Bolton College EDI Report 2023

ANNUAL EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION REPORT 2021-2022

Part of the University of Bolton Group

A very warm welcome to everyone.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) report for 2021/22. EDI is constantly at the forefront of our daily lives and actions at Bolton College; we are proudly committed to being an open access and widening participation organisation where all people can thrive.

We continue to be responsive in supporting and serving the wide and differing needs of our community. From the remaining impact of the pandemic such as supporting wellbeing, digital inclusion and making up for missed learning opportunities to fostering a progressive work and learning environment informed by local and national priorities to ensure we continue adapting in the fast-changing landscape of the 21st century.

The report profiles our learners, workforce and board members and shows how we are responding to our legal responsibilities to tackle discrimination. It also showcases our passion in promoting and celebrating those in our College family and the wonderful variety of cultures and backgrounds from which it is made up.

We will continue to ask questions and challenge ourselves and others to explore difference with integrity. Our overriding wish is for all to hold a high sense of belonging, as this is the true yield of inclusion.

Bill Webster Principal

Bolton College is committed to the promotion and development of equality of opportunity, valuing and celebrating the diversity of all of our staff and students and being inclusive to all of the College’s communities.

Our commitment to the promotion and development of equality of opportunity, valuing and celebrating the diversity of all of our students and staff and inclusive approach to all of the College’s communities and partnerships is reflected in the College’s mission statement:

‘Bolton College will enable individuals, businesses and communities within Bolton and the City Region to realise their potential through education and training that is inclusive, inspiring, innovative and responsive to their needs’.

Our mission is underpinned by the following values, which embed our strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion:

Excellence in all we do

Ensuring learning and the learner are at the heart of everything we

Equality of opportunity and celebration of diversity

Serving our community

Honesty and professionalism

Caring for the environment and the communities we serve

We provide a safe and supportive environment for all, which values individuals equally, regardless of:

Disability

Gender reassignment

Pregnancy and maternity

Race

• Religion or belief

• Sex

• Sexual orientation

• Marriage and civil partnership

Bolton College plays an integral role in promoting social inclusion both within the college community and within the wider Bolton context and its diverse communities, and we work collaboratively with a range of community organisations and other partners to tackle social exclusion, address discrimination and promote community cohesion.

The College is responsive to the needs of the local community and the success of all our learners is at the heart of everything we do.

We are home to people from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds with diverse beliefs, values and abilities. We celebrate diversity and aim to meet the needs of all individuals and encourage them to share their experiences and beliefs. We are highly inclusive and committed to reducing gaps in attainment amongst individuals from all backgrounds, including those who have not traditionally accessed education or training. We welcome learners and staff with learning difficulties or disabilities and support them in accordance of their needs.

We want everyone to feel comfortable and secure enough to be themselves; we do not tolerate harassment, bullying, victimisation or discrimination.

Belonging is the emotional state that is the end goal of our inclusive processes and practices and we are committed to fostering an environment where all feel they belong. We know that when people feel that sense of belonging, they feel safe, at home and can do their best work. We acknowledge that the landscape of language is changing and will be reviewing the terminology we use (for example, equality, equity or both?) in order better reflect our ambitions and increase the sense of belonging. We trust and respect our communities and welcome collaboration, ownership and curiosity.

Our Single Equality Scheme incorporates our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. This document is available on our website within our EDI section.

www.boltoncollege.ac.uk/ equality-diversity-report

The College has the following equality aims:

Equality Aims

1

To continue to improve staff and student awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion through active promotion within curriculum, staff and development of our EDI Champions.

2

To continue to improve the diversity of our workforce and Board by narrowing the gap, as opportunities arise, between those and the communities we serve.

3

To create an inclusive environment that improves staff and student understanding about the use of data collection being used to drive equality forward; and encourages the fostering of good relations across diverse groups.

4

To achieve and maintain a good satisfaction rate amongst students and staff in excess of 90% by 2023 in relation to perceptions that they are treated fairly whilst at College and that this will be analysed across all monitored protected characteristics.

5 To narrow the gaps in achievement rates year on year to an average of 2% or less, across all provision by 2023, for all monitored characteristics.

6

To widen participation by protected groups in franchised HE and Apprenticeships and to increase the number of learners enrolled in gender stereotypical curriculum areas by at least 1% year on year.

Cindy Ngamba

Cindy Ngamba has achieved her second win and a gold belt in the National Amateur Boxing Championship under 75kg.

Cindy started on Sport Level 1 at Bolton College then progressed to a Public Services HND, with ambitions to become a fire fighter or police officer - all alongside her declared ambition to become a world champion and GB assessments for the 2024 Olympics!

• We collect staff information in relation to protected characteristics for all newly recruited staff. We also continue to refresh the data for existing staff by promoting its importance and providing lots of opportunities for staff to complete updates.

• There continues to be progress in the improvement of the data collection system in order to be able to report on trends over time and on staff development, leavers, promotions, pay, recruitment and parental leave.

• The College has systems in place to monitor the number of applications shortlisted/not shortlisted and appointed by protected characteristic.

• The College continues to take steps to have a reflective workforce narrow the BME gap between the workforce and the Board and one that reflects the student population and wider community. However, the College has a stable staff turnover, which does mean that we are unable to make a significant impact quickly. Our average BME staff was 16.64% which is similar to previous years.

• The College continues to take steps to increase the amount of staff disclosing disability. Approximately 6.80% of our workforce declares themselves as having a disability which is on par with previous years.

• The College will continue to highlight to the Board the actions and impact in relation to staff and learner equality matters.

• The College will continue to further develop ways in which to drive equality, diversity and inclusion forward.

‘ Throughout the Council quality assurance scrutiny of teaching and learning observations, of the community learning provision, it was evident that the Bolton College staff are highly skilled at creating an inclusive learning environment. The relationships among learners and staff are positive and respectful. ’

Adult Education Manager, Bolton Council, Self-Assessment Evaluation

Bolton College in its Local Context

Population

• Bolton is the fourth largest Borough in Greater Manchester with a growing population of 296,000 (NOMIS 01/2023). This is a 6.9% increase since the 2011 census and slightly above the overall increase for England.

• Bolton is richly diverse with 31% of the population from an ethnic minority background. Pakistani is now the largest minority group (9.4%), followed by Indian (8.9%) (ONS Census 2021). Bolton includes some of the most affluent areas in the region and some of the poorest. 26% of the Bolton population live in an area that is among the 10% most deprived nationally, while 56% of the population live in an area that is among the 30% most deprived nationally. 4% of the Bolton population live in an area that is among the 10% least deprived nationally

• Currently Bolton’s unemployed claimant count is at 5.7%, this remains 1.5% higher than North West (4.2%) and 2%

higher than the national figure (3.7%). NOMIS-LMP 01/2023.

• In Bolton 69.2% of the working age population was in paid employment compared to 73.4% in the North West and 75.6% nationally. Bolton has a significantly higher than average proportion of working age people who were unemployed (i.e. actively seeking work), as well as a higher than average proportion of those not working due to being ‘Long Term Sick’. (NOMIS-LMP Oct 21-Sept 22).

• 411 (4.7%) of 16 and 17 year olds in Bolton were described as NEET or activity not known in 2022. This is down from 6.3% in the previous year and the same as the national picture.

