College recognised as ‘exemplary’ in its ethnicity agenda journey

And finally...

London South East Colleges has been recognised as an ‘exemplary employer’ for the second year running by Investing in Ethnicity - an organisation set up to encourage a stronger focus on the ethnicity agenda in workplaces.

The College is one of 25 top employers, assessed via The Ethnicity Maturity Matrix. This has been designed with the backing of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Governance and Inclusive Leadership and establishes where organisations are within their ethnicity agenda journey.

A special parliamentary reception was held last night to recognise these 25 outstanding employers and to celebrate their commitment to this important agenda. A range of industries were represented, with organisations including HSBC, KPMG, Legal and General, Freshfields, Experian, Lloyds Banking Group, Paramount, UBS, BP and Channel 4.

Attending on behalf of the College were Chief People Officer Janet Curtis-Broni and Diversity and Inclusion Officer Leah Stone.

w Reverend Claudette Douglas, London South East Colleges’ Multi-Faith Chaplaincy Coordinator

As a Chaplaincy coordinator in the FE space, I often stress that faith has a much broader base than religious belief. It is about deeply held values and convictions that guide us all in our personal and professional lives rather than about specific religions.

I have been working with staff and students at London South East Colleges for over ten years now, helping them embrace faith-based perspectives. I believe this is essential when it comes to creating an inclusive and supporting learning environment for all. It also provides a counterbalance to what can be a challenging level of discourse in the 24-hour news cycle and digital space.

Tensions between faith and EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) may arise due to conflicting beliefs on gender roles, LGBTQ+ rights, and

Janet said: “We are really proud to once again be named as a top 25 employer in Investing in Ethnicity’s Maturity Matrix. This is a fantastic accreditation to receive.

“Our College is committed to having a diverse workforce, which we know is fundamental to successfully meeting the needs of our students and our community. While we still have work to do, we have made great progress so far and this is thanks to the dedication and support of our fantastic staff.

“Hearing tonight about the work other organisations, from a range of sectors, are doing is inspiring. We look forward to continuing our efforts to effect real change and achieve real impact.”

Sarah Garrett MBE, CEO of Investing in Ethnicity, added: “It is great to see London South East Colleges recognised once again. We are pleased to see an employer within the education sector recognised for its work in ethnic inclusion. It’s great to see the college leading the way in higher and further education, in ensuring that it is not only an inclusive place to work but is also reflective of its student population.”

For the second year running, the College received a Level 4 Accreditation, which is the highest available, having completed 128 out of the 151 recommendations on the Matrix.

Categories in the assessment included Culture and Inclusion, Employee Life Cycle, External Impact and Leadership and Commitment. Areas in which the College excelled included: customers and clients, insights, early careers, retention and recognition.

For more information about Investors in Ethnicity and its Maturity Matrix, visit: http://www.investinginethnicity.co.uk or download and read Investing in Ethnicity the guide

FAITH: A Home for inclusion

religious freedoms. For instance, accommodating religious attire may conflict with dress codes promoting gender equality.

Muslim students may need extra time to pray, and timetables can sometimes make this challenging. Balancing these concerns requires tact, grace and respectful dialogue, while fostering an inclusive environment for all beliefs. But despite these perhaps inevitable tensions, faith can serve as a cornerstone for fostering EDI within educational institutions. Research has shown that students who feel a sense of belonging and connection to their school or college community are more likely to thrive academically and socially.

A study by the University of Cambridge* found that schools that actively promote an inclusive ethos based on shared values and beliefs, including faith-based values, have higher levels of student engagement and achievement.

Furthermore, embracing faith in education cultivates empathy, tolerance, and respect for diverse perspectives. In a multicultural society like ours, where students come from various cultural, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds, incorporating faith-based principles into the curriculum helps students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of different belief systems. This in turn fosters a rich culture of mutual respect and understanding.

As staff working at the coalface in FE, I believe that there are several ways we can implement effective changes that promote faith-based inclusion in education. Here are a few things that you can do:

1. Promote Dialogue: Encourage open and respectful discussions about faith and belief systems in the classroom. Create a safe space where students feel comfortable sharing their perspectives and experiences. For example, initiate small group discussions where students are prompted to share how their beliefs influence their decisionmaking process. This can helps students recognise the commonalities between faiths.

2. Integrate Faith-Based Values: Incorporate compassion, integrity and social justice into teaching practices and policies. These values provide a framework for ethical decision-making and moral development among students. For instance, we can draw parallels between religious teachings on compassion and the importance of advocating for marginalised communities. This enhances students' understanding of the subject matter, while reinforcing the relevance of faith-based values in addressing contemporary challenges.

3. Celebrate Diversity: Organise events that celebrate cultural and religious diversity. For example, hosting an interfaith panel discussion where representatives from different religious backgrounds share how their faith informs their approach to social justice issues, can be incredibly enlightening for staff and students.

4. Provide Support: Offer pastoral care and support services that cater to the spiritual and emotional needs of students from diverse faith backgrounds. Ensure that students have access to resources and guidance that align with their beliefs and values. To effectively implement these ideas, it’s important to actively listen to staff and students as well as evaluating the effectiveness of any initiative. As is the case with wellbeing, you need to take care of your own wellbeing if you are to support other people with theirs. This is the same with faith; we must nourish our own faith if we are to grow as individuals and as an organisation.

