RNIB College Loughborough
Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update – January 2013
This document is printed in Arial 14 Bold as recommended by the Royal
National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). If you require this document in
any other format please contact the Quality Improvement Manager on
01509 631269 or email: ncurtis@rnibcollege.ac.uk.
The document is our second annual update that provides evidence of how
well the College is working to be a champion for equality and what it still
needs to do to improve further. The previous update is available on our
Internet and Intranet sites.
Please note: This document is accessible to people who are blind or
partially sighted. Therefore, there is a lack of pictures or graphical
representation. Also we have avoided using text boxes and flow charts.
CMT
College Management Team
LGB
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
LGBT
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
BPS
Blind/Partially Sighted
VI
Visual Impairment or Visually Impaired
LD
Learning Disability
ASD
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
DS
Down's Syndrome
S
Severe
M
Moderate
2 Dis
2 Disabilities
3 Dis
3 Disabilities
W/B
Williams-Beuren
P/W
Prader Willi
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
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Introduction
This is the College’s second annual update to its Single Equality Scheme.
This is to evidence the impact our Scheme has had at:
 Eliminating discrimination
 Fostering relationships between different groups
 Advancing equality
Summary
RNIB College Loughborough is an equal opportunities employer and
believes that it provides inclusive education. However, since June 2011
the College has taken further specific actions to make sure it is fair to its
staff, learners, parents/carers, and external contacts.
We have taken lots of actions. You can see these on our Single Equality
Scheme Action Plan – please ask for a copy from the Quality Improvement
Manager on 01509 631269 or look on the College’s Internet/Intranet site.
Some of the actions are given at the end of this document.
These actions have resulted in the following:
 Ofsted Social Care Inspectors said in their report dated 17 November
2011 that, ‘The promotion of equality and diversity is outstanding’ at
the College.
 In November 2012 the Care Quality Commission in their inspection
said, ‘People's diversity, values and human rights were respected.
Staff we spoke with showed an understanding of people's individual
needs and demonstrated a commitment to ensuring people had
opportunities to participate fully in their community’.
 A Faith and Reflection Room, known as ‘A Nice Place to Be’ (named
by learners) has been available at the College since 2010 – learners
have appreciated this additional provision as although they have ensuite bedrooms which facilitates religious observance they have told
us that having something on site has been useful. As an adjunct to
this we produced a faith leaflet which has been included in our
prospectus and other flyers so that prospective learners and
parents/carers will be aware of how we can support someone’s
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
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faith/beliefs. This has led in Autumn 2011 directly to 2 learners
attending for visits as they felt the College would be the ‘right place
for them’.
 We support language needs appropriately. The College has access
to a language line interpretation service. Also, when a learner with
parents who only spoke Arabic visited the College we were able to
supply an interpreter.
 1 learner told us in November 2012 that he had applied to the
College as a result of reading our equal opportunities information on
the Internet site as he felt it would be a fair place to study and found
this to be true when he arrived
 There has been an increase of 50% in the number of Black, Minority
Ethnic learners from 8 to 12
 The Governing Body is now 40% female. 13% of Governors are
from a Black, Minority Ethnic background. 27% of Governors have a
disability.
 There has been an increase of 10% in the number of Black, Minority
Ethnic staff from 20 to 22.
 24 staff (14%) are under the age of 25.
 In total 7.8% of staff have a disability
 There are more male learners at the College than female learners
(72 male and 28 female – January 2013) – this is probably related to
the fact that some learning disabilities are more common amongst
men/boys (by as much 3 to 1). We would like to improve the number
of female learners particular adult trainees +2 from 0 ie +13%
 The number of male staff at College had grown but has now fallen
from 36 to 31. We will make this a main objective for improvement in
2013-2014. However, there is some improvement in learner facing
teams: male staff in the Residential team have remained more or
less static at 9. The number of male staff in the Learning Support
team is 8 an improvement over last year when it was 7 (+14%). A
recruitment phase is underway and more males have applied
(January 2013).