Deprivation

• Bolton has areas of high levels of deprivation and has a higher unemployment rate than both the North West and Great Britain as a whole. The College recruits a majority (65%) of its learners from these areas of high relative deprivation. Many learners face multiple barriers to their learning and the College is successful in supporting them to achieve their learning aims.

• Comparison to other GFE Colleges shows there is a greater proportion of learners (aged 16 to 18) that come to Bolton College without both GCSE English and GCSE Maths than the GFE College average for this age group.

Bolton College

GFE Colleges

This expresses the scale of the challenge the College faces in developing these skills for those young people that have failed to achieve in secondary education particularly with the importance of English and Maths to employability.

Figure 1: Prior Achievement - GCSE English & Maths Grade 9-4 or equivalent as at the start of the 21/22 academic year.

Source: MiDES ILR R14 2021/22 (College Base: 1,870 learners)

Bolton College in its Local Context (Continued)

According to the latest census, Christianity is the predominant religion in the borough with 63% of residents identifying as Christians. Islam and Hinduism are also significant faiths (12% and 2% of the population, respectively). 17% of residents identify as having no religion.

Bolton is a key area for resettlement of asylum seekers in the North West, with 1,012 people being supported in the town in 2018, the sixth highest population of any town or city in the UK. This accounted for 0.36% of the borough’s population (Statista).

Although it has dropped in recent years the percentage of NEET (Not In Education, Employment or Training) 18 year olds remains stubbornly high at 6.2%. Many of our learners face a number of barriers to their learning and we are highly successful in supporting them to achieve through a wide range of mechanisms.

‘ Learners are supported and challenged to develop an understanding and appreciation of diversity. The College provides a wide range of opportunities for learners to give back to their local community, be active citizens and contribute positively to society. ’

Adult Education Manager, Bolton Council, Self-Assessment Evaluation

Employers & Employment

Overall Bolton’s business base is growing quickly with high business birth rate and survival rates. Growth in high-output employment is shifting from manufacturing to knowledge-based sectors, with growth in professional services such as the financial and insurance sectors. In recent years fast-growing companies in digital, retail, energy and financial services have emerged, including AO, Parcel2Go, and Love Energy Savings.com. This trend may accelerate with Bolton working with Innovation Greater Manchester, the University of Bolton and Bolton College to develop plans around health innovation.

Despite these positives, the economy is under performing. The size of the economy and productivity growth continue to be lower than comparators and the gap is widening between UK and Bolton. A £1bn productivity gap has been calculated between Bolton and the UK. The majority of this was due to in work productivity issues – commuting; sector performance; and employment. Sectors in Bolton tend to be less productive than regionally and nationally.

Many residents and places in Bolton are not sharing in the prosperity that exists. There are long term people challenges around economic inactivity and increasing numbers of residents are leaving the labour market. Digital and technical skills needs will continue to grow and change in many jobs and sectors.

Long term challenges are accompanied by recent and continued pressure on cost of living, inflation, and energy prices. Alongside the rest of the country, the residents, businesses and institutions of Bolton are experiencing - and will likely continue to experience - a rise in wage rates alongside a faster increase in the cost of goods, services, and energy, as well as a rise in interest rates.

At Bolton College we make every effort to strategically plan our curriculum with such labour market intelligence in mind so that we ensure we are giving our students the right skills for employment and career development as well as promoting economic prosperity across Bolton and the Greater Manchester region.

‘ Bolton at Home work closely with Bolton College to support all Bolton residents and we value this symbiotic relationship highly.

For example we recently linked our Working Wardrobe project which provides free interview clothes for residents entering the jobs market to Bolton College’s “You’re hired!” mock interview competition which prepares learners for interview. We continue to seek more opportunities to collaborate together to support many of the most disadvantaged residents in the borough. ’

Carrie Riley Bolton at Home

Progression Service

Learners receive excellent support to enable them to move to further study, paid employment or long term voluntary placements. With collaboration between our learner support department and Bolton LEA we provide a progression service to give wrap around support to employers and learners with high needs to provide a long term bridging service on to varied employment routes. The progressions service is very successful, it provides robust independent outcomes for the learners and the ceasing of Education Health Care Plans saves Bolton Authority around £360,000 per year.

The number of learners with an EHCP being supported by the service has grown year on year. In 2020-21 the progressions service supported 34 learners with EHCP (over 20% of the whole cohort of EHCP learners) to provide bespoke employment opportunities. In 2020-21, even though workplaces were hit by Covid, out of 32 learners; 12 progressed to pay employment (37.5%), as of 20-21, nationally only 5.1% of adults living with learning disabilities are in paid employment. Of the others, 11 progressed to long term voluntary placements and 1 to an apprenticeship. This meant 24 EHCP plans were ceased. We are proud of this provision and the positive impact upon the local community and its perception of people with disabilities and difficulties.

Case Studies

Bradley Russell Progression Service

Bradley was referred to the Progression Service when he was unable to Progress onto a mainstream course. Bradley made it very clear that he wanted a job that was practical based as being in a classroom was not suited to him. Bradley has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and this means that he likes to be busy and active.

We started Bradley with Third Space which is a renovation project based in Farnworth. This provided Bradley with a supportive environment and Bradley received mentoring support from tradesmen as well as wellbeing support from the group’s supervisors and peer mentors. Bradley took to this really well and started attending twice a week.

In September we organised another placement, at the University of Bolton, working with the ground maintenance team. Bradley started learning various jobs including mowing, weeding, planting, trimming and dead heading plants. Bradley enjoyed these tasks and demonstrated that he was able to work consistently and follow detailed instructions from his mentor. Bradley said he really enjoys the work as it was challenging and kept him busy.

As a consequence, Bradley is now happy and settled at the University of Bolton who are arranging for him to study NVQ L2 in Horticulture as an apprentice.

Humza Jama - Progression Service

Humza was referred to the service in September 2020 after he was unable to progress onto a level 3 sports course. Humza found this difficult to accept and had not been able to tell his family the truth about the situation. We realised that we needed to build trust with Humza so we put a support plan together which included: 1:1 sessions that were focused around planning his future, applying for the correct benefits and building his employability skills.

Humza was eager to get started on work placements so he could gain some skills and experience in a work setting. Another challenge we wanted to help Humza to overcome, was that he did not have any friends. With this in mind we got Humza started on a construction skills placement with a men’s charity called Third Space. As well as learning valuable trade skills alongside other young men, Humza would be invited to attend a men’s support group and football training. We also worked towards facilitating friendships between the learners who attended the drop-in sessions and the job club. Humza soon became a confident and popular member of the service.

With his confidence growing we decided that it was time to get Humza started on more work placements. We managed to secure him a placement at The Salvation Army Distribution Centre as a retail assistant and also as a ground maintenance team member at The University of Bolton. Humza was developing a great work ethic and getting positive feedback from all of his employers. Humza was very clear that he preferred his placement at The Salvation Army so his days were increased to four days a week.

The feedback from his manager at The Salvation Army was excellent and she went as far as to call Humza her right-hand man. We approached his manager and discussed with her the Kickstart Scheme, which she said she would look into with her HR team. In the meantime, we supported Humza to apply for jobs at McDonald’s and KFC where he engaged with the recruitment process and attended several interviews. Although he was unsuccessful in these applications the process gave Humza the opportunity to learn to manage his emotions in what felt a very negative experience for him.

