SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities

SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities - Reduce inequality within and among countries.

At Bucks New University, we’re proud of everyone in our diverse and inclusive University community. We work tirelessly to break down barriers to ensure that everyone can succeed and reach their full potential. Throughout our history we have opened our doors to people who would otherwise have been excluded from education.

Our vision is to be a vibrant inclusive community that inspires learning, develops potential, widens participation and ambitiously transforms lives. We strive to create a work and study environment which is not only free from any form of discrimination but actively celebrates and values diversity. We are committed to equal opportunity across all the ‘protected characteristics’ defined in the Equality Act 2010. Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) underpins our values and influences everything we do.

Bucks New University has a proud history of offering employment-focused and skills-based learning and removing barriers to participation in higher education. We are focused on providing an education that works for all regardless of background or circumstance; provides students with skills for life, able to meet the global challenges of the 21st Century; and is ethical and sustainable, from a University that always meets its social responsibilities, to students, to staff, and to society. Our Impact 2022 strategy builds on our historic mission to transform lives through inspiring, employment- and profession-focused education, enabling people positively to impact society and their future.

Equality and diversity is embedded in all the people policies and procedures and is at the heart of the University’s People Strategy. The University measures the impact of its equality and diversity initiatives through the employee survey which includes an equality index. 80% of employees were satisfied or very satisfied with the University’s performance, Employees from black and minority ethnic backgrounds were more engaged than White/Non-White employees across the University. These results were driven by the University’s focus on positive employment practices. In 2019, the University Executive Team and Management Group undertook an activity to refresh our organisational Values and an aligned Bucks Behaviour Framework. The new values, DRIVE for Excellence (Dynamic, Responsible, Inclusive, Visionary & Empowering), set out the standards for all employees, with underpinning behaviours embodying positive indicators as expectations against nine behaviours.

The Vice Chancellor made a commitment to the principles of the AdvanceHE Race Equality Charter in September 2019. Following an 18-month cross-institutional project to review race equality at Bucks, and the development of an action plan to tackle identified inequalities or concerns, a submission for bronze-level recognition will be made to AdvanceHE in February 2022.

Through working with the Association of University Administrators (AUA), we are embedding sector-led, recognised behaviours into our Human Resources procedures such as Recruitment and Selection and Performance Development Review. The values are embedded in all our people processes and reinforced through our recognition schemes. Staff are encouraged to nominate colleagues who go over and above in their roles. Vouchers are given to winners each month, and overall winners are recognised at the annual Bucks Stars awards ceremony to celebrate staff achievement across a range of categories.

From a development perspective, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion eLearning is an established part of our mandatory induction training for all new staff. The University also offers training in:

Diversity Confidence. Supporting staff and students with a Disability (both physical & mental). Equal opportunities in Recruitment & Selection. Transgender policy. Unconscious bias.

In the higher education sector, there is an attainment gap where non-disabled students perform better than disabled students. We’re proud that this is not the case at Buckinghamshire New University where disabled students represent around 12% of our student population and are thriving.

Buckinghamshire New University is proud to host the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive (NDACA) - a world leading resource in education about the disability arts movement – at its High Wycombe campus. The NDACA archive and repository at Bucks is the first physical location of its kind dedicated to Britain’s disability arts movement and features more than 3,500 pieces of artwork. The NDACA wing at Bucks New University is designed to be inclusive, with hydraulic desks for wheelchair users, computers to access the digital collection, and original artefacts from the disability arts movement.Our commitment to NDACA is a symbol of our overall commitment to supporting achievement among disabled people.Speaking at the NDACA launch, London 2012 Paralympic rowing gold medallist and graduate of Bucks New University Naomi Riches MBE said: “It was wonderful to attend the launch of NDACA and I am incredibly pleased that Bucks is its home. When I took up sport in my second year, the university helped me to balance my studies and my sport very effectively which allowed me to succeed in both.’’

#NeverOK: Sexual Harassment, Assault and Violence on Campus Intervention Project Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) catalyst fund for student safeguarding, Bucks New University completed a ‘Hate Crime Cultural Change Project’. This included training and development of University Champions (staff and students), awareness-raising and attitudinal change workshops, campaigns and events, also establishing a system for reporting, tracking and monitoring incidents.

The catalyst project involved research that aims to identify the level of hate crime and online harassment within the student population. The collected data will be used to inform the project strands so we can tackle problem areas and administer change if and where it is needed.

Research: engaging people with disabilities in sport and physical activity Sport-related research at Bucks New University covers a range of areas, including coaching, resilience in elite sport, disability sport, sport therapy and exercise sciences.

Our research includes projects undertaken by Drs Ben Clayton and Ben Ives has led to significant local impact, with the development of successful programmes to increase and sustain participation in sport and physical activity among disabled people. As a provider for Sport England’s Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme, Bucks is also supporting talented athletes with disabilities. Jonpaul Nevin is undertaking research into hand cycling performance, a form of Paracycling used by individuals who are unable to ride a conventional road bike or tricycle due to either a spinal cord injury and/or physical impairment. There has been little previous research into factors that affect performance in competitive hand cycling with most previous research taking place in clinical rehabilitation settings. In an initial study, Jonpaul Nevin and colleagues found that compared to endurance training only, an 8-week concurrent training intervention based upon a conjugated block periodisation model appears to be a more effective training regime for improving the performance capabilities of hand cyclists.

Jonpaul is undertaking another study to investigate and identify the physiological characteristics that relate to, and which can be used to predict, hand cycling performance. This research is being carried out in partnership with Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities –The University’s proud track record to widen participation from GRT communities includes developing a ‘good practice pledge’ to encourage access to higher education from these communities, by bringing together GRT university graduates, other universities, and education charities. We hope this work will be transformational in opening up opportunities for members of the GRT communities to flourish within UK higher education.

The University is committed to celebrating the varied and valued contributions the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities make to British society, as part of its commitment to encourage members of these communities to participate in higher education.

In partnership with GATEHerts, Bucks researchers are undertaking a pilot research project investigating the psychological and ripple effects of hate crime on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities. The research aims to establish connections between hate crime, discrimination, mental health and suicide risk. It is generally known that suicide rates are high within GRT communities but specific statistics are not available. The project is due to complete in 2020.