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Equalities Report 2024-25
You can read the report on this page.
Or you can download our Equalities Report 2024-25 here (PDF).
Annual Equalities Report 2024-25
1. Introduction
Achieving for Children (AfC), a not-for-profit organisation serving the Royal Borough of Kingston, the London Borough of Richmond, and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, is dedicated to enabling safe, happy, healthy, and successful lives for children and young people. As an organisation of 1800 employees, 1400 being
children’s services practitioners, we place young people at the core of our integrated education, health, and social care services.
This annual equalities report demonstrates our compliance with the public sector equality duty (PSED). It outlines our approach to equality, diversity, and inclusion; our understanding of these areas within our workforce and the families we support, our actions in 2024/25, and our equality objectives through 2027.
The PSED, effective since April 5, 2011, mandates public bodies to integrate equality into their daily work to combat inequality and discrimination. Its three core duties require us to be mindful of the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations across protected characteristics.
We recognise the nine protected characteristics defined by the Equality Act 2010: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Additionally, due to its particular relevance to our work with children and young people, we include
‘care experienced’ as an integral characteristic in our reporting. This reflects our commitment to addressing the unique challenges, barriers, and inequalities faced by individuals who have been in the care system.
2. Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
Our approach to implementing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is set out in the EDI policy agreed by the company leadership team. This 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: ‘We will embrace diversity and champion inclusion’.
This commitment means we respect cultural differences, value diversity to enrich our organisation and meet community needs, and actively identify and address inequalities. We focus on providing equality of opportunity, tackling discrimination, harassment, and intimidation, and achieving the highest standards in service delivery, decision-making, and employment practice for the children, young people, and families we support, and our workforce.
Equality objectives
Our proposed equality objectives, set for achievement by 2027, are separated into internal (workforce focused) and external (focused on children, young people, and families). These objectives have been developed based on existing policies, annual equalities reports, staff survey feedback, and equalities data.
Workforce
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Objective 1:
To strengthen organisational ownership of the equality, diversity and inclusion programme.
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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.
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Objective 3:
To provide all staff an equal opportunity to thrive by fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and creating avenues for personal and professional growth for underrepresented staff.
Children, young people, and families
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Objective 1:
To strengthen community engagement and data collection to ensure all children and young people have what they need to thrive.
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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
Responsibility for equality, diversity and inclusion
While the AfC Board of Directors and Company Leadership Team hold ultimate responsibility for EDI, the Chief Operating and Finance Officer leads this area operationally, supported by the Strategy, Policy and Programmes Team.
The EDI Board, established in 2021 and comprising AfC staff from across services, is responsible for implementing annual EDI work in line with the action plan. They report to the AfC Board of Directors and Company Leadership Team. Ultimately, we believe all AfC colleagues, individually and collectively, are responsible for creating a
truly inclusive environment and for role modelling and championing equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Reporting and monitoring
AfC produces this annual equalities report each summer, aligning with the business planning cycle, to demonstrate our compliance with the PSED. Other equality reports are produced as requested by the owning councils.
Managers are required to complete equality impact assessments (EIAs) to ensure that equality implications of decisions are considered. Actions from EIAs are monitored through team plans by service managers.
An EIA schedule is compiled annually as part of the business planning process, covering all key projects and ad hoc areas requiring assessment. Key EIAs are published on our website, and the EIA process has been made accessible in line with government requirements. The EDI Board provides a challenge to AfC’s equality, diversity, and inclusion practice.
Language and terminology
We adhere to government guidelines for inclusive communications, while we have also created an internal glossary to support staff be confident with the language they use. These can be found via these link.
3. Our workforce
As an employer, we are committed to fostering a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve and ensuring equitable opportunities for all staff members.
Age
The majority of employees are aged between 34 and 44. The smallest percentage of employees are aged 16 to 19, and 60 and over. We are actively trying to develop and recruit young people through various apprenticeships and traineeships.
Disability
4.87% of our employees reported a disability, a slight increase from the previous year.
19% of working-age adults nationally have a disability (Scope: Disability Facts and Figures). This suggests our organisation is not yet fully representative.