A few months later The Salvation Army began pursuing the Kickstart scheme and were able to offer Humza a 6 months paid placement which endorsed his contribution and dedication as a volunteer.

Humza is now thrilled to be in full-time paid employee at The Salvation Army.

A few months later The Salvation Army began pursuing the Kickstart scheme and were able to offer Humza a 6 months paid placement which endorsed his contribution and dedication as a volunteer.

Case Studies

Jayne Gray - Progression Service

Jayne started at Bolton College in September 2017 and enrolled on to L1 Business and GCSE English. Jayne then progressed on to L2 Business and then L3 Business. Jayne decided after a year of L3 that it was too difficult and decided to look at employment opportunities with the ‘Progression Service’.

Jayne received 1 to 1 support from the Together Trust team due to Jayne’s physical, medical needs and being visually impaired- registered severely sight impaired. Jayne has Ataxia due to a removed brain tumour, which also resulted in her using a wheelchair. She has no vision in her left eye and limited vision in her right. Bilateral Optic Atrophy – Optic atrophy is caused by damage to the optic nerve. Jayne’s vision in her right eye is much reduced and her left eye has no perception of light. She also has a significant visual field defect in her right eye which is similar to tunnel vision. Jayne was accompanied by her support at all times - met at the entrance, during breaks and lunch, and stayed with her till her transport arrived. Her personal care needs required her to have access to a disabled toilet and her support worker to assist her when standing from her chair to the toilet, waiting outside the cubicle and then to assist her back to her chair again. Jayne was a wheel chair user and did not self-propel. Jayne had access to the lifts and also access to the rear doors for easy access from the car park.

Jayne had 1 to 1 support and also accessed the modification team, this enabled Jayne to access the curriculum and resources. Jayne had her resources modified and had access to assistive technology e.g. supernova, talking calculator and having information sent electronically. Jayne also had a 1 to1 tuition session with a QTVI practising her braille skills. Jayne had access arrangements put in place which included 100% extra time, reader, scribe, separate room and rest breaks.

Jayne was intent on setting up her own business, something that she could do independently and from home. After many discussions about possible routes for Jayne, Hannah Charles (Co-Ordinator of the Progressions Service) referred her to an organisation called Clarity. Clarity support people with disabilities build on their skills and pursue their goals in a safe and supportive environment whilst gaining work skills in a fully functioning sales office. This service is funded through direct payments which Jayne currently receives but does not use fully. Her social worker was able to allocate funding for Jayne to attend. This was a fantastic opportunity for Jayne and provided her with the perfect progression route.

Adam Burns

Owner of Alison’s Fish and Chip Shop

‘Working with the Progression Service has been a really good experience for all of our staff. We would never have considered having an employee like Aiden, but the experience has been really good and he is a real asset. Aiden is now a valued member of our team.’

Partnerships with Progression

Bolton Council Licensing Service

‘Bolton Council are committed to a high standard of safeguarding, and inclusive customer service, in the taxi industry of our borough. Bolton College ESOL department has been an invaluable partner in achieving this, supporting residents from all backgrounds to develop the competencies to become licensed taxi drivers.’

Janet Eckersley Salvation Army

Since starting working with the Progression Service we have had many successful students volunteering with us. I can see how they have grown in confidence and self-esteem and that they are fully committed.

Andy Smith Bolton University

‘Supporting young people with SEN has given my team a whole new dimension to their roles which they have embraced, meaning that it’s been an all-round positive experience. It’s a great collaboration which I hope continues year after year.’

Guy Hampson Thirdspace

‘We all are working together to help inspire, unite and support our young people, and this can only happen if partnerships thrive like the one we have with the progression service, Hannah and Sam. Thank you for the support you have given to Thirdspace over the years and I hope this can carry on into the future.’

Bolton is an ethnically diverse borough, with approximately 21% of the population being born outside the UK and a large black and minority ethnic (BME) population, with 17% of residents considering themselves to be part of non- white ethnic groups and 83% of the population describing themselves as white British or from another white background.

Bolton has sizeable Indian and Pakistani communities. The most recent figures state that these communities accounted for 7.8% and 4.3% respectively.

Bolton is also home to large new and emerging communities, who have settled in Bolton through economic migration or Britain’s refugee and asylum arrangements over a number of years. At the peak of the Covid 19 pandemic the numbers of people granted asylum related protection, resettlement or family reunion visas in the UK saw a dramatic drop. However by March 2021 these numbers were rising again and it likely that resettlement will continue in Bolton.

We want to provide for Bolton and support those who want to improve their English at any level. We have extended our English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision even further to ensure we are providing for the needs of ESOL learners in Bolton. In 21/22 we delivered ESOL to over 900 adult learners. This enabled them to make positive progressions, improve their English and integrate into society even more.

We deliver a lot of ESOL classes to all levels of learners as we know the knowledge and skills they develop wile on course with us aids them in their lives constantly, they are able to integrate more, access more support and communicate better to enrich their lives either through employment or social activities.

ESOL for Integration Fund

Working in collaboration with Bolton Council, Bolton College secured ESOL for Integration Funding (EFIF) to expand the availability of English classes in the borough during the academic year 2020-2021.

This funding was aimed at those residents who were furthest from education, might not normally access classes, had the lowest levels of English and the lowest levels of digital skills.

During 21/22 we ensure this was a placed based approach to ensure EFIF was delivered where it was most needed, we would go out to the learners as they are in most need of ESOL learning. We delivered EFIF at local Libraries, church, schools and Community Centres. We delivered in Farnworth, Deane, Breightmet, Little Lever and Halliwell.

‘ 17% of secondary school children use a language other than English at home. ’

Source: GOV.UK

Our Approach to the Promotion of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Quality Assurance Promotion

EDI is embedded into all quality assurance mechanisms designed to drive improvement of teaching, learning and assessment, such as observations and walkthroughs of teaching, learning and assessment, learner surveys, course reviews, departmental and College selfassessment reports (SARs), performance management and quality improvement plans (QIPs).

Teachers use the EDI Champion calendar to plan for the embedding and promotion of EDI into lesson plans and schemes of work.

Comprehensive systems are in place to regularly monitor the views of learners (questionnaires, focus groups, learning walks, student representatives). The student questionnaires include specific questions on aspects of EDI.

The College has an active approach to promoting and celebrating equality, diversity and inclusion. We pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive College with a real commitment to continually raising awareness of equality and diversity matters and minimising discrimination and prejudice. There is a senior strategic lead in place with the objective of ensuring a proactive approach is taken to promoting and monitoring EDI in our College.

In-year course attendance, retention, achievement, progress and success rates are monitored by protected characteristic. This approach was recognised by Ofsted in its latest inspection: “Managers and staff promote equality and diversity passionately and exceptionally well. Managers identify any particular groups of learners who do not achieve as well as others and put effective actions in place. Consequently, there are no significant differences in achievement between different groups of learners.”

