Equal Opportunity Policy

Introduction

The primary purpose of DS Counselling Training is to extend opportunities for education and training to all members of the community. Every student will have equal opportunity to enter a course/learning programme and to progress on that course/learning programme. Every student has the right to respect for their own background and culture but equally respect that of others.

Commitment

To this end, DS Counselling Training is committed to the elimination of unlawful discrimination and to the promotion of equal opportunities for all, irrespective of age, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, religious belief, sexual orientation, political opinion or whether or not you have a disability or dependants. In our policies and practices DS Counselling Training will seek to enhance the self-esteem of all those it serves and to provide a learning environment in which each individual is treated with respect and is encouraged to fulfil his or her potential. We will seek to promote equality of opportunity across all our functions namely: -

• Access and recruitment

• Admissions and retention

• Assessments and progression

• Provision of student services and related facilities

• Teaching, learning, examining, curriculum development and quality assurance

• Community links and partnerships

Selection for a course/learning programme and for progression in the course/learning programme will be on the basis of ability, qualifications and aptitude. In selection or progression there will be no direct or indirect discrimination, victimisation or harassment on any of the grounds stated in paragraph 3 above. The commitment to equality of opportunity is a fundamental policy that pervades all DS Counselling Trainings activities. All members of DS Counselling Training team are expected to uphold the policy and to ensure that their actions embody the commitment. Every student will be treated with respect and dignity and every student will be expected to treat staff and other members of DS Counselling training team with respect and dignity.

General Principles

As DS Counselling Training seeks to prevent direct and indirect, overt and covert discrimination and instil equality, fairness and good relations into the ethos of the Company, we require staff, students and visitors to behave in a non-discriminatory manner and to support, implement and develop institutional practices and procedures that promote and reinforce equality of opportunity and treatment for all.

The right of every student to equality of opportunity is embodied in our Equal Opportunities Policies and is fundamental to all aspects of operation of the Company. Consequently, direct discrimination on the grounds of age, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, religious belief, sexual orientation and whether or not you have a disability or dependants is not acceptable and will not be tolerated by any member or student of the Company. We will take appropriate disciplinary action where individuals discriminate, incite others to discriminate, or disrespect others in this way by language or action. Equally, the Company will not accept indirect discrimination, in which an action, direction or procedure leads to unfair treatment, exclusion or disadvantage in respect of a particular group even though the action, direction or procedure itself is not intended to have this effect. Our aim is to prevent this from happening and by monitoring our policies, training staff and taking action when appropriate, we hope to achieve this aim. Indirect discrimination may also result in disciplinary action. Students and staff are required to make themselves familiar with, and adhere to, the policies in place in the Company which promote equality of opportunity and good relations as well as adhering to the guiding principles of equality of opportunity and good relations. All staff and students must be treated with respect and dignity irrespective of their age, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, religious belief, sexual orientation and whether or not they have a disability or dependants Students are expected to behave in a way which respects and appreciates the diversity of the staff, learners and the culture of others within our community.

Recruitment

DS Counselling Training will endeavour to reach the widest possible potential student market. All material advertising courses will contain a statement promoting equal opportunities and will not be confined to particular geographical areas or media publication which may exclude particular groups. Eligibility criteria for each course/learning programme will be clearly and publicly stated and adhered to for the purposes of selection and applicants may ask for the reasons why their application has been unsuccessful.

Harassment, Grievance and Disciplinary Policies

Any student who believes that he or she has been the subject of discrimination or harassment has recourse to the company’s harassment or grievance procedures for students. Alternatively, if a student believes DS Counselling Training may have breached the commitments in its Equality Scheme they may lodge a complaint under the Complaints Policy.

Information concerning the Company’s policies and procedures can be found on the www.DScounsellingtraining.co.uk website or Student Handbook. Complaints of unfair discrimination or harassment by any member of the Company, student or staff, will be treated seriously and may be dealt with by the appropriate Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures. DS Counselling Training requires both staff and students to behave in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. Any actions not in keeping with this may be investigated using the harassment or grievance procedures. All investigations will be fair and if disciplinary measures are required under the Disciplinary Policy, these too will be applied fairly and in a consistent manner.

Monitoring

The Company will monitor the effectiveness of this Policy and all other relevant policies and practices on students. To do so we must in the first instance collect monitoring information from staff and students and must therefore ask students for relevant personal information. The following information will be sought:

• Age or date of birth;
• Gender;
• Ethnicity;
• Nationality;
• Disability;
• Dependency;
• Sexual orientation;
• Religious belief;
• Marital status

All information will be stored securely and treated in the strictest confidence. Students are not required to provide this information if they have concerns about how it will be handled but we would gratefully appreciate co-operation with this to ensure that the Company is not either directly or indirectly discriminating in how it delivers its services. The information received will not be used to make a decision about a student’s suitability for a particular course of study, nor will it be used by a tutor at any stage to influence a student’s assessment or results. It will only be used for the equality monitoring so in general, composite data will be required therefore individuals will not be identifiable. We would therefore appreciate the full cooperation of students to help facilitate the collection of this information. Monitoring information will be also help to influence our business decisions and therefore form part of our quality assurance process.

Implementation

All students and staff have the responsibility of ensuring that this happens. All staff and students are responsible that this policy is implemented. All staff employed in the Company have a responsibility to accept personal involvement in the application of the Equal Opportunities Policy and for taking action when they witness behaviour or language which is not in keeping with this policy.