Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Intent
Furness College sees you, the student, at its very heart. We are therefore committed to providing you with a secure environment that gives you all the support and guidance services you will need to make your time at Furness College an enjoyable one. The College has an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy the purpose, scope and intent of which is detailed below. The full policy, together with additional supporting documents, can be found at the bottom of this page.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
The policy outlines Furness College’s :

Commitment to equality and diversity
Legal duties under the Equality Act (2010) in employment, facilities, goods and services, admission and treatment of students
General equality duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; to advance equality of opportunity between people from different groups; and to foster good relations between people from different groups

The commitments within this policy apply to all learners, staff, Governors, volunteers and users of the College. The policy also forms the standards the College sets for work with other organisations and visitors with regards achieving equality, for example work placements & employers, collaborative partners and not least contractors.

This policy has direct implications for all other College policies. We believe that delivering Equality and Diversity is one crucial strand of our College approach to overall quality improvement and we place it at the very heart of everything we do.

2024-25 EQUALITY OBJECTIVES

Reduce the achievement gap by 10% between those learners with a declared Mental Health difference and those learners without a declared Mental Health difference.
Reduce the Education and Training achievement gap by 2% between those learners from areas of deprivation and those from more affluent areas.
Reduce the achievement gap by 10% between 19+ male and female apprentices.
Achievement rates increase by 2% for both Education and Training learners and Apprentices declaring dyslexia as a Learning Difficulty

2025-26 Equality Objectives

Reduce the achievement gap by a further 2.9% between those learners with a declared Mental Health difference and those learners without a declared Mental Health difference.
Further reduce the Education and Training achievement gap to 2% between those learners from areas of deprivation and those from more affluent areas.
Reduce the achievement gap by 10% between 19+ male and female apprentices.
Achievement rates further increase for Education and Training learners declaring dyslexia as a Learning Difficulty, so there is no achievement gap in E and T learners between those declaring dyslexia as a Learning Difficulty and those who do not.
Improve 19+ E and T and Apprenticeship achievement rates to those of 16-18 year olds, eliminating any Apprenticeship age achievement gap.
Expand our monitoring of disadvantaged learners and those learners with other barriers to learning across all provision types as part of our renewed Inclusion Strategy.
Promote and Champion social mobility for both staff and students through Wellbeing at the College.

Downloads
Equality Diversity Inclusion Policy 2025-2027
Harassment and Bullying Policy for Learners 2025-2026
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (HRA) Statement
Single Equality Scheme 2022
SEND Policy 2025
Equality and Diversity Report and Objectives 2024-25 2025-26