We acknowledge that not all employees disclose their disability status, which may affect this figure.
We are committed to making reasonable adjustments for staff with disabilities and providing flexible working arrangements, supported by manager guidance on reasonable adjustments.
Race and ethnicity
56.48% of employees chose to not disclose their ethnicity.
Our workforce has a slightly higher global majority representation than the general population.
- 16.2% in Richmond
- 13.9% in Windsor and Maidenhead
- Less representative is Kingston 33.1%
We are working to improve this through our workforce race equality standard initiatives, ensuring our staff are knowledgeable and informed about the diverse ethnic backgrounds of the children, young people, and families we support. (Please note: 56.48% of employees choose not to disclose their ethnicity impacting
representativeness of data).
Sex
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.
Last year, we reviewed our paternity leave policy, with improved rights and entitlements.
Gender pay gap (April 2024)
82.7% of the top quartile of earners are women (compared to 82.1% in 2022).
AfC’s mean pay gap is -3.89% (in favour of women). This has moved to favour women slightly more since the previous reporting period, April 2022 (-2.32%). 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.
Gender reassignment
While we collect this data, 84% of staff have left this field blank, resulting in a very small percentage of recorded data. AfC provides support and understanding for employees transitioning or having transitioned, recognising the importance of sensitive and supportive processes. We uphold our legal responsibility to protect the rights of
trans people and prevent discrimination or victimisation.
Religion or belief
The largest faith group within our workforce is Christian, at 30.09%.
Employees with no faith or religion or who did not declare their religion account for 53.63%. These figures largely reflect local demographic trends.
Marital status
Figures largely reflect local data, but further work is required to reduce the 32.52% ‘not known or not shared’ categories.
| Married or civil partnership | 30.79% |
| Single | 28.89% |
| With a partner | 7.79% |
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.
Sexual orientation
Nationally, in 2016, the ONS reported that 2% of the UK population aged over 16 were lesbian, gay, or bisexual, suggesting our workforce is largely representative.
Care experienced
As ‘care experienced’ was only included as a characteristic in 2023, we are currently developing our data collection methods to accurately report on this demographic in future reports.
Socio-economic status
We have included socio economic status as a protected characteristic in our EQIA templates, ensuring this is now a consideration across our projects.
It includes the following considerations:
- Carers
- Single parents
- Health inequalities
- Low-income groups and employment
- Deprivation (measured by the 2019 English Indices of Deprivation)
- Refugee status
- Gypsy and Irish traveller groups
- Homeless households
- Those with experience of the criminal justice system
Objectives
Objective one:
To strengthen organisational ownership of equality, diversity and inclusion
As of April 2025, Achieving for Children has 1,800 employees (equating to 1,256 full-time equivalent employees), excluding agency workers. Our employees come from diverse professional disciplines, including social work, teaching, health services, and public sector management.
This year has seen further work to embed the principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of AfC’s operations and culture. A significant step in this commitment was the employment of a new dedicated EDI lead this year, fostering a stronger sense of collective ownership for the EDI programme across all levels of the organisation.
Our monthly EDI forums have served as valuable platforms for open dialogue and shared learning. These sessions actively engage staff in discussions centred on key national and international themes, topical issues raised by attendees, and relevant global news impacting our diverse colleague communities. This inclusive approach has encouraged a broader understanding and personal connection to EDI principles.
Efforts to systematically embed EDI into our core organisational processes have also progressed, including the ongoing implementation of the equality impact assessment (EIA) schedule and the integration of EIA action monitoring into team plans. This ensures that EDI considerations are a consistent and integral part of our planning and delivery.
This year, we have also recruited to the position of strategic equality, diversity and inclusion lead. This position has helped drive forward progress, and provide a strategic vision for equalities activities in AfC.
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 two:
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.
The 2024/25 period highlights AfC’s ongoing commitment to cultivating a workforce that actively embraces equality, diversity, and inclusion. We have seen positive engagement with the expanded range of EDI training and resources provided, indicating a growing investment from our team in these crucial areas.
