Single Equality Scheme

In preparation for the introduction of the Equality Act 2010, which became law in October 2010, the College has developed a Single Equality Scheme and Action Plan, through the Equality Strategy Group. The Act aims to make UK organisations (especially public authorities such as Universities) more transparent as well as harmonising the various current equality strands into one single piece of legislation. For more details about the Equality Act, please visit the What is the Equality Act 2010 page.

The Scheme and Action Plan received approval from the Colleges Equality Strategy Group, Senior Management Group and by the College Council in 2010. The Scheme and Action Plan can be downloaded below.

The Single Equality Scheme and Action Plan will enable us to draw together the various equality policies and schemes with the aim of ensuring equality for all who come into contact with the College, whether they are staff, students, clients or visitors and regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

Staff and students have important roles to play in ensuring that equality issues are driven forward at the College and we are therefore keen to engage with you. We strongly encourage staff, students and visitors to download the Scheme and Action Plan and provide any feedback on its contents to Tan Razaq (trazaq@rvc.ac.uk).

Aswell as holding Drop-in sessions at both campuses in December 2009 and January 2010, we also launched an online survey which captured the thoughts of the wider College community. We received 350 responses and would like to thank all those who responded during this consultation. The responses helped us to produce a Single Equality Scheme and Action Plan, with a number of College equality objectives created which were designed to drive forward the equality agenda at the College. The Single Equality Scheme was launched across the College in April 2010, in preparation for the introduction of the Equality Act.

Since the introduction of the Equality Act, and the change in Government in 2010, the requirements imposed on institutions by the Equality Act have been further refined. This allowed the Equality Strategy Group to re-assess the College's Single Equality Scheme to ensure that it is fit for purpose.

The Equality Strategy Group (ESG) has taken into consideration the latest available guidance and following discussions at its meetings in 2011, the group has amended the Single Equality Scheme as follows:

New equality aims developed, which are more reflective of the work being done by the College in relation to the Equality agenda.
Linking of the new Equality aims to the College equality objectives created when the Single Equality Scheme was first developed, which will help the College deliver on its equality commitments.
Linking of the new equality aims to the College's corporate aims, which will help to ensure there is a strategic overview in driving the equality agenda forward at the College.

Staff and students were therefore asked to comment on the discussion questions posed in an online survey which will help the ESG further refine the College's Single Equality Scheme and help to drive forward the equality agenda at the College.

The survey has now closed and the results of which will be posted here in due course. We value your input in this important area of work.

A revised Single Equality Scheme and Action Plan will be posted here once it has received the appropriate approval. However, for the current Single Equality Scheme and Action Plan, please see below.