‘ Managers and staff promote equality and diversity passionately and exceptionally well. There is a strong development of learners’ awareness of equality and diversity themes. ’

Latest Ofsted Inspection

Latest Ofsted Inspection

Curriculum

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are embedded at the heart of our curriculum planning through a variety of activities such as:

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion awareness and promotion are embedded in session plans, schemes of work and tutorials

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is scheduled as a standard agenda item in all meetings and good practice is recorded and shared at meetings and through self- assessment. The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion Calendar informs lesson planning.

Observation of Teaching, Learning and Assessment (OTLA) shows high achievement across College against the standard:“Learners enjoy an environment that supports and promotes good wellbeing, where they feel cared for, respected and safe”.

• Teaching and learning materials used in lessons and Learning Resource Centres (LRCs) promote EDI and cultural awareness, with LRC staff members acting as champions. Dedicated EDI teaching and learning Moodle resources have been created, aiming to widen the sharing of good practice and the ease of accessing materials.

• Themed tutorials are planned against a calendar of diverse events and delivered by the Learning and Development Mentor (LDM) team such as LGBT+ awareness, Black History Month, support for our partner charity Foundation for Future, stereotyping, self-worth and self-esteem, anti-bullying and important work on supporting students to recognise signs of harassment and abuse.

• Tutorials have been widened to include adults on substantive courses and part-time adults are able to access these important materials through our Moodle platforms as well as signposting to further information and support services both within and outside of the College.

‘ Teachers make good use of a range of learning resources and materials that celebrate diversity and that reflect their multi-racial society. Learners are respectful of each other and work well together in class. The teaching of fundamental British Values and equalities is integrated successfully into programmes. Tutorials are highly effective in promoting diversity and developing learners’ understanding of tolerance, respect and resilience. ’

Wellbeing & Enrichment

The College recognises that there has been an increase in poor mental wellbeing amongst our learner population due to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the impact of the pandemic. The College has a strong and responsive pastoral team in place to assist staff and learners who require additional support with their wellbeing. A Wellbeing Team offer ad hoc and regular appointments for learners and staff and learners are also supported by Mental Health First Aid Team; the Safeguarding Team and the Counselling Team. Learners may also be supported by the Emotional Wellbeing Team in class where their mental health may affect their learning directly. The enrichment offer for learners has been redesigned and modelled on the NHS 5 steps to Wellbeing. The Pastoral Team can socially prescribe to and agree activities with learners which support their wellbeing.

Learners are encouraged to take up opportunities to practice mindfulness; connect with others; learn something new; do something for others and be active. A wide range of activities are available for learners to choose from and learners are

consulted about the types of activities they would like to see available. Sports activities are available each lunchtime; Games Club; Colour and Chill Club; Music Club; LGBTQ+ Club, and Chill Out Club continued to help learners have down time and experience mindfulness. Learners have new experiences outside of Bolton –trips to theatres, museums, sports and activity centres, and outdoor pursuit trips in the countryside and at the Anderton Centre have all be facilitated.

Learner Support Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse

Through funding from the Association of Colleges (AoC), the college has produced an online resource to support the prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse. This was shared nationally at the AoC Conference.

Due to the success of this project, the Student Experience Manager has formed excellent working relationships with key staff at local and national companies (such as colleges across the country, Greater Manchester VRU, Greater Manchester Police and the AoC).

Student Support

The College’s Wellbeing for Learning & Life Strategy and our whole college approach to becoming an ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Aware organisation, drives the individualised wraparound support packages that learners benefit from. Active promotion of anti- discrimination and anti-bullying and harassment ensures that learners know where to report and how to access support if they have any issues or concerns.

Consistent and fair behaviour management and the proportionate use of our trauma informed Behaviour for Success Policy, support and challenge learners to behave appropriately and take responsibility for their actions. These approaches create a culture in which all can be heard and valued whilst harassment and bullying of any kind are minimised.

The commitment and care for the welfare and success of Care Leavers is exceptional. Through the Student Experience Manager, the College monitors the progress and outcomes for Care Leavers. The Pastoral and Wellbeing Manager regularly attends Bolton Council’s Corporate Parenting Board. This is a multi-agency group designed to improve the prospects, raise aspirations and track the progress of Bolton’s Young People in Care/Care Leavers.

At the operational level, the College is involved in a regular EET (Education Employment and Training) Group within the Borough which looks for practical solutions to help hard to place Care Leavers. Each Care Leaver who enrols at College is allocated a Learner Mentor to help them with their journey through college life and charts their progress through a termly PEP (Personal Education Plan).

The College has invested in a highly skilled transition team that ensures learners with learning disabilities and/or difficulties, and Young People in Care have a smooth transition into College. This team provides a wide range of support for learners on all courses across the College provision.

The College has an excellent reputation working with these learners and providing innovative and inclusive support packages according to learner need. This is demonstrated by the continued growth in the number of high needs learners choosing to come to Bolton College. In 2020-2021 the Education Funding Agency (EFA) provided funding for 157 high needs learners, in line with the numbers from the previous year. High needs learners achieve and progress as well as or better than their peers and above national average for their category. The College provided high needs support for 160learners in total during 2020-2021. The number of high needs learners expected in 2021-2022 has been increased to 180 to meet local need in Bolton and the surrounding authorities.

Altogether, during 2020-2021, the college provided learning support in various forms to about 1300 learners from every funding source. This matched the average number for previous years. This wrap around support ensured that learners were able to achieve their potential during a very difficult year. Learners accessing support achieve as well or slightly better than their peers.

The College has volunteer chaplains from the Christian and Muslim communities who visit Deane Campus regularly to offer Friday prayers and fortnightly Christian fellowship in the Quiet Room, as well as providing a listening ear for learners who feel they need to talk about faith or non-faith matters.

‘ College staff provide effective pastoral and learning support. They ensure that learners who require additional support make good progress. Learners with high needs quickly develop their skills and confidence to become independent.

Latest Ofsted Inspection

The College ensures that all online learning materials that are curated by the ILT Team for learners are inclusive. That is, all videos include captions and a text transcript. And all text is accompanied by audio. D/deaf teachers and learners continue to make use of eStream, the College’s video platform to support the formative and summative assessment practices.

The Information Learning Technology Team (ILT) received positive feedback from Bolton Council for supporting the delivery of online courses to its employees and ensuring that online resources are designed in a manner that supports, promotes, and celebrates equality, diversity, and inclusion. One of the online courses which is entitled ‘Keeping Children Safe’ was completed by 4,799 adults.

The LRC organised numerous EDI events. The team produced displays to raise awareness about Mental Health & Wellbeing, Ramadan.

The Library and LRC are actively in enabling access and resources to students from a wide variety of backgrounds and with varying requirements. Some examples of this are all areas are accessible to wheelchair users, we have workstation specifically for visually impaired students, all of the PCs and laptops in all areas have the Claro software installed which can support students with dyslexia in a variety of ways and the LRC staff are available to provide training on this software when needed. We also have a large selection of entry level adult easy reader books for students to borrow and a selection of these are also available in large print supporting people with visual impairment. These can be all found in the second floor LRC.

We provide longer loan periods for SEN learners for 4 weeks instead of 3 weeks. HE students are able to borrow addition books for longer periods of time to support their learning and apprentices are able to borrow books over the summer period when the libraries are closed whilst their courses are still running. The staff also provide digital resources in other languages when requested.