Throughout the year, we observed increased participation in EDI training, demonstrating strong interest among staff in developing their understanding. The training curriculum addressed key topics, including effective approaches to managing racism and promoting greater awareness of autism spectrum conditions. Feedback from these sessions continues to inform the development of future learning opportunities.
Other training offerings in 2024/25 included:
- autism spectrum disorders workshops for professionals
- adapting communication styles
- becoming an inclusive worker
- cultural competency and North Korea training (Kingston)
- cultural awareness
- developing multilingual (EAL) learners
- disability awareness
- equality, diversity, and unconscious bias
- how to support English development for additional language: young people
- intensive interaction
- the inclusive way for social and leisure activities
- working effectively with men in families
- working therapeutically with trans youth
All AfC staff are required to complete equality and diversity e-learning as part of their induction. EDI workshops are an integral part of all conferences, and quarterly early help and social care whole service events have consistently covered themes around identity, gender awareness, social graces, young carers, unconscious bias, and special
educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Attendance at these events has successfully grown over the last year.
A significant milestone this year was the January launch of AfC’s first anti-racism in practice strategy. This strategy reflects our firm commitment to becoming an actively anti-racist organisation, built upon three core principles: expanding training and raising awareness, reviewing and amending all policies, and actively championing and leading anti-racism to address systemic racial inequalities.
To raise awareness and foster an inclusive culture, we have successfully celebrated a number of cultural events, guided by an EDI calendar of events. Examples include the following.
- Black History Month (BHM) 2024: An extensive programme included special guest speakers, spotlights on staff from global majority backgrounds, blogs from senior leaders, and a considerable bank of resources.
- Neurodiversity celebration week: Our largest selection of events to date featured diverse speakers on topics from neuro-inclusive language to HR for neurodivergent professionals, and Q&As, fostering awareness and open dialogue.
- Menopause AfC employee network page: We established a dedicated online platform and supportive safe spaces to provide information and facilitate connection for colleagues navigating menopause and perimenopause. These resources are available to all staff, promoting broader understanding and empathy.
- Ramadan challenge: Led by senior colleagues, 12 staff members took part, fasting for a day alongside Muslim colleagues. Feedback highlighted the insightful nature of the experience, fostering community and empathy. One employee shared: “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”.
- The Developing Together Social Work Teaching Partnership has put together a series on ‘The Black voice of social work’ to address the role that the social work profhould play in addressing injustice and racism on an ongoing basis.
These initiatives collectively demonstrate AfC’s progress in developing a workforce that is increasingly engaged with and committed to the principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion. Our focus moving forward will be on building upon this momentum and further embedding these principles within our organisational culture and practices.
Objective three:
To provide all staff an equal opportunity to thrive by fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and creating avenues for personal and professional growth for underrepresented staff.
A significant step towards fostering shared ownership has been the launch of our reverse mentoring programme. This initiative pairs staff in non-management roles and from underrepresented groups, including colleagues from global minoritybackgrounds, staff with disabilities, and LGBTQI+ individuals, with senior leaders. Notably, three of our senior leaders volunteered to be mentored, demonstrating visible commitment from the top. Mentors receive dedicated training and are engaged in monthly meetings, providing valuable guidance, insights, and constructive challenges. Feedback from the programme has been positive, with one senior leader commenting:
“X 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 X’s enthusiasm for the sessions and her desire to learn and share knowledge.”
This year, we released our first EDI survey, collecting information from colleagues relating directly to EDI issues for the first time. The results of which will be used to inform changes to the EDI action plan and ensure our progress aligns with the desires of staff.
For example, staff want to see: mandatory training, self-service tools, leadership accountability, empowering staff as well as safety and support.
AfC employee networks (AENs) continue to be a popular avenue for groups of staff belonging to protected characteristics to come together to create a safe space and push for change. This year a neurodiversity AfC employee network has been started, fostering a supportive community through initiatives like the monthly Neurodiversity Lounge, informal neurodiversity tea breaks, and collaborative body doubling sessions, facilitating peer support, identifying common challenges, and contributing to resource development. The AEN also actively works to raise awareness about neurodiversity across AfC.
