Statement of intent  

The Gifted recognises that in our society groups and individuals have been and continue to be discriminated against on grounds including but not limited to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical disability, mental illness, marital status, social class, income level and criminal record.

The Gifted is opposed to all forms of direct and indirect discrimination as both morally and legally unacceptable. We aim to create a fully inclusive culture that respects and values differences to enrich our place of work. 

The purpose of the Equality and Diversity policy is to set out the guidelines and positive action The Gifted intends to take to combat discrimination within the organisation, in the services it provides and in its relationships with other bodies. This policy’s purpose is to not unlawfully discriminate because of the Equality Act 2010 protected characteristics of: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.

Code of Conduct

People will be treated with dignity and respect and made to feel welcome and included.

Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic or otherwise offensive and inflammatory remarks and behaviour are not acceptable. These constitute harassment and any such incidents will be taken seriously.

We aim to organise a range of events and activities to suit the interests and meet the needs of a wide variety of people.

Implementation and Monitoring

All employees, members and volunteers are expected to abide by the policy which will be accessible on the website. The policy will be distributed to new employees as part of their induction.

Selection for membership, training, development or any other benefit will be on the basis of aptitude, ability and need.  

Actions contrary to the ethos of the policy may result in disciplinary action or disassociation with The Gifted.

Complaints  

All complaints should be raised formally with an employee of The Gifted and the complaint logged into a record of the complaint by the Operations Manager, Kemi Bamidele.

The Board of Trustees in conjunction with The Gifted team will deal with complaints seriously, promptly and confidentially once raised to them. 

There will be opportunities provided for the person making the complaint to speak in a safe environment and the complaint will be thoroughly investigated through to resolution. The action to take will be based on the principle of ensuring the continued inclusion and safety of any member who has experienced discrimination or harassment.

Any decision to terminate someone’s membership / participation will be made in line with the rules set out in the constitution

These internal procedures do not replace or detract from the rights of members to pursue complaints under any other relevant legislation.   

Review

This policy will be reviewed annually or when it is deemed necessary.

Adopted on: March 2016. Reviewed on:September 2022 Next Review Due: September 2023

Reviewed by: Kemi Bamidele, Operations Manager