The LRC staff have also been working with ESOL and other entry level students throughout the year providing ‘Reading Buddie’ sessions to help improve student reading ability.

The Library and LRCs relaunched the Reading Ahead Challenge for the first-time post Covid. Students are asked to read 6 books through the year, giving feedback in a diary as they go along. Once completed, they are then invited to attend a celebration event and are presented with a certificate to say that they have been involved with the challenge. Approximately 50 students finished the challenge which was a great relaunch post-Covid and we are ambitious in build upon this in the next academic year.

Case Studies

Maths, was assessed by our VI Team, and his support needs identified as below.

• Meet in reception and guide around college

• In class Education Support Worker

• Work modified on to bright orange paper and font 36, this also includes exam papers

• Pre-printed resources to limit eye strain/writing

Izera Tjatindi

Izera was born in Namibia and educated at a local high school but did not gain any qualifications. He emigrated to Britain in 2003, settled in Southport and started college courses in Basic IT and English, however did not complete them because they were night courses, which proved difficult to attend.

In 2009 he began to lose his sight, it deteriorated rapidly and in 2010 he was diagnosed with Glaucoma in both eyes. He has very little vision and his eyes become strained and tired when concentrating for long periods of time. His eyesight continues to deteriorate. He wears glasses, uses a cane and until Covid happened, was learning Braille at Henshaws Society for Blind People, with whom he has had links for a number of years.

In October, 2018 he moved to Bolton and was introduced to Bolton College by The Red Cross Asylum Department. The following September he enrolled for GCSE English and

• Reading material to be chunked instead of a full page

• Extra time to complete tasks

• Small breaks when needed

• Exam concessions

In Addition to this Izera was able to attend support sessions in English, Maths and Touch Typing (TTRS). In terms of assistive technology, he makes use of a reading pen and the VI Team also helped him to apply for a charitable grant for a laptop with a SuperNova screen magnifier and reader software to use at home and taught him how to use it.

Izera says “It all started very well, lessons were face-face and the support I was getting was superb. Then we went into lockdown. I was able to pass Maths with a Grade 2 but I found English too difficult to do on zoom.”

During lockdown the VI Team continued to modify work for Izera. This was both emailed, plus printed and delivered to him but he found that there was too much reading and screen time, which put a

strain on his eyes. However, this has not put him off and he is continuing with his English course plus has just enrolled on a basic IT and an introduction to classroom support course.

He is now on a course Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools Certificate Level 2.

Izera says that even before he lost his sight he loved helping people and thinks that classroom support for either children or adults is a way that he can continue to do this and repay the support that he has received.

“Support has benefited me a lot because, with my sight loss, I can’t read normal size print and I couldn’t keep up with the speed of the lessons without a note-taker and someone to break things down and describe things, so in that respect, it has been vital. My support worker helps to take some of the strain of reading off me and helps me to visualise things e.g. an image on a worksheet or resources on the board. TTRS (touch typing) really helps me with spelling and pronouncing words and is speeding up my keyboard skills, which I will need in the future as my eyesight gets worse.

I believe the courage and confidence I get from attending college encourages me to step out of the box and makes me think I can do things, despite my sight loss.”

Case Studies

d/Deaf learner:

Thomas joined the college in 2019 and studied Vehicle Accident Repair Paint level 1. He has a hearing impairment and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He had a Communication Support Worker (CSW) in class, weekly language tutorials with a D/deaf specialist weekly, and a weekly technical tutorial with curriculum staff. This enabled him to carry on to level 3 where his course didn’t have enough UCAS points associated so there was a bespoke package created. This enabled Thomas to study an engineering unit alongside his mainstream course. He had a CSW support him throughout this and was successful in securing a place at Bolton university on Motorsport Technology doing his foundation year and is still supported by Bolton college and has CSW support with a weekly tutorial by a D/deaf specialist.

Community Champions Accelerator Programme

Over the period of Covid, Bolton Council has worked hard to engage and develop Community Champions. These volunteer residents successfully leveraged their influence and credibility to amplify helpful messages about measures to combat Covid 19 in diverse communities which were identified as being vulnerable to misinformation. In particular positive messages about vaccine update were disseminated in a non-threatening way via these means.

Bolton College has been at the centre of this piece of work, with Community Champions drawn in many cases from learner ranks and all Community Champions supported to develop skills via our Community Champions Accelerator Programme.

The success of this project has been such that Bolton Council have now approached the College to enlist our support on similarly structured public health campaigns targeting messages around alcohol, addiction and mental health and wellbeing.

Mental Health support for learners in the Community

During the academic year 2021/2022 additional support for residents with mental health difficulties was introduced into Bolton College’s community hubs. The community mental health and wellbeing mentor provided a drop in service at Deane and Derby, Brownlow Fold and New Bury Community Learning Centres to support residents with mental health difficulties to return to education, and to remain and continue in education successfully.

‘ Bolton Community College has been extremely supportive and accommodating to our care leaver students. I have particularly noticed the progress of our students who are studying ESOL and how well they seem to have settled.

Staff are communicative when issues arise and helpful in reaching a resolution. Moreover, I am especially grateful for the support given by the Mental Health and Wellbeing Mentors and their patience during the roll out of our new online education portal.

Debbie Selby, Bolton Council

Greater Manchester Higher

The college is part of the Greater Manchester Higher collaborative network. This national Government initiative was introduced to raise the aspirations of young people and increase progression to Higher Education, in particular disadvantaged learners.

During the academic year all curriculum areas engaged in Higher Education workshops which helped to break down barriers and support learners to make informed decisions regarding their academic futures.

The programme identified curriculum areas with the highest number of disadvantaged learners. The target curriculum areas were Engineering, Early Years and Public Services. These departments engaged in subject specific activities with industry specialists to enrich their learning and confidence.

Public Services engaged in a digital court case. A criminal lawyer gave the learners real life court cases to critically analyse. The learners were split into defendant and accused teams. This activity inspired their choice of degree or areas of specialism such as criminal law & criminology.

Early Years visited Manchester Metropolitan University for a taster day to explore relative degrees.

Engineering participated in 1-1 mentoring with industry experts. The programme offers disadvantaged learners access to new opportunities and choices to aid their future success and

progression. The college has observed an increase in Higher Education progression. In the academic year 2021-22, 179 learners progressed to Higher Education institutions.

Community Engagement

As part of our Community Engagement we created the Job Coach role which has gone from strength to strength. We wanted to ensure Bolton residents from the hardest to reach communities were supported into furthering their employability skills and routes into employment, in 21/22 the Job Coach was able to achieve the following:

Impact

The Community Job Coach has continued to support learners who are seeking work. Appointments with learners have been undertaken using email, telephone and face-toface since the easing of Covid restrictions. The Job Coach also visited 11 classes within the hubs to promote the service on offer, with the focus being on the ready availability of jobs across all sectors in the Bolton area. Voluntary work was discussed with eight learners who had lost a great deal of confidence whilst being isolated.

Links with Bolton Community, Voluntary and Social Enterprise (CVS) have continued, with teachers inviting CVS into classes to encourage participation in voluntary work in order to improve confidence and CVs. Six learners started voluntary work as a result of these visits.

5 learners on Health and Social care courses gained either voluntary or paid positions in roles with Changing Life Directions, BAND and Bolton Hospital following this work.

