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Equalities Report 2023-24

You can read the report on this page. 

Or you can download our Equalities Report 2023-24 here (PDF)

Annual Equalities Report 2023-24

1. Introduction

Achieving for Children (AfC) is a not for profit organisation that is focused on supporting the children and young people of the Royal Borough of Kingston, the London Borough of Richmond and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, to live safe, happy, healthy and successful lives.  

We are an organisation of 1,400 children’s services practitioners and are dedicated to putting children and young people at the heart of everything that we do. Our delivery model supports integrated services across education, health and social care to achieve positive outcomes for the families that we work with. 

We produce an equalities report each year to demonstrate our compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).  

This report sets out: 

  • our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion 
  • what we know about equality, diversity and inclusion in relation to our workforce and to the children, young people and families we support 
  • what we have done about it in 2023-2024 
  • our equality objectives (what we plan to achieve by 2026) 

The PSED came into force on 5 April 2011 with the aim of embedding equality considerations into the everyday work of public bodies, to enable them to tackle inequality and discrimination more effectively. The PSED has three general duties that require public bodies to be aware of. The need to: 

  • eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct  prohibited by the Equality Act 2010 
  • advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic  and people who do not share it 
  • foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not share it 

There are 10 protected characteristics that will be referred to in this report. 

  • Age 
  • Disability 
  • Gender reassignment 
  • Marriage and civil partnership 
  • Pregnancy and maternity 
  • Race 
  • Religion or belief 
  • Sex 
  • Sexual orientation 
  • Care experienced 

We have chosen to include ‘care experienced’ as an additional characteristic alongside the nine protected characteristics recognised in the Equality Act 2010 due to its particular relevance to our work at Achieving for Children.  

As an organisation dedicated to supporting children and young people, we recognise that individuals who have been in the care system often face unique challenges, barriers, and inequalities that can have a significant impact on their lives and outcomes. 

By acknowledging ‘care experienced’ as a characteristic in our equalities report, we aim to: 

  • raise awareness of the specific needs and experiences of care experienced individuals 
  • identify and address any gaps, barriers, or inequalities they may face in relation to our services and support 
  • promote a more inclusive and equitable approach to supporting care experienced children and young people 
  • ensure that their voices and perspectives are heard and considered in our work and decision making 

Including ‘care experienced’ as an additional characteristic reflects our commitment to understanding and responding to the diverse needs of the children and young people we support, and to promoting equality and fairness for all.

2. Our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion

Our approach to implementing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is set out in our equality, diversity and inclusion EDI policy which has been agreed by the company leadership team. Our approach is underpinned by AfC’S behavioural values: empower, trust, respect, which are set out in our Strategic Plan 2024-29. 

Achieving for Children’s commitment to equality and diversity is enshrined in our promise which states that:  

‘We will embrace diversity and champion inclusion’.  

This means that we respect cultural differences and value diversity to enrich our organisation, meet the needs of the communities we serve, and identify and address inequalities. 

As an organisation, we are focused on providing equality of opportunity and tackling  discrimination, harassment and intimidation. We are also focused on achieving the highest standards in service delivery, decision making and employment practice.  Equality of opportunity for children, young people, families and the workforce is an  important part of our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Equality objectives 

The proposed equality objectives, set out below, are separated into internal, aimed  3

at our workforce, and external, aimed at the children, young people and families we  support. The objectives have been developed by drawing on the organisation’s current policies, annual equalities report, staff survey feedback and equalities data. 

Internal 

All staff at Achieving for Children will have an equal opportunity to thrive and use their  diverse experiences to enrich the work we do with children, young people and families. 

Objective 1  

To strengthen organisational ownership of the equality, diversity and inclusion  programme. 

Objective 2  

To develop a workforce that is committed to investing in equality, diversity and  inclusion issues, by creating and promoting training and development opportunities  and resources in AfC. 

Objective 3  

To provide all staff with an equal opportunity to thrive by fostering a diverse and  inclusive workforce, and creating avenues for personal and professional growth  for underrepresented staff. 