 21% of volunteers at the College are male. 58% of volunteers are
under the age of 25. 16% of volunteers are from a Black, Minority
Ethnic background and 11% have a disability.
 Ex-learners return as volunteers and act as positive role models for
learners.
 There are no significant achievement gaps from learners in protected
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
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characteristic groups (ie when results are grouped by age, disability,
race or sex). Although not part on the responsibilities on us under
the Act we also disaggregate data where necessary for ‘looked after
children’ – again finding no difference in achievement rates.
 Learners are now involved in the recruitment of staff both in meetings
before interview, on the panel itself or by getting involved with
providing tours of the College or opportunities for microteaches.
 Learners are involved in disability training for staff and for external
contacts such as staff and learners at Loughborough College, taxi
drivers, voluntary groups, Disability Employment Advisers and
employers who take people on work placement. New for 2011-2012:
learners have been involved in ‘secret shopper’ exercises to ‘test out’
the availability of sexual health services for people with disabilities.
They have also conducted access audits into local businesses and
fed this back to Managers.
 We are supporting learners with a wider range of disabilities than
before thus opening access to education for more people. Staff are
appropriately trained so their needs are anticipated and met
successfully.
 We have started to collect information from staff about their religion
or belief so we can see if we are supporting people well. 52.5% of
staff responding to the survey told us they are Christian, 5% Roman
Catholic, 17.5% Atheist, 15% preferred not to say, and 10% are
Agnostic.
We have started to collect information about learners’ religion or faith
formally although the Residential and Education teams have always been
aware of this so as to provide the correct support. The Residential Team
have designed spiritual care plans as part of their support package.
An analysis of the statistics given below shows us that we need to
improve:





The number of female adult trainees
The number of male staff
The number of staff from BME heritage
Succession planning for senior and middle managers
Using our much improved data collection and dashboard to
highlight any equal opportunity issues that require follow up
 Enhancement of communication strategies meet learner needs
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
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 Single Equality Scheme – Annual Update – Full Report
Age Statistics - Learners
Age Group
<19
19-21
22-24
25-34
35-49
50+
June 2011
25%
62%
3%
8%
2%
2%
Jan 2012
30%
57%
1%
3%
7%
1%
Jan 2013
17%
63%
0%
5%
9%
6%
The majority of learners remain in the 19-21 category which is because of
our funding opportunities. Adult programmes were being reviewed by the
Department for Work and Pensions and they have recently decided to
extend the College’s contract to Summer 2014 enabling us to include adult
learners in our provision.
Age Statistics – Staff
There had been some improvement in the Under 25 category - by 2
percentage points but this has again gone down. The College needs to
have a succession plan in place for senior and middle managers – this will
need to be actioned in our equalities action plan for 2013.
Age Group
Under 25
25-34
35-49
50+
June 2011
12%
17%
43%
28%
Jan 2012
14%
17%
41%
27%
Jan 2013
12%
17%
40%
29%
Disability Statistics – Learners
A report produced in June 2011 showed that 100% of our learners
declared a disability. The breakdown of these disabilities were given. An
analysis in January 2012 showed that some learners have more than one
disability proving that the College is able to provide for a more complex
group of learners who have required additional care for support such as
intimate care.
June 2011
Jan 2012
Jan 2013
VI
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
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Yes
No
LD
S
M
No
ASD
Yes
No
DS
Yes
No
Psychological
None
Communication
Behavioural
Dyspraxia
2 Dis
Obsessive
ADD
Fatigue
Depression
Memory
Global Dev Delay
Other
Physiological
None
2 Dis
Cerebral Palsy
3 Dis
Hearing
Epilepsy
Tumour
W/B Syndrome
P/W Syndrome
Physical problems
Asthma
Hydrocephalus
62%
38%
65%
35%
63%
27%
17%
22%
62%
22%
25%
52%
18%
23%
58%
15%
85%
31%
69%
37%
63%
8%
92%
6%
94%
9%
91%
74%
9%
3%
5%
3%
2%
3%
2%
-
72%
12%
0%
0%
1%
0%
6%
0%
3%
1%
3%
1%
72%
Yes 28%
66%
8%
2%
2%
6%
5%
3%
2%
2%
5%
2%
-
58%
13%
3%%
4%
1%
3%
1%
1%
3%
7%
0%
1%
52%
Yes 48%
The number of learners on the Autistic Spectrum has grown again in
keeping with a trend observed over the last few years although this rate
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
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appears to be slowing. The College is seeking accreditation with the
National Autistic Society as an exemplar provider.