The Job Coach has worked closely with staff delivering the health and wellbeing curriculum to refer NHS clients who are struggling with their health and wellbeing, before progression to employability courses.

The Job Coach completed a workshop which resulted in 15 of 28 learners stating afterwards as a result they had undertaken paid or voluntary work since the end of August 2021.

Community Liaison Officer

Our Community Liaison Officer is dedicated to ensuring we reach the hardest to reach learners in the Bolton area and completed very effective work to achieve this during 21/22. We believe that by actively trying to engage the most marginalised and hardest to reach we will make a positive impact on the Bolton area and integration for all.

This year the Community Liaison Officer has complete drop-in sessions across the borough to raise awareness about learning and how learning can improve lives. They have completed their drop ins in commonly areas identified as deprived, where those engaging in learning is low, of r there is a large NEET population. They have ensured their drop-ins are at venues they visit so we are going to them, UCAN Centres, housing associations, Community venues and schools have all been used to ensure we are having a positive impact.

Digital Inclusion

We remain committed to doing all we can to ensure our students are not digitally disadvantaged and maintain the momentum in responding to the accelerated pace of change caused by the catalyst of the pandemic.

Tackling digital poverty and increasing access through teaching digital skills and access to services is a priority and one we work on with several partners to resolve. Targeting the digital divide and ensuring that those who are intimidated by the digital developments taking place, can keep up and access key information/services is still high on our agenda.

Bolton College are part of local and national digital collaborative groups, including the Bolton Borough Digital Strategy Group which brings together chief executives of companies such as the NHS and Bolton Council to discuss digital inclusion within Bolton; GMCA which brings together digital representatives from the exam board Pearson and Digital Manchester, along with other colleges in the GM area to focus on developing the digital curriculum. This collaborative work has helped to build a network of people who have a passion for digital and a growth mind-set to overcome the digital divide. We also work closely with employers to ensure that the most up to date information, regarding digital development, informs our curriculum.

Following an accelerating pace of change and digital disruption caused by the pandemic, we have reviewed our digital agenda, course offer and equipment/ systems being used. Our aim is

to help those in the community who want to upskill and are ready for change whilst also targeting the digital divide and ensuring that those who are excluded are supported to learn and grow in confidence.

We have developed a very positive and productive working relationship with the Bolton Digital, Employment and Skills team (DES) to ensure Bolton residents have access to digital equipment, have all digital barriers removed and are able to enrol on a Digital course that is appropriate for their digital literacy. Digital Skills are essential in the modern world and we as Bolton College are committed to ensuring our Bolton residents are not deprived of anything due to their access or ability when it comes to anything digital. If learners have no digital skills at all or have no access to digital equipment at home, we refer them to the Bolton DES team so that they are set up with digital equipment, which can be theirs and are given basic digital skills and information. The DES team then refer the learner to a course at college and support them to enrol. Our courses are designed to ensure all learners develop their digital skills to live a more productive and fulfilling life. This referral system ensures all Bolton residents have access to digital equipment, the internet and have the digital skills to use them effectively.

Bolton College are part of local and national digital collaborative groups, including the Bolton Borough Digital Strategy Group, which brings together chief executives of companies, such as the NHS and Bolton Council to discuss digital inclusion within

Bolton, GMCA which brings together digital representatives from the exam board Pearson and Digital Manchester, along with other colleges in the GM area to focus on developing the digital curriculum. This collaborative work has helped to build a network of people who have a passion for digital and a growth mind-set to overcoming the digital divide. We also work closely with employers, such as NHS, Hewlett Packard, Total Publications and the BBC to ensure that the most up to date information regarding digital development informs our curriculum.

Our digital community courses can be a starting point for many. We offer a variety in terms of levels from absolute beginners to Level 2. We have added a digital course for those in the community whose second language is English (English level is below Level 1) and whose digital skills are at absolute beginners or very basic. The aim is to help ESOL learners with their digital skills whilst also providing specialist and targeted support for English, with our ESOL teachers delivering these sessions. Working closely with the ESOL department we have ensured that the digital criteria covered closely matches that of our absolute beginners and basic digital courses ensuring that progression routes for all are to move on to our Essential Digital Skills Accredited Qualification which is offered at Entry 3 and Level 1.

Building Confidence for Life and Work –the impact

During the 20/21 academic year we developed an ambitious and unique provision that aimed to engage the most disengaged due to Mental Health. We were determined and passionate to ensure we provided an education for the most vulnerable and at risk learners. Through partnership with the local authority we identified a specific profile of learners who suffer from severe Mental Health, many of whom had been sectioned or may have made attempts on their lives. Due to these challenges, educational institutions were reluctant to offer them a place or have the ability to offer them a place through not being able to support their needs.

These learners were highly at risk of becoming NEET and their Mental Health suffering even more due to this.

What has been the impact?

87.5% of the learners progressed to positive destinations and are still in those to this day. This is a fantastic outcome. These were learners who had historically never made it through a single year of education, so to complete the year and then progress onto further positive destinations and maintain

that is brilliant news. One learner was able to progress onto Level 3 accredited study, this outcome is really pleasing as they have show they had the academic ability and potential to excel at a high level, but it was their mental health holding them back. This is not the case now. Through the resilience building and explorative learning we completed on Building Confidence they have been able to use their advanced ability to stay in education and make the most of their potential. It has not just been the positive destinations that evidenced Building Confidence to be a success, but the intangible successes we have seen. Learners on the most disenfranchised side of social interaction and communication with others have made friendships, stuck to a routine, engaged in classroom communication and social interaction. Parents and Guardians have been overjoyed with the positive developments they have seen in their young people.

We are very proud of the work Building Confidence for Life and Work has achieved and have seen a remarkable differences in those learners who took part in during 21/22.

As a College we are committed to making a profound contribution to improving the Mental Health of Bolton Residents and will strive to improve the lives of our young people who are disengaged due to their well-being.

College Estate

Bolton College has made considerable investment in all the building stock and sites to improve and ensure access. Access improvements have included ramps and lift compliance features, extending doorways to ensure wheelchair access. Many main doors throughout the College have the facility to open automatically, again for equal access. Signs and surfaces have been altered to ensure support to people with a visual impairment, including bright and wide tracking lines to assist people in the navigation across wide spaces. Work continues on all buildings as necessary, ensuring reasonable alterations are made. This includes substantial toilet facilities for people with disabilities.

Parking for people with disabilities is available on appropriate car parks and continues to be improved. All buildings, and those recently developed, reach the highest standards of compliance for access.

The College has utilised the services of AccessAble (previously known as DisabledGo, the UK’s leading provider of disabled access information. They are committed to providing disabled people with

the information required to make informed choices, and to break down the barriers disabled people face accessing education, local services and employment).

The College publicises and raises awareness of a number of national and local campaigns throughout the year by utilising a comprehensive digital signage system which is distributed within the buildings at the Deane Road Campus.

The College catering contractor, Catering Academy, continues to provide a range of food to satisfy the College’s diversity. As a result, the food offer is varied and satisfies all users in which menu choice is continuously refined and needs are met. For example, a separate halal area has been established and the menus altered to reflect this.