External 

Achieving for Children will understand and respect the unique backgrounds and  needs of our children, young people and families to tailor our support to their individual  needs. 

Objective 1 

To strengthen community engagement and data collection to ensure all children and  young people have what they need to thrive. 

Objective 2  

Champion the recognition of care experienced as a protected characteristic within the  framework of equality, diversity, and inclusion. 

EDI Board 24 month action plan: April 2024 to March 2026 

Responsibility for equality, diversity and inclusion 

While the AfC Board of Directors and company leadership team have ultimate responsibility for equality, diversity and inclusion on an operational basis, the Chief Operating and Finance Officer takes the lead in this area. Support is provided by the  Strategy, Policy and Programmes Team. The EDI Board, set up in 2021, is responsible for implementing EDI work on an annual basis, in line with an action plan.  

They report into the AfC Board of Directors and company leadership team.

The EDI Board is made up of AfC staff members from across AfC services. Ultimately, we believe that it is all our staff individually, and as a collective, who can create a truly inclusive environment and therefore, all AfC colleagues have a responsibility for role modelling and championing equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Reporting and monitoring 

AfC produces this annual equalities report in the summer of each year in keeping with the business planning cycle to enable us to demonstrate how we are meeting the PSED. Other equality reports are produced as and when requested by the owning councils. 

AfC requires managers to complete equality impact assessments (EIAs) to demonstrate that we are considering the equality implications of the decisions we are making. Actions from EIAs are monitored through team plans by service managers.  

An EIA schedule is compiled annually as part of the business planning process. It includes key projects from our business plan (the completion of an EIA is mandatory for all key projects) and any ad hoc areas of work that require an assessment of the equality implications. Key EIAs are published on our website to demonstrate how we meet our public sector equality duties. We have also made the EIA process accessible  in line with government requirements. 

Language and terminology

Please see links below for terminology used in this report, as per the government guidelines. 

Government guidelines on inclusive communications 

Government guidelines on writing about ethnicity

3. Our children, young people and families

We collect and collate a range of information about the children and young people that we work with and support. This includes equalities information which is reported to Kingston, Richmond, and Windsor and Maidenhead councils as part of our contract arrangements, and to the corporate parenting groups in all three boroughs.

As a children’s services organisation, we do not currently collect data on gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or sexual orientation due to the young age of the individuals we support, the sensitive nature of this information, and the potential lack of legal and ethical necessity. Our focus remains on providing relevant support and services based on the specific needs of the children and young people in our care.​​​​​​​​​

4. What have we done for the children, young people and families we support?

This section highlights our main equality, diversity, and inclusion accomplishments, relating to the children and young people we support, showing how we are fulfilling the PSED and progressing towards our equality objectives. Our Impact report also illustrates our broader influence on the lives of children, young people, and families  in 2023-24, beyond the scope of protected characteristics. 

Age 

  • Our children’s centres, which primarily provide support for children aged 0 to 5, have seen a significant increase in registration numbers across Kingston and Richmond over the past 12 months (66% of total Kingston and Richmond under 5 population). 
  • We continue to work alongside the Growbaby charity in Kingston to support young  parents and hard to reach families in the local area. A children’s centre lead outreach worker attends Growbaby on a weekly basis to provide information, guidance and support to families on a range of parenting topics, early years development and signposting to further children’s centre services and other local services and support.  
  • Our family hubs approach has been established in Windsor and Maidenhead, which brings together children’s centres, youth centres and parenting services. Our family hubs are now fully staffed, and demand for services has been high.  

We have provided one-to-one support to 896 children. 7,687 children and young people have attended group sessions on topics such as digital safety, drug and  alcohol awareness, and self-esteem. 

