Equal Opportunities Policy

Version 1 (April 2016)

 

Athletes Unlimited is committed to promoting a best-practice environment, where every learner is treated with respect and dignity. No personnel or learner or any related third party should feel threatened, degraded on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, physical characteristics, and health, religious or political beliefs.

 

Athletes Unlimited is responsible for ensuring that all individuals receive the same treatment, regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, physical characteristics, health, religious beliefs or political beliefs.

 

This policy aims to prevent/tackle any potential/current discrimination, whether indirect[1] or direct[2], which involves learners and any member of Athletes Unlimited personnel.

 

Athletes Unlimited is responsible for:

[1] Indirect – for example, in relation to sex discrimination, it is prohibited to have criteria or practices which, while not being directly discriminatory (such as refusing to recruit female employees or candidates because they might become pregnant), have the effect of disadvantaging one sex more than the other. A claim of indirect sex discrimination provides a potential remedy if flexible working is refused or inflexible working imposed on a worker, rather than a right to request flexible working.

 

[2] Direct – this is where you openly treat any sector of the community less favourably than others. For example, you may state in a job advertisement that men are only welcome to apply for a particular job vacancy. This is direct discrimination and is unacceptable.

 

[1] Indirect – for example, in relation to sex discrimination, it is prohibited to have criteria or practices which, while not being directly discriminatory (such as refusing to recruit female employees or candidates because they might become pregnant), have the effect of disadvantaging one sex more than the other. A claim of indirect sex discrimination provides a potential remedy if flexible working is refused or inflexible working imposed on a worker, rather than a right to request flexible working.

 

[1] Direct – this is where you openly treat any sector of the community less favourably than others. For example, you may state in a job advertisement that men are only welcome to apply for a particular job vacancy. This is direct discrimination and is unacceptable.

It is ultimately the responsibility of the Head of the Centre, Brendan Chaplin, to ensure that this policy is published and accessible to all personnel, learners and any relevant third parties. However, the quality coordinators (QCs) specific to each qualification are responsible for ensuring this information is fully understood by their qualification team and by the learners who commence courses/programmes in their area.

Should you wish to discuss any matter or voice a grievance in relation to the above in confidence, please contact Brendan Chaplin on 07889 022388 or, alternatively, learners may follow the Athletes Unlimited Learner Complaints Procedure.

 

Access to Fair Assessment

 

Athletes Unlimited is committed to providing ongoing support to learners with particular requirements and aspires to eliminate discrimination. On this basis, we ensure accessible services and make appropriate adjustments, where required, to facilitate learners in completing the course/programme as independently as possible. Our personnel are committed to contributing to this practice and the overall aims are to assist learners in managing their individual situation and create a more accessible learning and assessment environment for all. In order for this to be achieved, we aim to determine learners’ particular requirements and requests for the provision of access arrangements at an early stage. In making sure our access to fair assessment statement is implemented effectively and all learners are treated fairly, we aim to:

 

 

It is ultimately the responsibility of the Head of the Centre, Brendan Chaplin, to ensure that this statement and related procedures are published and accessible to all personnel, learners and any relevant third parties. However, the quality coordinators (QCs) specific to

each qualification are responsible for ensuring this information is fully understood by their qualification team and by the learners who commence courses/programmes in their area.

 

Learners have the right to raise any issues related to the implementation of access arrangements or make a formal complaint via the Athletes Unlimited learner complaints procedure or the Athletes Unlimited learner appeals procedure, if they are not satisfied with the outcome of the decision in relation to the access arrangements applied.

 

Procedure for Access Arrangements

 

Stage 1:

 

Athletes Unlimited evaluates and identifies the need for the implementation of access arrangements due to a learner’s particular requirements where a learner reports the request to the tutor/assessor or where it is identified via other acceptable means. At this stage, the learner must provide all necessary evidence (medical evidence/certification, diagnostic test results, a statement from the invigilator/tutor/assessor or any other appropriate information) to demonstrate the condition or reason(s) affecting his/her performance.

 

Stage 2:

 

The tutor/assessor communicates the request to the qualification-specific quality coordinator (QC), who checks the learner’s eligibility. The QC collates all evidence required and helps the learner to make the application for reasonable adjustments/special consideration.

 

Stage 3:

 

If access arrangements as requested by the learner are not appropriate and the application is rejected by Athletes Unlimited or 1st4sport, other alternatives will be suggested, where required. If the application for access arrangements is accepted, the decision is communicated to all personnel involved in the delivery and/or assessment and arrangements are made as soon as practicable to assist the learner.

 

Stage 4:

 

Monitoring of the eligibility of decisions made outcomes of the applications and effectiveness of the procedure is conducted via the established 1st4sport procedure. The QC will ensure that the learner completes an evaluation of the effectiveness of the access arrangements and reports this via Athena.

All records relating to the application, relevant evidence and monitoring forms are securely retained for five years.