Diversity & Equality Policy

Centre: ACLAS Global International Education Group

Effective: 2025-07-05 | Review Date: 2026-07-05

Status: Draft — pending signature. This page was last reviewed on 2026-10-29. The scheduled review date of 2026-07-05 has passed; the policy will be updated with the signatory name and signature date once signed by the Centre Director.

Policy Owner: Centre Director

1. Policy Statement

ACLAS Global International Education Group is committed to promoting equality, valuing diversity, and eliminating discrimination in everything it does. The Centre believes that every learner and staff member deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and to have equal opportunity to learn, work, and succeed.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all learners, employees, contractors, and anyone who interacts with the Centre in relation to its OTHM programmes. It covers recruitment, enrolment, teaching, assessment, quality assurance, and all other Centre activities.

3. Protected Characteristics

The Centre prohibits discrimination, harassment, or victimisation based on:

Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage and civil partnership
Pregnancy and maternity
Race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin)
Religion or belief
Sex
Sexual orientation
Any other characteristic protected under applicable US federal, state, or local law

4. Forms of Discrimination

Direct discrimination: Treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic.
Indirect discrimination: Applying a policy or practice that appears neutral but disadvantages people with a particular protected characteristic, unless it can be objectively justified.
Harassment: Unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that violates a person's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.
Victimisation: Treating someone unfavourably because they have made a complaint or supported someone else's complaint about discrimination.

5. Commitment in Practice

The Centre ensures that:

All learners have equal access to qualifications, regardless of background.
Teaching and assessment materials are free from bias and stereotyping and, where appropriate, reflect diverse perspectives.
Reasonable adjustments are made for learners with disabilities or additional needs (see Reasonable Adjustment Policy).
The Moodle LMS is designed and maintained to be accessible, aiming for WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance.
Language support information is available for learners whose first language is not English.
Marketing materials do not stereotype or exclude.

6. Staff Responsibilities

Every staff member is expected to treat learners, colleagues, and visitors with dignity and respect.
Discriminatory language, behaviour, or "jokes" are not tolerated.
Staff who witness discrimination or harassment are expected to report it.
Staff complete equality and diversity training as part of their induction.

7. Reporting a Concern

Any person who believes they have experienced or witnessed discrimination may:

1. Raise the matter informally with a staff member they trust, or

2. Submit a formal complaint through the Complaints Policy, or

3. Contact the Centre Director directly for serious matters.

All concerns are taken seriously, investigated promptly, and handled confidentially. No one suffers retaliation for raising a concern in good faith.

8. Positive Action

Where the Centre identifies under-representation of particular groups, it may take positive action permitted by law—for example, targeted outreach—to encourage applications and ensure equality of opportunity.

9. Monitoring

The Centre monitors, to the extent that data is voluntarily provided:

The diversity profile of learners and staff
Learner achievement rates across different groups
Complaints relating to discrimination

This data informs the Centre's continuous improvement and is reported in the annual self-assessment.

10. Policy Review

This policy is reviewed annually.