  • School standards in Kingston, Richmond, and Windsor and Maidenhead are amongst the highest in the country and 100% of our schools across all three boroughs are judged ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. In terms of attainment, Kingston and Richmond are  now both in the top 20 performing local authorities nationally from early years to key stage 4. Windsor and Maidenhead are in the top performing 50 local authorities. This is an exceptional achievement, particularly in light of the challenges posed by COVID.  
  • The FUEL (Feed Ur Everyday Lives) programme, funded by the Department for Education’s holiday activities and food (HAF) initiative, was successfully delivered in Kingston, Richmond, and Windsor and Maidenhead during school holidays. Now in its third year, FUEL provided engaging activities and meals to children aged 5 to 16  eligible for benefits-related free school meals. The programme expanded across all  boroughs, collaborating with 52 partners and reaching over 1,300 children, including more than 200 with additional needs. Parents and carers continue to provide very positive feedback about the programme. 
  • Supported internships: From September 2023, 24 learners with EHCPs in Kingston  and Richmond have undertaken supported internships, delivered in partnership with Mencap, Orchard Hill and Project Search, with a variety of host employers including Hounslow Council, Marriott Hotel, Kingston Council, Achieving for Children and  community workplaces. Four of the interns have secured employment with their host  organisations at Achieving for Children, Hounslow Council, Decathlon and Timpson. 

Disability

Richmond received its local area SEND inspection in October 2023. The outcome  of the inspection was that the local area partnership’s special educational needs  and disability arrangements were found to typically lead to positive experiences  and outcomes for children and young people with SEND, and that the local area  partnership is taking action where improvements are needed. 

We have delivered a range of high quality SEND provision at our children’s centres across all three boroughs including the following. 

  • In Windsor and Maidenhead, we successfully submitted a bid for a 100 place new  special free school for children and young people aged 7 to 16 with EHCPs for social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. The new school will be located in a new development planned on the western edge of Windsor and we will now move forward  to the next stage of planning. In September 2023, we also successfully opened a new  SEND provision in South Ascot Village School for 10 pupils with autistic spectrum  conditions. This provision is now full.  
  • In Windsor and Maidenhead, we offer a school readiness programme for 2 year olds who may not be meeting their developmental milestones. The ‘Terrific 2s’ group  gives parents and children the opportunity to learn through play and get parenting advice.  
  • ‘Little Stars’ in Kingston and Richmond: 74 families have also benefited from the development of a new course for children with emerging speech and language needs.  
  • Family hubs in Kingston and Richmond are due to launch in September 2024, at The White House for Richmond and Old Malden for Kingston. Family Hubs aim to  provide a balance of universal, early intervention and targeted support to families with children aged 0 to 19 years, or up to 25 years for young people with special  educational needs or disabilities. We will be bringing together services from children’s centres, the Youth Service and early help, partners we already work with, and hopefully many more, to deliver a range of supportive activities and events to improve the health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families within  the wider community. 
  • The SEND Futures Plan launched in Kingston and Richmond, in April 2024. The launch set out our shared vision for SEND and the current position across the borough. While the event recognised our achievements, it also focused on our shared challenges, and priorities for the future. The SEND conference will be taking  place in October 2024 and will include parents, carers, and practitioners from 135  organisations coming together to share ideas and best practice in SEND. 
  • Annual inclusion summits in Windsor and Maidenhead: These events are held for  parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. In February 2024, over 160 attendees came to the event. These summits  help us to understand how children with SEND can be better supported through  services. This year, there were 20 exhibitors in the market place and four different  workshops. The event also serves as a networking opportunity for parents. 
  • The social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) intervention project in Windsor and  Maidenhead: Reducing exclusions and empowering schools. Established in 2019,  the SEMH intervention project aims to reduce permanent exclusions in Windsor and  Maidenhead schools. The project team has worked in 45 schools and revisited 25,  supporting 114 individual children. Only four of the supported children have been  subsequently permanently excluded, with the project team assisting their transition  to alternative provision or back to mainstream education. Three SEMH network meetings are held annually, allowing leads to share learning, provide feedback, and receive guidance on early help services. 
  • Our Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in schools are now established in every primary, secondary, and special school in Kingston and Richmond, and over 1,250 children accessed individual or group therapy through their school team.  
  • We have successfully recommissioned our short breaks service and our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Advocacy Service (SENDIASS) in Kingston and Richmond.  
  • The online Boxall Profile enables schools to assess the needs of their children quickly, set targets, and monitor progress. Sixty four of our schools are subscribing  to this assessment and tracking tool which will enable us to analyse data to support  transitions and target areas of need.  
  • In Kingston, 6Oaks at Malden Oaks and The Spring School (a new 90 place autism  specific special school) opened in temporary locations in September 2023. Work continues on the permanent Moor Lane site. Further work is progressing with regards to feasibility for a post-16 campus in the borough and for the creation of a purpose built specialist, resource provision (SRP) at The Kingston Academy. 
  • In Richmond, from September 2023, four new places were created at the Vineyard Primary School, with a rebuild to accommodate 10 more pupils by September 2024. The 90 place London River Academy for SEMH needs is in development. Projects for Clarendon and Strathmore special schools (77 places  in Petersham, 24 in Hampton) have received planning approval. Discussions with Auriga Academy Trust about pupil numbers are ongoing.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ 