Declan Butler

In 2022, Declan joined the Progression service and commenced his initial work placement at Signature in the College.

As his self-assurance increased, he transitioned to his external placement at Th3 Guys.

Marketing

In the planning and implementation of its marketing and communications activities, the College aims to reflect the profile of the local population and the student body. To do this, it aims to ensure equality and diversity measures in respect of all the protected characteristics are taken into account to promote inclusiveness. The use of positive role models and case studies detailing success stories is also seen as important, particularly when targeting under-represented groups.

As well as using appropriate imagery and non-discriminatory language, marketing materials and course information include a statement outlining the College’s commitment to equality of opportunity and diversity. Such materials are directed at encouraging the widest representation of cultural and social groups on College courses.

Our recruitment website and all adverts state that we particularly welcome BME applicants and applicants with disabilities and we continue to promote images of balanced ethnicity around the College and on our website.

Social Media

The College’s social media platforms are a key tool for connecting with learners, potential learners, stakeholders and members of the public. Posts and videos on all social media platforms – Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube – reflect the diverse local population and student body.

Student case studies, used frequently on social media, also reflect diverse backgrounds and champion the diversity of the College.

Procurement

The College recognises the requirement to address equality and diversity considerations within the procurement function. Suppliers are asked to provide confirmation of their compliance with legislation, as part of a pre-qualification or tendering exercise.

Suppliers are required to disclose and provide details of any finding, in the past three years, of unlawful discrimination in the employment field or breaches of the Equality Act that has have been made against them by the Employment Tribunal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal or any court, or in comparable proceedings in any other jurisdiction.

Pay Equality

The College is committed to the principle of equal pay for all our employees and we understand that equal pay between men and women is a legal right under both domestic and European law.

Our Approach to Disability

For learners with learning difficulties or disabilities to fully participate in all aspects of study, we provide a range of support that meets physical needs, communication difficulties and specific learning needs. Individualised support plans are developed to meet individual need.

Learner support has a team of SEN Specialists covering all aspects of disability providing adapted materials; specialist equipment for both d/Deaf, and Visually Impaired learners. This includes modified resources, Braille documentation and embossed materials. Assistive technologies such as Dolphin are also available.

We are also committed to assisting all members of staff with issues or concerns regarding their disability in the working environment.

As an approved Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to employing and supporting disabled people. We interview all applicants with a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010, who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy. Our recruitment website and all adverts state that we particularly welcome disabled applicants and prominently display the Disability Confident Employer logo.

We work with Access to Work, Occupational Health and other specialist organisations to ensure the best support for staff is available. Interpreters are available for D/deaf staff in staff meetings. Counselling support has been provided to staff who required it and there is an Employee Scheme in place that provides a range of benefits for staff. We encourage all members of staff to develop and progress in their role and monitor this through annual

staff performance development plans and recruitment activity.

Disability Confident Employer

Bolton College is a committed Disability Confident Employer and has been awarded the ‘disability confident’ symbol demonstrating we are recognised as an employer which made commitments to employ, keep and develop the abilities of disabled staff.

The College demonstrates this in seven key areas. We:

• Actively look to attract and recruit disabled people

• Provide a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process

• Offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job

• Are flexible when assessing people so disabled job applicants have the best opportunity to demonstrate that they can do the job

• Pro-actively offer to make reasonable adjustments as required

• Encourage our suppliers and partner firms to be Disability Confident

• Ensure employees have appropriate disability equality awareness

Whilst English is our principal language, we will endeavour to provide information relating to the documents we produce in other formats and languages.

Our students are drawn from a wide area and our inclusive environment creates a multi-cultural and diverse student population, reflecting the local area that we serve.

A significant percentage of people in our communities experience disadvantage and deprivation due to social and economic hardship and the College has responded to these challenges by adapting the recruitment, marketing and curriculum offer to meet the needs of the borough.

During 19/20 62.4% of learners came from a widening participation background and 47.9% from a BME group (of those that declared it). The College believes passionately that disadvantage is a context not an excuse, and plays an important role in raising aspirations and supporting social mobility and economic growth.

‘ Senior managers and college staff have developed an inclusive learning environment where mutual respect and tolerance are emphasised. Most learners have a good understanding of diversity in modern Britain. ’

Latest Ofsted Inspection

Learner Numbers by Age Group

The College has a high volume of adults learners (67%) compared to young people (33%). The volume of young people has continued to increase. The majority of young learners are full time and the majority of adults are part-time.

Learner Numbers by Ethnicity

The proportion of enrolments of EMG (Ethnic Minority Group) learners continues to be relatively high, at 49% compared to the local population percentage of 21%. A key contributor being a responsive and locally needed ESOL provision.

Learner Numbers by Gender

The college has a higher ratio of female learners (58%) than males (42%). This percentage is higher than that of females in the local population, which is 50.4%.

Learner Numbers Learning Difficulty

The College provides a comprehensive and high standard of support for learners with a disability and/or learning difficulty, including learners with high needs. This was recognised as good practice in the latest Ofsted Report. Of the learners who declared a learning difficulty, the highest percentage are those requiring dyslexia support (45%). Teachers and support teams work very closely together to ensure the needs of these learners are met and that they are supported effectively.

Moderate learning difficulties

Severe learning difficulty

Learner Number by Sexual Orientation

75% of learners disclosed their sexual orientation. However there is work to be done to encourage others to declare rather than for opting for ‘prefer not to say’.

Learner Numbers by Religion, Faith and Belief

Muslim is still the highest of the declared faiths at 31%, with Christian (all denominations) being second highest with 25.6%.

Overall Outcomes for Learners

This section includes data for young and adult learners funded by the SFA and EFA, including our Community Learning funded learners and Higher Education learners.

Latest Ofsted Inspection

Overall Achievement by Age Group

Achievement for young people was significantly impacted during the pandemic and as a result the achievement of adults overtook that of young people. This continued in 2021-22.

Overall Achievement by Gender

The achievement of both females and males reduced by around 1% from the previous year.

‘ Managers identify any particular groups of learners who do not achieve as well as others and put effective actions in place. Consequently, there are no significant differences in achievement between different groups of learners. ’

Overall Achievement by LLDD

Learners with a declared Learning Difficulty and/or Disability have previously achieved at a very similar rate to their peers who did not declare having a disability. However, there has been a slight decline in achievement for those declaring a learning difficulty and/or disability in 2021-22.

Overall Outcomes for Learners

Overall Achievement by Supported and Not Supported

Learning support continues to be effective with those learners being supported experiencing better success than their peers who did not declare having a disability.

Overall Achievement by Ethnic Group

BME learners continue to perform better than their White British peers. In 2021-22 that gap widened to almost 6%.

Overall Achievement by Widening Participation

There is no significant gap in the achievement of learners from households within widening participation post code areas and their peers.

Overall Achievement by Faith

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Case Studies

Winner of a Festival of Learning Award

Following difficult visits to the barber with her son, NaomiLouize saw a gap in the market to provide barbering services for children with special educational need and other disabilities.

Barbering student Naomi-Louize won a Festival of Learning Award for her efforts and said: ‘My first learning experience as a child wasn’t positive, but adult education has improved my outlook on life, my confidence, and my communication skills massively.’