Statistics – Staff
Staff statistics have been maintained for some time. However, staff were
not asked for information about the ‘wider’ protected characteristics. A
health and well being questionnaire (voluntary) was sent to all staff. It was
resent in Autumn 2012. Disclosure is not as great as the College would
like but year on year we believe this will change as it becomes the norm.
The Senior Administrator (January 2013) will be giving this form to new
starters which should improve data collection. Even so we are able to
show some improvement in our understanding of our profile and
demographics:
Disability
June 2011
TRUE
FALSE
6%
94%
Jan 2012 Jan 2013
Survey to 7.8%
be resent
92.2%
7.8% of the College workforce is recorded as having a disability. The
latest figures for the FE sector that we can obtain estimates that 2.3% of
staff working in the FE sector have voluntarily disclosed a disability so this
shows that staff are comfortable here to disclose this information.
Gender Reassignment Statistics - Learners
The College has requested information about this characteristic. The
College has successfully supported people through the process of gender
reassignment in the past. We have no evidence to suggest that people in
this category have been disadvantaged, to the contrary the learner was
very satisfied with the College’s support both in terms of personal guidance
and facilities. For example, unisex facilities at the College enable learners
to choose preferences for toilets without embarrassment.
Gender Reassignment Statistics - Staff
The College held no statistics for people in this category. In 2012 the
question was asked and there were no returns in this category. However,
as the College’s on-line Database provides information for individual
records that go to the government it was felt that to record it anyway on the
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
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database would possibly breach the code of confidentiality that is in place
around transgender issues. The College will remain alert to the potential
disadvantage to people in this protected characteristic and the Equal
Opportunities and Diversity Working Group have nominated a Transgender
Champion to give this group a voice. The College has supported a
volunteer member of staff in the past who had transgender history.
Pregnancy and Maternity/Paternity – Statistics Learners
The College will be collecting statistics for this characteristic in 2013.
Learners have been in this category at the College and have retained –
arrangements have been made for this confidential information to be
shared with the MIS Officer so that analysis and any appropriate action
can be taken.
Pregnancy and Maternity/Paternity – Statistics Staff
The College collects statistics for this group of staff. Corporate RNIB have
good policies regarding flexible working and return to work plus policies
around maternity/paternity/adoption leave. The staff forum has told the
senior management team that they would like maternity pay to be
improved. The College will start to collect statistics as this is now a
protected characteristic.
Of the people who returned the survey (40), 5 had taken maternity leave
and returned to work. There was one recorded instance of someone
having taken paternity leave.
In order to understand the impact of this characteristic better on working
life the Senior Administrator will investigate if any flexible working
arrangement requests have been turned down. Anonymous data with
protected characteristics should highlight any areas of concern to the
College.
Race Statistics – National and Local Context
Charnwood has a diverse population. The last 2 censuses in 2001 and
2011 showed the ethnicity breakdown as below:
White
British
Irish
and
White
other
Mixed
Race
Asian/Asian Black/Black Chinese
British
British
and
other
ethnic
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
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2001
Charnwood
2001
National
2011
Charnwood
2011
England
89.2%
4%
0.9%
6%
0.40%
groups
1.03%
92.1%
0.4%
1.2%
4.00%
2.00%
0.4%
84.3%
3.1%
1.6%
8.5%
0.8%
1.7%
79.8%
5.7%
2.3%
7.1%
3.5%
1.8%
Statistics from: ONS 2001 & 2011 Census data
Race Statistics – Learners
Statistics show some interesting anomalies.