Gender (Sex) 

AfC runs well-established participation groups and forums that provide regular opportunities for  children, young people, parents and carers to come together, share their views and experiences, and inform service improvements. 

  • • ‘Good4Girls’ in Richmond: we run a youth club ‘Good4Girls’ for young women aged 10+ at Ham  Youth Centre on a weekly basis. The aim is to offer a space for young women only, to try new  activities, make friends and have fun. They engage in art, sports, cooking, discussions, fashion, media, trips and lots more. The project also offers emotional wellbeing support.
  • The Girl’s Forum (Kickback) in Windsor and Maidenhead for girls aged between 12 to 19:  “For me, Girls Forum has been an inclusive environment where my opinions are heard.  Girls Forum has given me an opportunity to make change in a male-dominated society.” “That’s what I love about Girls Forum - the way we try to tackle biases against women, fight for gender equality and strive to create a diverse and inclusive world.” 
  • Boys and young males sexual harassment survey, redefining masculinity podcast: The boys survey had over 300 participants, aged 11 to 19 years. Respondents were from 22 local schools across Kingston and Richmond with diverse participation in terms of gender identity and ethnicity. Survey findings have been presented to headteachers and at the cross- borough  South West London Safer Streets Conference in March. The working group then planned a podcast episode exploring masculinity, using some of the statistics from the boys survey results as discussion prompts.The podcast panel was made up of male KRYC members and  accompanied by the Richmond Youth Service manager. The podcast episode is live on the  KRYC Spotify channel.

Sexual orientation 

  • Windsor and Maidenhead’s Educational Psychology and Wellbeing Service provided  ongoing assistance to secondary schools in terms of evidence-based good practice about how best to support and include pupils who are LGBTQI+. 
  • No Straight Answer (NSA) is a youth club in Richmond for young people aged 11 to  19 who are or feel they may be a part of the LGBTQI+ community. The club is held at  Heatham House Youth Centre, Twickenham every Friday. The session is really diverse with full access to all of Heatham’s activities including sport, music, cooking and art. It provides support, guidance and a safe space for young people to make new friends, socialise and take part in a wide range of activities. We have a growing group of around  25 members, with the average age of members being 14 to 15 years.  
  • Out ‘N’ About is our free cross-borough LGBTQI+ pride celebration event for young  people in key stages 3, 4 and 5 aged 11 to 19. The free event held in July 2023 was a  celebration of all things LGBTQI+.  

This year’s event acted as a taster day for local school members to come and try  out the No Straight Answer session space and some of the activities we run on  Friday evenings, such as a festival makeup stand, tote bag painting, skateboarding  workshops, gaming and more!  

Feedback from teachers:  

“Both years we’ve come it’s been lovely - well-organised, lots for the students to take part  in. Hoping next year to bring a larger group! Thanks for organising.“  

Gender reassignment

  • We hold no data on this

Marriage and civil partnership 

  • As a children’s service, our direct work focuses on supporting children and young  people who are not yet of legal age to enter into marriage or civil partnerships. However, we recognise the importance of the protected characteristic of marriage  and civil partnership in our EDI reports. 