4. Our children, young people and families
We collect and collate a range of equalities information about the children and young people we work with, which is reported to Kingston, Richmond, and Windsor and Maidenhead councils as part of our contract arrangements and to corporate parenting groups. We acknowledge that due to the young age of the individuals we support and the sensitive nature of the information, we do not currently collect data on gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or sexual orientation. Our focus remains on providing relevant support and services based on the specific needs of the children and young people in our care.
General information on children and young people (aged 0 to 19)
124,586 children and young people aged 0 to 19 years old.
- 40,013 (32.18%): Kingston
- 37,138 (29.6%): Windsor and Maidenhead
- 47,435 (38.15%): Richmond
School population: 79,177 pupils
- 27,121 (34.25%): Kingston
- 23,055 (29.11%): Windsor and Maidenhead
- 29,001 (36.64%): Richmond
Key demographic data points (children, young people, and families supported by AfC)
Age
Most common age group for children in need (CiN)
- Kingston as well as Windsor and Maidenhead: 5 to 9
- Richmond: 14
Most common age group for children looked after or in care
- Kingston as well as Windsor and Maidenhead: 16 and above
- Richmond: 13 to 16 and above
Most common age group for children subject to a child protection (CP) plan
- Windsor and Maidenhead: 5 to 15
- Kingston and Richmond: 5 to 9
Most common age group for children and young people with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities)
- Windsor and Maidenhead: 12 to 14
- Kingston and Richmond: 9 to 11
Disability
| Pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) | Pupils receiving SEND support | |
| Kingston | 1,780 | 3,176 |
| Richmond | 1,846 | 3,117 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 1,211 | 2,647 |
Total number of children and young people supported by children's social care
1,890 children and young people supported by children’s social care
- Kingston: 1,060
- Windsor and Maidenhead: 822
- Richmond: 1,008
Race (across three boroughs)
From a global majority background
- Children and young people: 30.2%
- Children in need: 57%
- Children subject to a child protection plan: 49.7%
- Children looked after: 53%
Religion or belief
The most common belief in the CiN cohort in Kingston and Richmond, and Windsor and Maidenhead: no religion
Care experienced
Total number of children and young people
Looked after or children in care
- Kingston: 130
- Richmond: 114
- Windsor and Maidenhead: 140
Subject to a child protection plan
- Kingston: 163
- Richmond: 142
- Windsor and Maidenhead: 99
Subject to a child in need plan
- Kingston: 207
- Richmond: 252
- Windsor and Maidenhead: 248
Supported by children’s social care
- Kingston: 1060
- Richmond: 1008
- Windsor and Maidenhead: 822
Sex
The gender breakdown of males and females aged 0 to 19 is almost 50/50 in all boroughs with a slightly higher proportion of males across all three.
Objectives
Objective four
To strengthen community engagement and data collection to ensure all children and young people have what they need
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Growbaby Partnership (Kingston)
A children’s centre lead outreach worker attends Growbaby weekly, providing vital information, guidance, and signposting to young parents and hard-to-reach families. This has led to a stay and play session in partnership with Doxa Deo Church and City Changer Impact Centres.
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Direct support
We provided one-to-one support to 896 children. 7,687 children and young people attended group sessions on topics such as digital safety, drug and alcohol awareness, and self-esteem.
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Windsor and Maidenhead annual inclusion summits
Over 160 parents and carers attended the May 2024 event, This was an opportunity for all parents and carers, as well as other key stakeholders, to share information and celebrate developments in special educational needs and disabilities across the borough.
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‘Good4Girls’ Youth Club (Richmond)
A weekly, girls-only space at Ham Youth Centre for young women aged 10+, offering diverse activities and emotional wellbeing support.
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The Girls' Forum, Kickback
Participants highlighted this as ‘an inclusive environment where my opinions are heard’ and ‘the way we try to tackle biases against women, fight for gender equality and strive to create a diverse and inclusive world’.