BME Asian – Indian learners are at a higher proportion than in
England but less than Charnwood. However, BME Asian – Pakistani
learners are a higher proportion at the College than either Charnwood
or England. The College has no Black African learners but does
support learners from partner colleges from this group in its social
enterprises. In total the College supports 12.3% of learners from a
black minority heritage, just under the same statistic for England of
12.6% and higher than the one of 10.9% in Charnwood. As the
College recruits learners that are increasingly day learners (ie not
residential and thus not national) the College will keep a mindful
watch on these statistics.
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
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RNIB
RNIB
College
RNIB College
College
All
All learners
All learners
learners
Jan 2012
June 2011
Jan
2013
White British
89%
88%
81.5%
OME White Irish
5%
1%
4.6%
BME Asian - Pakistani
2%
1%
3.1%
BME Asian - Indian 3%
3%
3.1%
OME Other
0%
1%
1.5%
BME Black African 2%
0%
BME Mixed - White &
0%
0%
Black Caribbean
BME Asian – Other 0%
3%
3.1%
BME Black Caribbean
0%
0%
BME Asian –
0%
1%
Bangladeshi
BME Black Other 0%
0%
1.5%
OME White Other 0%
0%
1.5%
BME Mixed white and
0%
0%
black African
BME mixed White &
0%
0%
Asian
BME Mixed other 0%
0%
Charnwood
England
2011
2011
84.3%
0.6%
0.3%
6.2%
0.6%
0.5%
79.8%
1.0%
2.1%
2.6%
1.1%
1.8%
0.5%
0.8%
0.9%
0.2%
1.5%
1.1%
1.2%
0.8%
0.1%
2.5%
0.5%
4.6%
0.1%
0.3%
0.6%
0.6%
0.3%
0.5%
Race Statistics – Staff
Actions taken by the College including the introduction of a ‘My Team’
page on the Internet/Intranet sites and an explicit equal opportunities
statement on web advertisements had increased the statistic for Black
African staff to 2% from 1%. However, this fell again and is now standing
at 1.5% which is better than the Charnwood statistic of 0.5%. 7.7% of staff
are from a BME heritage compared to Charnwood 10.9% and an England
statistic of 12.6%. The College needs to action plan for improvement in
staff recruitment.
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
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RNIB
College
Staff
June 2011
White British
92%
OME White Irish
0%
BME Asian - Pakistani
0%
BME Asian - Indian 2%
OME Other
0%
BME Black African 1%
BME Mixed - White0%&
Black Caribbean
BME Asian – Other 2%
BME Black Caribbean0%
BME
Asian
0%–
Bangladeshi
BME Black Other
0%
OME White Other 4%
BME Mixed white 0%
and
black African
BME mixed White0%&
Asian
BME Mixed other
0%
RNIB Coll RNIB College
Staff
Staff 2013 CharnwoodEngland
Jan 2012
2011
2011
90%
1%
0%
2%
1%
2%
0%
88.7%
2%
0%
0%
2.1%
2.6%
1.0%
1.5%
0%
3%
0%
3.6%
0%
0.5%
0%
84.3%
0.6%
0.3%
6.2%
0.6%
0.5%
79.8%
1.0%
2.1%
2.6%
1.1%
1.8%
0.5%
0.8%
0.9%
0.2%
1.5%
1.1%
1.2%
0.8%
0.1%
2.5%
0.5%
4.6%
0.1%
0.3%
0.6%
0.6%
0.3%
0.5%
The new census of 2011 has shown a significant change in BME statistics
– and whilst we were in line last year – the College is now behind the rate
for Charnwood (the latter being higher than the national average). We will
action plan to improve our position in 2013-2014.
Religion or Belief Statistics - National and Local Context
In the 2011 (2001) Census, 55.5% (70%) of the Charnwood population
stated they were Christian, 5.0% (4%) Hindus, 2.4% (2%) Muslims and
29.2% (24%) stated they had no religion.
Religion or Belief Statistics - Learners
The College asks appropriate questions at assessment to ensure that
learners’ religious or faith needs are met – this is recorded on Databridge.
