Consultation, Engagement & Involvement
TEC Partnership endeavours to consult annually with all new students and adopt a quadrennial consultation process with all staff.
The overall aim of any consultation primarily being to ensure that there are no organisational and cultural inhibitors that may impact on the day-to-day activities of students and staff, whilst a member of the Partnership’s communities.
Any consultation with students will aim to:
Identify effective teaching practices that can be adopted and enable students to fulfil their full potential regardless of their individual differences.
Identify that students are able to identify and report with confidence any bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation that they may face as a result of any one or more of the protected characteristics.
Ensure any welfare and safeguarding needs are identified and that students will be protected, where it is reasonable to do so, regardless of whether a particular need fits into a legally protected characteristic.
Establish what students’ expectations are in relation to the Partnership meeting their personal and social and developmental needs.
Any consultation with staff will aim to:
- Ensure that they are supported in relation to providing an effective service to all students.
- Ensure that all staff, regardless of their diverse background, feel that there is a representative workforce that is proactively encouraged to work with the Partnership.
- Ensure that no formal or informal cultural practices exist that prevent staff from fulfilling their role to the best of their capability.
- Ensure that unacceptable behaviour and/or discriminatory language are challenged and that staff are supported where they may be subjected to unacceptable an inappropriate behaviours.
- Establish with staff if flexible working and other positive actions are explored and provided where reasonable to do so.
Set appropriate Equality Targets and Actions
The TEC Partnership will have two key areas of focused activity:
- Internally as an employer
- Externally as a service provider
The TEC Partnership will collectively formulate and agree an ongoing quadrennial Equality Action Plan which is currently in the process of being developed, with the overall aim being to:
- Streamline and mainstream the ongoing process of delivering Equality
- Develop collective cross-departmental responsibility for delivering the Equality Agenda
- Ensure each department sets its own or shared equality objectives/outcomes
- Indicate clear lines of accountability for any actions set
- Ensure leadership, openness and accountability for delivery of actions
- Identify timescales for completion of actions where appropriate and relevant (i.e. when actions are not ongoing)
- Eliminate duplication of activity across the Further Education and Higher Education campuses in order to ensure value for money