Pregnancy and maternity 

  • Growbaby and City Changer Projects: A children’s centre lead outreach worker  attends Growbaby on a weekly basis to provide information, guidance and support  to families on a range of parenting topics, early years development and signposting  to further children’s centre services and other local services and support. As a result,  we have also set up a stay and play session in partnership with Doxa Deo Church  at Tolworth Recreation Centre, one of the City Changer Impact Centres, so that  families who may feel isolated from other groups can attend a play session run by professionals alongside visiting Kingston Pantry, Growbaby and Grace Advocacy.  
  • Baby Packs: In partnership with the Children in Care Council, we have continued with  our highly successful Baby Packs project for care leavers who are new mums and dads. They include quilts from the Linus Project, self-care items, baby grows, and a  book on parenthood. Feedback from new parents has been extremely positive.  
  • Our family hub model includes our health visiting services, which offers all families with  a new baby a health assessment within two weeks of birth. We receive lots of positive feedback from the families we have worked with. 

Race and ethnicity 

  • Our racial justice conference was attended by 55 delegates from across our boroughs.  96% of those who attended rated the conference as ‘Outstanding’. Keynote speeches  were given by Viv Grant and Dr Neville Lawrence. The workshops engaged delegates in reflective and practical ideas, including a significant focus on the importance of  multilingual approaches to learning.  
  • Our racial justice course delivered across the year, was attended by 20 schools across  all three boroughs. We trained 35 schools through this course, and continue to support  all schools through our School Improvement Team’s work, including the launch of our anti-racist pledge in September 2023 and our self-reflection tool for schools, both of which have been written in collaboration with our schools. 
  • In Kingston, the arrival of new communities has increased our need to focus on guiding  schools in how to effectively provide for those who arrive as refugees, including those  who arrive post 14. We have developed guidance in collaboration with schools and local organisations such as Refugee Action Kingston (RAK) which will be disseminated next year. Supporting RAK with their successful bid for funding for the Bright Futures project, has been significant in terms of ensuring that schools can access wrap-around services  for all refugee pupils who experience significant inequalities. Our Admissions Team has also worked closely with RAK to ensure that refugee pupils and their families gain support as soon as they arrive. 

Care experienced 

  • The care leaver recruitment scheme is an AfC wide initiative which is concurrently  operational in Richmond and Wandsworth councils. All three of our boroughs now  publicly recognise care experience as a protected characteristic.The objective is to  transition more of our own care leavers into positions in the ‘family firm’. Our aspiration is that all departments in Achieving for Children, and Kingston, Richmond, and Windsor  and Maidenhead authorities use the care leaver recruitment scheme principles. These  include understanding that care leavers qualifications are likely to be unreflective of  their potential and should not be a barrier to asking them to interview.  

Religion and belief 

  • English speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses: Delivering courses for families from Ukraine as part of our parent offer.  
  • Borough of Sanctuary: we have worked with Richmond Council to create an application  and strategy to become a Borough of Sanctuary. If successful, it will show that Richmond, and AfC are providing a comprehensive package of support to refugees and unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) to ensure they feel welcome, safe and respected. 
  • We have developed guidance in collaboration with schools and local organisations such as Refugee Action Kingston (RAK) which will be disseminated next year. With the arrival of new communities increasing, so has our need to focus on guiding schools in how to effectively provide for those who arrive as refugees, including those who arrive post 14. 

Other vulnerabilities: families affected by  domestic abuse, mental health, or substance  misuse and development 

We want to make sure we are giving good support to those of our families who may need some additional help. To do this, we have established the Families First model. 

  • In Kingston and Richmond, the Families First team is a multi-disiplinary team  of practitioners working with families who present with a trio of vulnerabilities (domestic abuse, mental health, substance misuse) through the key principles of co-location, joint working and group supervision. Over 445 families have been  supported and the project has shown that for most families, where the Families First  team provides support, they are less likely to need as much help going forward and are better equipped to help themselves. The feedback received from families has been excellent. 

    Young person receiving Families First support:  

    ‘My home life has improved, it’s way better than it was this time last year...T has supported  me by including me whenever she spoke to my mum and she’d listen to me, she’d also include the issues I have raised about my mum’s parenting to my mum in a calm manner. During the two sessions, T has educated me a lot on self-harm and drinking.’ 
     