The Residential team have a spiritual care plan in place. In 2013-2014 we
will publish statistics for this characteristic.
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
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Religion or Belief Statistics – Staff
A questionnaire was sent to all staff in 2011 and 2012 asking them to
volunteer information about the wider protected characteristics. In
February 2013 the questionnaire will be sent again to try to improve the
response rate as only 40 staff responded – this representing 19.5% of the
workforce. Of these 40:
Christian
Atheist
52.5%
17.5%
Prefer
not to
say
15%
Agnostic
Roman
Catholic
10%
5%
In October 2011 the College allocated a room for the observance of faith
and/or quiet reflection. The room was designed by learners and the room
was opened by the Equalities Officer from the Leicester Council of Faiths
alongside the College Chaplain – parents/carers attended. The room has
been well received by staff and learners. Learners told Ofsted inspectors in
October 2011 that the room is ‘Just a nice place to be’. CQC felt that
learners’ needs are being met – November 2012.
Sex Statistics – Learners
Overall in June 2011 there were 62% male learners and 38% females. In
January 2012 this is now 67% male learners and 33% females reflecting
the increase in the number of learners with autism and this is a condition
more often seen in males.
Sex
Male
Female
June
EFA
June
Adult
57%
43%
82%
18%
Jan 2011Jan 2012 Jan
EFA
Adult
2013
EFA
62%
100%
67%
38%
0%
33%
Jan
2013
Adult
88%
13%
Younger learners are increasingly from the local area and attend as day
learners. Some learning disabilities are associated with males – ie autism
and some blind and partial sight conditions. Adult programmes are more
problematic to access by female learners who traditionally have more
caring responsibilities than their male counterparts. An improvement was
made to these statistics two years ago by the College explaining the
flexibility available within the course and advising applicants about
organising child care arrangements in their home area plus the
arrangements for travelling home fortnightly. However, this statistic
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
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experiences random fluctuations – a careful monitoring watch is kept and
the Marketing and Development Manager has developed a female adult
marketing plan. We will action plan this again in the Single Equality action
plan in order to focus on improvements.
Sex Statistics – Staff
Sex
Male
Female
June 2011
17%
83%
Jan 2012
18%
82%
Jan 2013
16%
84%
The College is aware that it is employing significantly more women than
men and despite a small improvement in 2012 it has again fallen. Actions
have been taken to improve our recruitment of male staff ie equal
opportunities statements on web adverts, a ‘My Team’ page on the College
website showing the diversity of staff employed at the College. Male staff
are in key posts at the College and this provides good role modelling for
learners, ie Head of Care, Extended Curriculum Co-ordinator, and the
Sports Trainer. This is regularly discussed at the Equal Opportunities and
Diversity Working Group and there may be a link to the caring nature of the
roles here where staff carry out intimate care and this has to be made clear
on adverts and job descriptions. We have added that full training is given
to try to overcome any reluctance by males in this regard. This will be one
of our main objectives in our new Single Equality Duty Action Plan.
Sexual Orientation Statistics – National and Local Context
It is hard to estimate the proportion of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB)
people in the Charnwood area or nationally as sexuality has not been
monitored to date in the Census. However, the National Survey of Sexual
Attitudes and Behaviour 2000 found 8.4% men and 9.7% women had had
same sex sexual experiences; this is slightly lower for 16 to 24 year olds at
4.3% male and 9.1% female. We were told that sexuality would be a
voluntary question on the 2011 census. However, no information has been
released yet.
Sexual Orientation - Statistics learners
The College currently does not collect statistics for this protected
characteristic from learners.
By the nature of the learner cohort,
parents/carers often complete enrolment forms for their young person.
Therefore, data collected around this protected characteristic could be
subject to inaccuracies. Also learners may consider this information to be
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
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too sensitive to declare in front of parents/carers. Learners have the
opportunity through well developed tutor, key worker and personal social
health education sessions to discuss this characteristic and will be given
any support required. The College has recorded no complaints relating to
homophobia or any other incident relating to sexuality. Learners have
access to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) group at
Loughborough University and learners have been and are supported to
attend at their request. The Chair of the Group has visited the College and
has provided posters, business cards and opportunities for learners to take
part in social activities. The social calendar has been communicated to the
Extended Curriculum Co-ordinator.