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Boys and young males sexual harassment survey and redefining masculinity podcast
Over 300 participants (ages 11 to 19) from 22 local schools across Kingston and Richmond contributed to this diverse survey. Findings were presented to headteachers and at the South West London Safer Streets Conference. A podcast episode featuring male Kingston and Richmond Youth Council members explores masculinity, using survey statistics as discussion prompts.
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SEND team communication review
Our physio and occupational therapy (OT) SEND teams reviewed their communication tools and surveyed young people to improve their effectiveness.
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LGBTQIA+ support
Windsor and Maidenhead Educational Psychology and Wellbeing Service offers ongoing assistance to secondary schools on supporting LGBTQIA+ pupils. Our No Straight Answer (NSA) youth club (11 to 19 years) provides a safe, diverse space at Heatham House Youth Centre every Friday, with a growing group of around 25 members. Our Out N About crossborough LGBTQI+ Pride Celebration event for 11 to 19 year olds fosters celebration and connection, receiving positive feedback from teachers.
Objective five:
Champion the recognition of care experienced as a protected characteristic within the framework of equality, diversity, and inclusion
As corporate parents, AfC recognises our profound responsibility to the children we care for. We acknowledge the significant, lifelong barriers faced by care-experienced individuals, who often encounter discrimination and stigma in housing, health, education, relationships, employment, and the criminal justice system.
In a significant step, AfC is committed to:
- recognise care experience as a protected characteristic, alongside other relevant protected characteristics
- actively engage care-experienced individuals by seeking out and listening to their perspectives during new policy development within the council and its partner organisations
- advocate for broader recognition, formally urging other bodies to consider care experience as a protected characteristic until it is legally enshrined. As Lin Ferguson noted, “I applaud the council for making this decision. It demonstrates the absolute priority and commitment that it gives to children in care, care leavers and anyone who is care-experienced”
Our commitment to this objective is demonstrated through the following targeted initiatives.
Baby packs, supporting new care leaver parents
This successful, ongoing project, developed with the Children in Care Council, provides essential support to care leavers becoming new parents. Each pack contains items such as handmade quilts from the Linus Project, self-care essentials, baby clothing, and a guide to parenthood. Positive feedback consistently highlights the value and impact of these packs for new families.
The care leaver recruitment scheme
This AfC-wide initiative, operational in Richmond and Wandsworth, aims to create pathways for care leavers to secure employment within the organisation. The scheme acknowledges that formal qualifications may not fully represent a care leaver’s potential, encouraging departments to prioritise interviewing based on skills and potential over academic achievements.
Apprenticeship opportunities via AfC’s approved training provider
Our in-house training provider offers high-quality apprenticeships to individuals aged 16+ across various sectors. We actively promote these with local schools and partner with businesses, including internal AfC departments, to offer valuable placements, providing structured training and career development pathways for young people, including care leavers.
5. What else have we done for our children, young people, and families?
Beyond our core objectives, we have implemented numerous initiatives to enhance the wellbeing and life chances of the children, young people, and families we support.
Early years support and school readiness
- Our school readiness programme across all boroughs offers ‘Terrific 2s’ groups for 2 year olds not meeting developmental milestones, providing play-based learning and parenting advice.
- Little Stars’ is a new course for children with emerging speech and language needs, benefiting a range of families in Kingston and Richmond.
- We continue our partnership with Growbaby charity in Kingston, providing weekly information, guidance, and support to young parents and hard-to-reach families. This has also led to a new stay and play session in partnership with Doxa Deo Church at Tolworth Recreation Centre, supporting isolated families.
- School standards in Kingston, Richmond, and Windsor and Maidenhead are among the highest nationally, with 100% of our schools judged ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding.’ Kingston and Richmond are in the top 20 performing local authorities, while Windsor and Maidenhead are in the top 50, reflecting exceptional achievements despite challenges like Covid-19.
Supporting children and young people with SEND
- Our family hubs in Kingston and Richmond (launching September 2024 at The White House and Old Malden 2025) aim to provide balanced universal, early intervention, and targeted support for families with children aged 0 to 19, or up to 25 for those with SEND. They will integrate services from children’s centres, the Youth Service, early help, and partners to improve health and wellbeing. These build on our experience of establishing family hubs in Windsor and Maidenhead, supporting families since 2021.