  • Based on the success of this programme, we have now developed a similar service in Windsor and Maidenhead. The newly formed Families Together team supports families in crisis who are at imminent risk of having their child or children taken into care. Families are fast-tracked to receive support and are ultimately supported to keep their children at home or find a family network to care for their children. The team also supports children to return home from care, if this is the best option for them. 

    So far, we have supported 24 families and 100% of families have been satisfied with  the support provided.  

    Along with colleagues from the Emotional Health Service, we established nurture groups for parents and carers who have experienced trauma through bereavement or domestic abuse. 

5. Our workforce

What do we know about our workforce?  

As of April 2024, Achieving for Children has 1,900 employees (equating to 1,256 full time equivalent employees), excluding agency workers. Our employees come from a  broad range of professional disciplines including social work, teaching, health services and public sector management. 

*Please note that the following information covers a snapshot of workforce data as of April 2024. Figures include all permanent and temporary staff, but excludes casuals and agency workers. 

Percentages show the proportion of employees for which equalities data is known and  recorded and therefore, percentages reflect the known numbers. The unknown numbers are excluded when calculating percentages (unknown = no information is held about an employee’s protected characteristics and no assumptions have been made. This includes  those who prefer not to say).  

Age 

The majority of employees are aged between 40 and 49. The smallest percentage of  employees are aged 16 to 19.

We have a number of apprenticeships and traineeships in place across the organisation to attract more young people to work for Achieving for Children.

Disability

Although there are no directly comparable statistics available across the local government workforce regarding disability, it is thought that 19% of working age adults have a disability (Scope: Disability facts and figures). This suggests as an organisation, we are not sufficiently representative of those with a disability. It should be noted however, not all employees have stated their disability status in the three boroughs, so the actual figure may be higher. 

As an employer, we make reasonable adjustments for staff with disabilities and enable them to access flexible working arrangements as necessary. To strengthen the support we provide to staff members with a disability, we have created guidance for managers to provide advice on making reasonable adjustments.

Ethnicity

Our workforce has a slightly higher Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority representation than the general population.

As our workforce is not fully representative of the local communities, we need to ensure they are trained and equipped to be knowledgeable and informed about the different ethnic backgrounds of the children, young people and families that we support. We are making efforts to improve this through our work on the workforce race equality standard.  

Gender

AfC implements a flexible working policy and a menopause policy, which are reviewed every three years to support our female workforce and those with caring responsibilities. 

The gender pay gap is not about equal pay for men and women. It is the difference  between the average and median pay of men and women. It does not measure equal pay, which relates to what women and men are paid for the same jobs or work of equal value. In Achieving for Children equal pay is addressed through our job evaluation scheme. 

The data required by the government is a fairly simplistic indicator of a complex set of issues. Our ambition is to ensure equality of opportunity for women.

Gender reassignment

We currently do not report on this and do not ask staff whether they are transitioning or have transitioned.

Religion

The largest faith group within our workforce is Christian 29.49%.

Employees with no faith or religion or who did not declare their religion account for 53.63%. The religious status of our workforce is reflected locally.

Marital status

Married or in a civil partnership 30.2%, Single 23.96%, With a partner 5.53%. The figures relating to relationship status largely reflect local data. More work is required to increase the number of respondents so the figure for ‘not known’ reduces (24.79%).

Pregnancy and maternity

We currently do not report on this, but data is collected at a team level when staff take maternity or paternity leave. Our policies in relation to maternity and paternity have been reviewed and updated in the last year. 

Sexuality 

Over 2% identify as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or other. Local statistics on sexual orientation are not available. Nationally, however, a report from the Office of National Statistics in 2016 suggested that 2% of the UK population aged over 16 are lesbian, gay or bisexual. This would suggest our workforce is largely representative.  

Care experienced 

The ‘care experienced’ characteristic was only included in 2023. As an organisation, we do not currently have collected data to report on.

6. What have we done for our workforce?

Age 

Recruitment, retention and development 

The EDI Board has researched best practice in recruitment, retention and development and added actions in its 12 month action plan. Key highlights from 2023-24 included the following. 