Learners have personal, social, health education sessions wherein
sexuality is discussed in an open and supportive manner. Learners are
able to explore their own sexuality with the support of staff who have
expertise in this area of counselling. Learners in 2011-2012 who
demonstrated same-sex feelings for one another were supported by their
tutor and this involved, with learners’ permission, information being
feedback to parents who were happy to be involved with the support
strategies. An independent counselling agency works with the College.
Sexual Orientation - Statistics Staff
Improved links have been made with the staff branch of the LGBT group at
Loughborough University. A member of that group has been involved in
staff training from January 2012.
There was no statistic for this protected characteristic within the staff
group. The College instigated the collection of this data twice in 20112012 and all 40 respondees (20%) answered this question and, with the
assurance of confidentiality, 1 person volunteered the information that they
are lesbian/gay. The survey will be sent again in 2013 when impact from
training should be measurable, ie openness about sexuality will become
the cultural norm over time.
How well are we doing with outcomes for learners?
Excellent achievement levels are consistent across all learner cohorts
and/or characteristics. Detailed information is available in the College’s
Self-Assessment Report for 2010-2011 please request a copy from the
Quality Improvement Manager on 01509 631269 or by emailing:
ncurtis@rnibcollege.ac.uk. Brief headlines are given here:
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
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Adult learners
Comparison of RNIB College and Other RTDA Providers
Year
2006-7
2007-8
2008-9
2009-10
2010-2011
2011-2012
Early leavers/starts
RCL
All others
30%
44%
11%
31%
21%
38%
0%
41%
17%
Other
providers
closed
1/22=4.5%
-
Job outcomes/starts
RCL
All others
35%
29%
53%
56%
21%
37%
33%
27%
46%
Closed
6/16=38%
-
Learners funded by Education Funding Agency
The College targets relate to the destinations of EFA leavers one year after
completing. College policy is to remain in contact with learners for up to 2
years after they leave and offer advice and support as necessary if a
positive destination has not been achieved. The College defines a positive
destination as paid employment, voluntary work, education or improved
independence at home or in supported/independent living.
The proportion of learners in a positive destination within a year of leaving
the College was as follows:
Positive outcomes
06 – 07
9/9
07 – 08
17/19
08 – 09
15/20
09 – 10 (at Dec 2010)
14/16
10-11 (Updated Jan 2012) 20/21
for skills outcomes
Percentage
100%
89%
75%
87%
95%
10-11 (Updated Jan 2012) 13/21
for
positive
destination
outcomes
11-12 (Updated Jan 2013) 20/21
for skills outcomes
62%
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
95%
15
11-12 (Updated Jan 2013) 14/21
for
positive
destination
outcomes
67%
The College believes learners acquired the skills necessary for them but
the economic climate has meant that fewer learners have been able to
transition to independent living/employment.
Learner Retention and Achievement
Both retention and achievement of qualifications were Outstanding, above
the top decile of general FE colleges. There is no evidence of bias by
learner protected characteristic.
Achievement of This
Other
Update Update 11-12 11-12
qualifications
group learners for 10- for 10others
11 this 11
This
group Other
group
learners
Visually Impaired 98%
100%
97%
99%
99%
100%
Attending
93%
99%
89%*
99%
95.5% 100%
Loughborough
College
Male
100% 97%
99%
95%
99.5% 100%
Severe Learning 100% 99%
100%
97%
100%
Difficulties
99%
Moderate
97%
99%
100%
97%
100%
Learning
Difficulties
Under 18 when 97%
100%
97%
98%
98%
100%
starting year
Black or Minority 96%
99%
89%** 98%
100% 99.6%
Ethnic
Autistic Spectrum 100% 99%
100%
97%
100% 99%
Disorder
Down’s
100% 99%
100%
98%
100% 99.6%
Syndrome
Residential
99%
99%
97%
99%
99%
100%
All learners
99%
98%
99%
* This drop in achievement represents one learner not achieving.