- The SEND Futures Plan, launched in Kingston and Richmond in April 2024, sets out our shared vision and current position for SEND. The October 2024 SEND conference saw over 238 attendees, including parents, carers, and practitioners from 135 organisations, sharing ideas and best practice.
- The social emotional and mental health (SEMH) intervention project in Windsor and Maidenhead (established 2019) aims to reduce permanent exclusions. It has worked in 45 schools, supporting 114 individual children, with only four subsequently permanently excluded.
- Our Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are established in every primary, secondary, and special school across both boroughs, with over 1,250 children accessing individual or group therapy through their school team.
- We successfully recommissioned our short breaks service and our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Advocacy Service (SENDIASS) in Kingston and Richmond.
We continue to develop new SEND provision:
- In Kingston, 6Oaks at Malden Oaks and The Spring School (a new 90-place autismspecific special school) opened in temporary locations in September 2023. Work continues on the permanent Moor Lane site, alongside feasibility for a post-16 campus and a purpose-built Specialist Resource Provision (SRP) at The Kingston Academy.
- In Richmond, a 14-place specialist resource provision opened at Vineyard Primary School in September 2024, and a nine-place provision for Year 7 SEMH needs opened at a former children’s centre. Work has also started to construct satellite sites for Clarendon School and Strathmore School, planned for September 2026, which will provide an additional 101 places. The 90-place London River Academy for SEMH needs is in development for an expected opening in 2027.
Supporting vulnerable families and promoting inclusion
- The Families First model in Kingston and Richmond is a multi-disciplinary team supporting over 445 families presenting with a trio of vulnerabilities (domestic abuse, mental health, substance misuse). This project has shown that supported families are less likely to need ongoing help and are better equipped to help themselves, receiving excellent feedback. The Families Together team in Windsor and Maidenhead supports 24 families in crisis at risk of children entering care, with 100% family satisfaction.
- The FUEL (Feed Ur Everyday Lives) programme, funded by the Department for Education’s HAF initiative, successfully delivered engaging activities and meals to over 3,000 children (including 200+ with additional needs) eligible for free school meals across Kingston, Richmond, and Windsor and Maidenhead during school holidays.
Parents and carers consistently provide very positive feedback.
“We are so grateful for these activities which give my daughter something fun and active to do
in the school holidays.”
- We have worked with Richmond Council to create an application and strategy to become a Borough of Sanctuary, which, if successful, will demonstrate Richmond and AfC’s comprehensive support for refugees and Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC).
- In Kingston, we have developed guidance, in collaboration with schools and organisations like Refugee Action Kingston (RAK), to effectively provide for new communities arriving as refugees, including those post-14. Our Admissions Team works closely with RAK to ensure early support for refugee pupils and their families.
- Our DfE funded mentoring scheme (December 2024 to March 2025) supports 20 vulnerable unaccompanied asylum seeking children in Kingston and Richmond with weekly one-to-one sessions, aiming to improve understanding of local areas, social contacts, English confidence, and independence. Mentors and young people have reported positive changes.
- FUEL Ukraine: We have continued working with St Mary’s Ukrainian School offering Ukranian refugees a provision that celebrates Ukranian Culture while lets students attending know about the wider FUEL offer.
6. Looking ahead
In conclusion, Achieving for Children is deeply committed to embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion across its workforce and service delivery, with highlighted achievements demonstrating significant progress in fostering an inclusive environment and ensuring equitable support.
Future EDI efforts will be strategically guided by the EDI Board’s 24-month action plan. The organisation is also considering recommendations for EDI in supplier contracts and is discussing potentially joining the Care Leavers Covenant. This could involve suppliers offering guaranteed interviews for care leavers and demonstrating proof of trauma-informed training, though these specific initiatives are currently under review and not yet agreed.
The overarching goal is to drive continued progress against equality objectives, ensuring all staff have equal opportunities to thrive. Ultimately, Achieving for Children aims to cultivate a workforce that deeply understands and respects diverse backgrounds, enabling tailored and effective services that enrich the lives of the children, young people, and families they support.