The monthly EDI forums discuss topics on key national day, week, month themes,  anything topical that may come from attendees and also current global news that may impact on our colleague communities 

A reverse mentoring programme designed for staff in non-management posts and  from underrepresented groups (such as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds,  staff with disabilities, LGBTQI+ staff). Three of our senior leaders nominated  themselves to be mentored by staff members who had put themselves forward to be part of the programme. Mentors received training prior to the programme starting and are meeting monthly with the senior leader that they were matched to to provide guidance, insight and challenge.  

Feedback from those taking part so far has been positive and senior leaders are reviewing the programme to decide whether to roll it out more widely. 

Feedback from the AD for Quality Assurance and Review (AfC): 

“Abi has brought fresh and liveliness to the conversation which has been so refreshing. We have spoken a lot about inclusion, engagement with children and young people and managing conflict or differences within teams. I have especially valued Abi’s enthusiasm for the sessions and her desire to learn and share knowledge.” 

EDI training 

In October 2023, we held a whole service event on EDI specifically focusing on  managing and responding to racism. This was well received with feedback from all staff on areas that we need to improve on. In response to this feedback, the Deputy  Director and principal social worker held several drop in sessions for staff to share  their individual experiences of racism in the workplace.  

This has resulted in mandatory training and a programme of coaching for all managers in managing and responding to racism. The programme was rolled out in January and lasts six months. 

Windsor and Maidenhead is now a member of the EDI Board, and a Windsor and  Maidenhead EDI sub-group has been set up which is held bi-monthly and includes staff from across all of children’s services. We are working on a virtual comment or suggestion box, creating EDI champions and will be working on a ‘definition of  racism’ going forward. 

Feedback from our workforce included: 

“The course facilitator was excellent at breaking down barriers and creating a safe space  to discuss sometimes challenging topics. The work in the seminar was useful in providing  information about racism in the workplace and also in encouraging thinking about everyday practice.” 

“Although I felt I already knew about the process, it confirmed my understanding and corrected my misconceptions.” 

New training offerings for 2023-2024 

  • Anti-racist coaching sessions for social care and early help leaders 
  • Anti-racist programme for social care and early help leaders 
  • Autism spectrum disorders: workshop for professionals 
  • CAMHS autism and ADHD screening and assessment process: information videos  for teaching staff and SENCos 
  • Developing strategies to engage parents who have English as an additional language  (EAL) 
  • Disability awareness 
  • Effective anti-racist approaches to relationships and behaviour 
  • Equality, diversity and unconscious bias 
  • Exploring social graces with children, young people and families
  • KRSCP: safeguarding first approaches to racism in secondary schools 
  • Parenting outside of heteronormativity (Emotional Health Service) 
  • Racial justice coaching 
  • Racial justice conference - leading and learning 
  • Relationships and sexual health training for professionals supporting people with  learning disabilities (Richmond) 
  • Understanding exploitation for adolescents of all genders - exploitation campaign  development session 
  • Working effectively with men in families 
Analysis of the attendance data and feedback shows that:  
  • the overall attendance at the core learning events by AfC employees increased by  7.14% in the last year April 23 to April 24 (while attendance from external partners  decreased by 13.41%) 
  • 96% of delegates rated our racial justice conference as outstanding  
  • all AfC staff are required to complete the equality and diversity e-learning as part of  their induction 
  • EDI workshops are an integral part of all conferences. For example, the early years  conference included the following sessions - ‘Let’s talk about race’ and ‘Unconscious  bias in the early years’ 
  • quarterly early help and social care whole service events have included themes  around identity, gender awareness, social graces, young carers, unconscious bias  and SEND. The attendance figures of these events have successfully grown over the  last year, ensuring that the majority of staff are regularly receiving training in this area attendance by managers in Windsor and Maidenhead has increased by 85.7% on last year.
  • attendance from staff working in all our boroughs remains a focus
  • feedback from delegates attending the ‘managing racism’ course is ‘Outstanding'

Raising awareness 

To raise awareness, we have successfully celebrated a number of cultural events, such as Black History Month (BHM), LBGTQI+ and Pride Month, and International Women’s Day. We put on an extensive programme for BHM in 2023. This included special guest speakers, spotlights on staff from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, blogs from senior leaders relating to BHM topics, and a considerable bank of BHM resources  for staff to consider. To build on this, the EDI Board has created an EDI calendar of events, which includes key celebrations for all protected characteristics.  

