of the employment law reforms

made by the first Conservative Government in nearly 20 years with some

controversial decisions affecting a number of HR areas Click the title to access

the article online and find out about changes in the following areas

1 Gender pay reporting begins

2 National living wage introduced

3 Statutory parental pay rates and sick pay frozen

4 Restrictions placed on public-sector exit payments

5 Trade union law amended

6 Workers given power to seek redress where employer ignores ban on

exclusivity clauses

7 New rules to protect apprenticeships

8 Updated laws on employing foreign workers

Is Racism Still a Problem in 21st Century Britain (Diversity Link December)

One might imagine that such a question as to whether Britain is racist in

21st century Britain is an irrelevant if not touchy subject

It is undeniable that the rise of the English Defence League the rising popular

vote of UKIP and the emergence of groups such as Britain First and PEGIDA across

Europe suggests that there are tensions regarding multiculturalism that are

threatening to become more prominent as a backlash towards ISIS and terror

attacks on European soil

In a recent BBC programme and Guardian article Mona Chalabi asks the

uncomfortable question lsquois Britain racistrsquo She cites facts such as being 17 times

more likely to be stopped and searched if you are black in parts of the country

She also demonstrates that whether consciously or subconsciously many people

identify with members of their own race more favourably than those who are not

A minority of colleges are still failing to address areas of concern identified last

year FE Commissioner David Collins has warned (FE Week December)

In his 201415 annual report Dr Collins said challenges already dealt-with by most

providers were still proving problematic for others

Equality news summary (3 of 3)

Other news resources

Equalitiestoolkit lunchtime online sessions

All through February 2016 - more information and book via Eventbrite

calendar on home page at httpwwwequalitiestoolkitcom and on

twitter Equalitytoolkit

Check out The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) ELMAG portal

and in particular the course finder

at httpwwwelmagorgukindexphppage=courses-top New leadership

management and governance courses starting soon including

Breaking the Rules An affirmative approach to mental health leadership

for current and aspiring leaders

Start dates - choose 1 from

28 January 2016 (Sheffield)

2 February 2016 (London)

10 February 2016 (Bristol)

Find out more on twitter MHFEwhatsnew Breaking_The_Rules or

Come and meet us online

14 January 2016 2-315pm or

19 January 2016 930-1045am

Book via Eventbrite calendar on httpmhfeorguk homepage

Training opportunity

Meeting the Challenge of Special Educational Needs Leading Beyond Your Organisation amp Role A One-Day Course in London in early March or your local area to radically improve

the quality of both services and outcomes for young people and adults with Special

Education Needs amp Disability (SEND)

Why this programme The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on Colleges and others to co-

operate with partners to meet the needs of young people with special educational

needs At the same time services for those with SEND are changing fast requiring us to

fundamentally rethink how we work In particular we need new forms of collaborative

working which are both highly sensitive to individual needs and enable us to lead

beyond our organisation Despite this SEND is often under-prioritised A key function of

this course will therefore be to help you make it a higher priority wherever you work

What you will get from the course This course is for those seeking to radically improve the quality of both service and

outcomes for young people and adults within SEND education provision The course

will be supplemented by online support through ELMAG By the end of the course

participants will know how to

bullOperate more efficiently with scarce resources

bullLead beyond your role and organisation with diverse partners within and across their

area of responsibility

bullIdentify the change needed and make the case for it

bullTake action which supports required change

bullDevelop multi-agency partnerships lead service redesign

Who should take part Those working within education or training providers or from related partner

organisations with responsibility for those with special education needs amp disability

and for cross-sector service development

How can you take part in this opportunity offered through ELMAG 1) As an individual attending the 1 day course in early March in London pound300 (senior)

pound200 (middle) [ +1 additional free ticket for current or potential partner]

2) By hosting a 1 day workshop to focus on the specific challenges your local area

faces on a day agreed before 1 April 2016

Our Promise We know your time is precious and your budgets are tight so we will make you a promise ndash if this course doesnrsquot work for you wersquoll give you your money back

Who are we Supported by ETF and ELMAG Martin Sandbrook Director of the Schumacher Institute

and Rich Wilson Director of OSCA Click names for more info Contact Martin

Sandbrook 07710485270 or martinsandbrookscouk