** This drop in achievement represents one learner
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
16
Achievement of Individual Learning Plan Targets by Further
Education Learners
The number of objectives achieved in 2010-2011 was greater than before,
although they are not strictly comparable to previous years. The number
of objectives achieved by characteristic was as follows:
2011-12
2010-11
No. of
Learners
This
Not this
No. of
characteristic characteristic Learners
This
characteristic
Not this
characteristic
Male
32
93.8
79.4
27
75.6
77.5
Minority
Ethnic
6
83.5
89.1
5
83.4
75.7
Sight Loss
23
72.6
101.5
27
71.0
82.9
MLD
14
103.6
13
78.8
75.7
SLD
13
82.6
11
85.0
74.1
ASD
20
114.2
71.9
9
92.0
73.1
Down’s
4
97.5
87.7
5
77.8
76.4
Psychologic
15
al
98.1
84.4
36
82.4
74.2
Physical
25
87.4
89.5
32
88.1
70.0
All Learners 51
88.5
50
76.5
82.8
The lower figure for those with sight loss is because these learners attend
Loughborough College and they have fewer objectives set (as they also
have objectives set in the mainstream college). None of the other
characteristics had significantly below average number of objectives
achieved.
Extended Curriculum Participation
Activities per
Week
This
group
updated
Jan 2012
Visually Impaired 3.55
Attending
3.81
Loughborough
College
Other
learners
updated
Jan 2012
4.71
3.92
11-12 This
group (Jan
2013)
11-12 others
(Jan 2013)
2.6
2.1
3.0
3.1
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
17
Male
Severe Learning
Difficulties
Moderate
Learning
Difficulties
Under 18 when
starting year
Black
Minority
Ethnic
4.19
4.26
3.60
3.76
2.8
2.9
2.8
4.75
3.84
3.4
3.85
3.91
2.4
2.9
5.02
3.67
3.6
2.6
2.7
The College Dashboard enables managers to monitor achievement more
closely – the above statistics are under review.
Where are we now – how well do we monitor, respond and action
feedback?
Learners and parents/carers on the whole feel we are fair to them and that
the College is a fair place to learn. For example:
 In 2011, 95% of parents/carers felt their learner was treated
fairly – this has risen to 96% in 2012
 In 2010 strength of agreement from learners about being
treated fairly was high at 1.4 – this reduced in 2011 to 1.0. In
2012 this has improved to 1.1.
 Investors in People Assessment in October 2011 noted: ‘Staff
believe that managers are committed to ensuring there is fair
and equal access to development’ and the report records the
staff voice around promotion, for example, ‘I came here from
an agency and then was appointed very quickly. Since then I
have had CTLLS training and been supported by a mentor. It’s
been a brilliant opportunity’.
 In the staff survey Summer 2012 ‘I am treated fairly’ received
the highest satisfaction rating of 1.45 (1.43 the year before) ie
90% agree (2011 = 91%). 89% (2011 = 91%) believe they
have the skills to do a good job.
Thus there are few generic issues to action but any individual issues are
action planned immediately. For example one learner told us that he had
not been able to attend the Mosque of his choice. This was organized
straight away.
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
18
The Single Equality Duty Action Plan is available on our Internet and
Intranet sites – it details all the actions we have taken to make
improvements. It is updated monthly and is now virtually complete well
ahead of schedule. However, as can be seen from this report, impact in
terms of the improvement of our profile/demographics have not been as
significant as we would like.
From an analysis of the data in this report and reviewing the action plan
now completed we have decided to write a new action plan with a focus
on:





Improving the number of female adult trainees
Improving the number of male staff
Improving the number of staff from BME heritage
Succession planning for senior and middle managers
Using our much improved data collection and Dashboard to highlight
any equal opportunity issues that require follow up
 Enhancement of communication strategies meet learner needs
RNIB College Loughborough Single Equality Scheme – Second Annual Update V1
Quality Improvement Manager – January 2013
19