Gender (Sex)  

Menopause AfC Employee Network page 

AfC has set up a network page, and series of online safe spaces, covering information around menopause and perimenopause, symptoms and coping strategies or support available. There will also be an opportunity to share and ask questions anonymously. These sessions are designed for anyone to attend to find out more information about issues impacting their colleagues, and to gain a better understanding of the impact or their experiences. 

Religion and belief 

Ramadan challenge 

Jabed Hussain, our Associate Director for Business Efficiency and SEND Transport, and Javade Khan, our Head of Marketing and Communications, invited colleagues to take part in the Ramadan Challenge at the end of March 2024. Twelve staff members took part and fasted for a day alongside their Muslim colleagues with the aim of promoting understanding and awareness of the difficulties and rewards of observing  Ramadan. After the event, those that took part shared their experiences with other colleagues including the challenges they faced during the day, what they learned about Ramadan, and any personal insights gained from the experience.  

Jabed said: “Overall, the Ramadan challenge provided participants with a greater understanding of the significance of fasting in Ramadan, fostered a sense of community, and encouraged dialogue and empathy among colleagues with different beliefs and backgrounds. I’m very proud of the organisation and my colleagues for supporting and  taking part in this with me, hopefully we will get even more participation next year”. 

Javade said: “I am really proud of all the participants and I know from our group support chat  everyone has been experiencing different emotions and challenges throughout the day. Well  done everyone!” 

Employee: “Taking part in the Ramadan challenge this year was a great experience. Although it was certainly tricky feeling hungry and thirsty for most of the day, it was a great way to connect with colleagues, learn a little more about Ramadan and appreciate what it means to Muslims  throughout the world.” 

Employee: “Although I found the day challenging, it was so insightful. My favourite part was breaking fast with colleagues in the evening and discovering other aspects of Ramadan, and hearing stories of previous years where colleagues have endured fasting in the blistering heat. The experience made me very grateful for my own health and privileged position of having access to food and water on a daily basis, as well as a sense of pride for my own self discipline.” 

Race 

Black History Month  

An annual celebration of the history, achievements and contributions of Black people in the UK. In October 2023, the theme was ‘Saluting our sisters’. It is really important that as an organisation we use October as a dedicated time to learn more about Black history, celebrate and recognise contributions to society, but also to think about how we can continue to learn and develop individually and as an organisation throughout the whole year.  

Disability 

Neurodiversity celebration week  

This year, we celebrated Neurodiversity Week by hosting our largest selection of events, from a variety of speakers talking on a wide range of topics such as neuro-inclusive language and communications, neurodiversity for HR professionals to Q&As, and so much  more.  

Gender reassignment 

AfC provides support and understanding to those employees who wish to take, or have taken, steps to present themselves in a gender different to their birth gender.  

Achieving for Children recognises that this can be a very difficult and complex time for an employee and wishes to act in a sensitive and supportive way by having helpful guidance in place to support trans employees at all stages of transition. We fully recognise our legal responsibility to protect the rights of trans people and to ensure that no AfC staff is subject to discrimination or victimisation as a result of the gender in which they present themselves.  

Care experienced 

AfC is proud to be a care leaver friendly employer. We welcome applicants who have personal experience of the care system, for example applicants who were a looked after child or who had a social worker, lived with foster carers, or in a children’s home or with extended family members rather than their birth parents.

7. Looking ahead

This report demonstrates AfC’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and highlights key achievements and initiatives across both workforce and service delivery. Further work will be undertaken in line with the EDI Board’s 24 month action plan to continue driving progress against the equality objectives.  

All staff at Achieving for Children will have an equal opportunity to thrive and use their diverse experiences to enrich the work we do with children, young people and families. 

We will take steps to understand and respect the unique backgrounds and needs of our children and young people and families to tailor our support to their individual needs.