Belfast Metropolitan College (Belfast Met) has a legal obligation under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Section 75) to promote equality of opportunity and good relations. The legislation applies to nine categories of difference namely, age, gender, religious belief, political opinion, race, sexual orientation, marital status, those with or without a disability and those with or without dependents.
How will this happen?
We will make this happen through an Equality Scheme and Equality Improvement Plan. This Equality Scheme was approved by the Equality Commission in January 2012.
Who is responsible for implementation?
Although the Governing Body and Principal and Chief Executive have ultimate responsibility for implementing the Equality Scheme, everyone who studies or works in the college has a collective obligation to promote equality of opportunity and good relations. This is an important aspect of the work of the college. By doing so we will ensure that the services we provide are inclusive and accessible and there are no barriers to entry and achievement for any of the categories specified. This also applies to the physical environment where we study and work, the technology we use and the teaching delivered. By working collectively we will ensure that the college community is inclusive, welcoming and safe.
What does this mean for Belfast Met?
Belfast Met has made strong commitments in its Equality Scheme to promote Equality of Opportunity and Good Relations and how this will happen.
We will:-
- Provide general awareness raising training to all students, staff and the Governing Body with focused training on specific aspects of the equality duty to targeted staff groups.
- Integrate equality into everything we do e.g. service delivery, our courses, policy decisions, admissions, strategic and operational plans.
- Monitor our performance in delivering the Scheme and communicate that progress within the college and to the Equality Commission.
- Systematically review all new policy decisions for evidence of any barriers to inclusion or adverse impacts on any of the categories mentioned in paragraph one above.
- Consult on specified policies, the outcome of equality screening exercises and publish the results on our website. Feedback from consultations will be considered in current and future policy development.
- Collect qualitative and quantitative data.Analyse this data to monitor participation and identify opportunities to better promote equality of opportunity and good relations.
- Review website, service and document accessibility.Provide information to our services in an accessible format and provide information in alternative formats upon requests.
- Provide a complaints procedure for those who believe we have not complied with our Equality Scheme commitments.
How do we know if we have been successful?
We will monitor our progress using the equality monitoring data provided to us by students and staff. This data will help identify the accessibility of our services for all the categories specified in s75 and ensure fair participation. This qualitative data will be supplemented through feedback from staff and student surveys.