I believe that faith, in all its forms, can help keep us balanced and centred in our role to inspire others, especially if we embrace faith-based values including Compassion, Integrity, Empathy, Mindfulness, Community Service and Interfaith Dialogue.

By incorporating these practices into our daily delivery, we can create a nurturing, inclusive environment where every student matters feels valued, respected, and empowered to succeed.

This article first appeared in FE Week on 29 March 2024: The Staffroom. Why faith is a cornerstone of effective EDI (feweek.co.uk)

Build your future workforce

At Lewisham College, we are committed to partnering with businesses to shape the workforce of tomorrow. As one of London’s leading educational institutions, we collaborate closely with companies of all sizes, facilitating development, recruitment of new talent and upskilling of existing staff.

» Join our Employer Advisory Boards

» Give industry talks

» Recruit a diverse group of young people and adults to join your workforce.

» Offer taster, work experience and placements around your business needs.

» Access Government funded training to develop your existing workforce.

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with Lewisham College

Lewisham College works with employers to match them with the talent of tomorrow.

Tailor-made training solutions await with our bespoke courses and coaching, either on our college campus or at your site.

Lewisham College also offers a range of courses for adults to upskill your staff or support people into work at our campus in Lewisham, including Sector-based Work Academies, Multiply numeracy programmes, and employability training in subjects such as IT, customer service, business administration and more.

Address specific needs within your business and invest in the growth of your team.

Ready to shape the future together? Let’s collaborate and unlock new possibilities for your business.

Reach out to us today to start the conversation.

By Karen Mitchell, Kent Association for the Blind

Want to build an ambitious partnership in the current corporate landscape?

Please don’t do it because it feels as though it’s the ‘right thing to do’ or a responsibility to tick a box. Do it because you want to create a lasting legacy and make a difference whilst benefitting as a business.

The corporate landscape has changed over the last five years. We are all feeling the squeeze and recognise things are not going to improve in the shortterm. With that, we need to approach fundraising more sensitively than ever while costs to our supporters continues to rise.

Companies have shifting new conflicting priorities, which is why purpose-driven partnerships are more relevant than ever. We have had to evolve too at Kent Association for the Blind (KAB) and we recognise that long-term partnerships actually bring us both closer to achieving our missions.

Purpose-driven partnerships –what are they?

We believe that partnerships with charities work best when they are true partnerships; where both organisations benefit. It’s about working together to fulfil specific objectives and, even better, to fulfil shared objectives. A great example of this is our work with Specsavers stores to share messaging around KAB’s ‘Love Your Eyes’ campaign; encouraging more people look after their eyes and get regular eye tests.

So how can YOU make a difference?

Partnerships must be mutually beneficial and highly impactful. This means that by working together and helping to understand one another’s priorities, we agree on much needed solutions that we both benefit from.

Working with charities is a great opportunity to give back to society, whilst creating a healthier, happier and engaged workforce with valuable connections within your local community.

Whether your goal is to increase employee engagement, improve brand awareness, support local, build public trust or to attract new staff, working in partnership with charities can be highly beneficial.

So why is it important to give back to society?

Let’s face it, we’re all experiencing difficult times at the moment. Money is tight. As a knock-on effect, charities have experienced huge declines in funding. Remember, giving back to society isn’t always about donating money; though it can really help!

There are many ways to get involved, such as offering pro-bono support, or staff volunteering, sharing messaging, participating at events such as the London Marathon, having talks or training delivered by the charity, supporting campaigns, donating raffle prizes, making a donation or encouraging staff to fundraise and match fund their donations. The list is endless!

Working with charities is a great opportunity to give back to society, whilst creating a healthier, happier and engaged workforce with valuable connections within your local community. That’s why charity partnerships are so much more than just two organisations coming together in support of one another; it’s about making a positive difference and improving people’s lives.

Make a real positive difference today

If you recognise the value in supporting charities, start thinking about how your company can get involved. Think about the time you can give, the expertise you can offer and the impact you wish to make. Get your staff involved in recommending the charities you wish to work with and ideas on how you can work together.

Additionally, aside from the ethical responsibility of a firm, an organisation’s commitment to its CSR can be a factor when applying for tender contracts and winning new customers.

Charlie Methven, co-owner of Charlton Athletic Football Club, puts it succinctly: “Corporate social responsibility is a big thing – and it is the right thing.”

But if you want something quick and easy to get involved in, why not support Kent Association for the Blind? Every day in the UK 250 people begin to lose their sight. This is equivalent to one person every six minutes. Kent Association for the Blind supports people across Bromley with mobility training, training to use technologies, social groups and counselling services.

To help spread awareness, we are inviting you to Take on 250. You can donate 250 minutes of your time offering advice and guidance or do a fundraising challenge based around 250.

People can take part individually or as a team and get to choose any activity whether it is baking, knitting, running, walking or dancing – the choice is endless and yours. Simply complete 250 minutes, 250 laps or 250 repetitions and use it to kick start your fundraising.

Fundraiser Rick Newman, who is visually impaired, took on this remarkable challenge by running 250km comprising of 50 x 5km runs for his Take on 250 challenge and raised over £1,400. What an inspiration!

Please do get in touch by emailing fundraising@kab.org.uk to take our next steps together and join us in not losing sight of what is important.