Celebrating Equality and Diversity Booklet 2012 - Leeds City College

As a result the college is able to keepequality and diversity in high profileacross the college and throughout theyear. Actions include: poster campaigns;promoting in college literature; studentenrichment campaigns; embedding equalityin the curriculum; celebration of diversity;student support provision; community andcharitable support; as well as the day to daywork undertaken by the curriculum andsupport teams.Although not the most exciting informationit is important to record that all our equalityand diversity work is built into team andcollege plans and we use these to monitorand assess our progress, both throughinternal review, government externalassessment and working towards nationalequality standards like Investors in Diversity.Specialist courses and supportThe college recognise the need of learnersis wide ranging and diverse and looks toprovide for as wide a range of learnersand their needs as possible. Please see thecollege website for details of the range ofcourses available and how to find out aboutthem. In respect of this booklet we wouldlike to raise awareness of the followingprovisions in particular, which meet partof this diverse need and support wideningparticipation.• Apprenticeships, which we offer awide range of work-based learningopportunities to young peoplethroughout West Yorkshire. With anApprenticeship you train on the job, getqualified, get paid and get a career - all inone go! You work out in the real world,getting hands-on experience and learningat the same time. What’s more, you aregaining skills and qualifications that arerecognised by employers everywhere.An Apprenticeship is a great first stepon to the career ladder and you will beexactly the type of skilled employeebusiness and industry need. The college iskeen to: encourage students to considerapprenticeships in non traditional areas;challenge gender stereotyping in careerchoices; and encourage a more diversetake up of apprenticeship places.• The Additional Learning Support teamis there to support the promotion ofequality of opportunity and wideningparticipation in education and iscommitted to ensuring that all studentsachieve their potential. In their own word:• ESOL (English for Speakers of OtherLanguages) is another area of specialistprovision that embraces equality anddiversity. These students have beenamong the hardest hit by recent fundingcuts but are also among some of ourkeenest students and we have looked toevidence our equality duty to them, andall impacted by the cuts, by reviewing ourprovision and making the most of whatfunding is available, including provisionof hardship support and bursary grants .The ESOL courses provide opportunityfor progression for beginners throughto advanced level. Students learn howto use English to communicate. Duringthe course students develop speakingand listening skills, improve confidenceas well as improving reading and writing.The course is assessed by examinationsand classroom assignments and can reallytransform employment prospects.• The Next Move service offers adviceand guidance to students with learningdifficulties, disabilities, mental healthissues or other additional support needsabout getting ready for work and movingon from College. We work with studentswhile they are in college to help them:Look into their post college options;Learn more about their rights; Build uptheir work experience; Gain skills forapplying for work; Move on from collegewhen they have finished their course.• Preparing students to enter into theworkplace and make their contributionsin society are key aims of many coursesand some of the biggest equality impactsare seen in course areas such as Pathwayfor Progression, courses to supportthose from the NEET (Not in Education,Employment or Training) group. Ourcommunity course provision is verymuch about meeting the needs of thecommunity groups in the local areas andvaries from centre to centre accordingly.• Provision includes building language andemployment skills; working with women’sethnic groups who would otherwisestruggle to access education; workingwith traveller groups. In other communityareas the demand is more to meet theneeds of people who want to widen theirskills base for both economic and socialreasons. Silver Surfer courses are popularhere as are part time day and eveningclasses across a whole range of skills,leisure health based activities. Please seeour part time prospectuses on the websitefor more details.“We make all reasonableadjustments to ensure allour students, including thosewith disabilities and learningdifficulties, are treatedfairly and get the most outof college life. Support mayinclude one to one sessions,small group work, adaptedmaterials (for examplelarge print or taped notes),communication supportworkers, learning supportworkers, assistive technology(such as large keyboards)and assistance with mobility.The Learning & Skills Councilhave provided fundingfor a variety of high-techassistive equipment includingmagnifiers, recording devices,brailing and transcriptionsfacilities.”4