Naomi-Louize

Mohamed Jdidi Variety of British Culture courses

‘I came to the UK for new opportunities and I visited the Deane & Derby Community Learning Centre because I wanted to study, meet new people, practice my English and feel confident speaking it.

The staff were so helpful and I’ve now completed several courses; Bolton College has changed my life, giving me hope for the future and job opportunities to use my skills, like translating documents for Manchester University.’

Outcomes for Young People

16-18 Achievement by Gender

The achievement gap between males and females for young learners remains around 1%.

16-18 Achievement by Declared LLDD

Achievement rates for young learners with a declared Learning Difficulty and/or Disability has declined more than that of their peers in 2021-22.

16-18 Achievement by Supported and Not Supported

Learning support continues to be effective with those learners being supported experiencing better success than their peers who did not declare having a disability or learning difficulty.

% No Yes

16-18 Achievement by Ethnic Group

Achievement rates for both BME and non BME have reduced slightly.

16-18 Achievement by Widening Participation

The gap in achievement between those from widening participation areas and their peers has widened slightly to almost 2% during the pandemic.

16-18 Achievement by Faith

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Case Studies

Nina Gorman Health & Social Care Level 3

‘I started with a Find Out About course then progressed through the levels and now I’m at the University of Bolton, studying Social Work.

Hussain Alsarrag

‘I started here on an ESOL course and I’ve since progressed to a Level 3 Business & Professional Services course.’

My tutor even nominated me for a Festival of Learning award and I’ve been shortlisted.’

Outcomes for Adults

19+ Achievement by Gender

Female adults continue to achieve at a slightly higher rate than males with the gap widening slightly in the last academic year.

19+ Achievement by Declared LLDD

The achievement rate for learners who declared a learning difficulty and/or disability fell compared to that of their peers.

19+ Achievement by supported and not supported

Learners being supported for their learning difficulty and/or disability are continuing to outperform their peers.

19+ Achievement by Ethnic Group

Adults from BME groups continue to outperform their peers with the gap widening further in 2021-22.

Outcomes for Adults

19+ Achievement by Widening Participation

There is no significant achievement gap between adult learners from widening participation areas and their peers.

19+ Achievement: Faith

The performance of learners from non-faith groups has fallen by 4%.

Case Studies

Tasleem Ali Beauty Therapy Level 3

‘I have a hearing impairment, so throughout my time at College I’ve benefited from the help of a support worker; they’re like family, as are the tutors – I never want to leave!

Long term, I’d like to train as a teacher at the University of Bolton, then teach beauty classes to hearing and d/Deaf students – I want to be a role model to other d/Deaf learners, showing them that if I can do it, so can they!’

Shahzeen Kala Community Interpreting

‘I started with a Find Out About course then progressed to Level 2 Interpreting, which taught me how to interpret.

During the course I found myself supporting others in class and I enjoyed it so now I want to progress into teaching - my tutors are supporting me and advising me on how to do this whilst I gain experience in a school.’

Outcomes for Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship Achievement by Age Group

Adult apprentices continue to outperform young apprentices. Although achievement has fallen in both age groups the pandemic and move to Standards has had a greater impact on the achievement of young people.

Apprenticeship Achievement by Gender

Males and females were almost equally impacted by the fall in achievement rates for 2021-22.

Apprenticeship Achievement by Ethnic Group

Apprentices from BME backgrounds continue to outperform their peers despite a fall in achievement rates overall.

Apprenticeship Achievement by Disability

Apprenticeships who declared a disability were impacted significantly more by the drop in achievement rates than that of their peers.

Apprenticeship Achievement by Learning Difficulty

Apprenticeships who declared a learning difficulty were impacted significantly more by the drop in achievement rates than that of their peers.

Apprenticeship Achievement by Widening Participation

The gap in achievement between apprentices from disadvantaged areas compared to their peers has closed around 1%.

Our Staff

Bolton College is an inclusive organisation and at the heart of our Single Equality Scheme is a commitment to achieving excellence through inclusion. Our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion is a broad one, however our key aim is to provide a working and learning environment which is free from discrimination and one which promotes and celebrates difference, and takes actions to narrow gaps in achievement. Our staff are key to achieving this.

In support of the College-wide approach to EDI, the Human Resources team are at the cornerstone of this commitment. The team ensures that staff are treated fairly, with dignity and with respect. The HR team ensures that the College’s approach to the recruitment of staff and the promotion of staff supports the College values and that no-one is discriminated against because of their age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation (protected characteristics).

The HR team do this by being actively involved in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process. The HR team’s involvement is much broader than the recruitment of staff; the team also play a pivotal role in decisions affecting selecting staff who will be in receipt of funding for training/qualifications which would have an impact on potential promotional opportunities. This involvement not only ensures that appropriate procedures are being followed but also, from an EDI perspective, ensures that staff from protected characteristics are not disproportionately or adversely affected.

In addition to being part of the process/decision, the HR team also record, report and monitor a range of EDI data in support of this aspect of their work.

The College has a vibrant and diverse staff training programme which is designed to ensure that our staff are aware of their responsibilities in relation to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion agenda.

Training varies from legal updates; induction sessions for new staff; mental health awareness; embedding EDI into lessons, as well as a variety of specialist updates for those staff who provide support to learners with disabilities.

Currently the workforce stands with a head count of 556 employees (444 FTE). The following are key observations linked to this information.

Average Age

The average age of the workforce remains at 48 years old. With the abolishment of the normal retirement age staff can now work longer and our workforce data confirms that we have some staff that would have been previously classed as working beyond normal retirement age who have highlyvalued skills.

Gender

The current profile with regards to staff gender remains similar to the previous year with a gender split of 70% female and 30% male. Compared to the local population which is 51% female and 49% male.

Disability

Current College data evidences that 6.80% of the workforce have declared themselves as having a disability. This has increased from 5.23% from the previous year. The latest census data for Bolton reports that 20% of the population has a long-term illness or disability. However the criteria for the census return is a broader definition. The College is recognised as a Disability Confident Employer and is subject to an audit on an annual basis to maintain the status.

Race

The College’s vision is to have a workforce which is representative of the local community. The latest census data for Bolton reports that 17% of the local population are from a BME background. The College’s BME representation is 16.64% which is a slight decrease from previous data reported which was 17.15%.

Religion, Faith and Belief

The latest census data from Bolton reports that 62.7% of the local population class themselves as being of the Christian faith and 11.7% being of a Muslim faith. Compared to our workforce which are 40% Christian and 7.5% Muslim.

Sexual Orientation

The College also records the sexual orientation of its staff, the majority of staff (97.14%) classify themselves as heterosexual or prefer not to say and 2.86% declaring themselves as LGBT.

Wellbeing

As part of the Colleges Wellbeing for Learning and Life Strategy, the College has a team of 30 Mental Health First Aiders who support learners and staff who maybe experiencing an issue in relation to their mental health and wellbeing.

The College is proud to be a trauma informed College and has worked with an external organisation to train a number of staff to become train the trainers in the field of Adverse Childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma informed. The training is mandatory for all staff and remains a key part in our journey to being viewed as a

trauma informed College, staff in support of our commitment actively deliver trauma informed practices into their job roles.

The College has many initiatives in place to support staff with their wellbeing including counselling, occupational health support, employee assistance programme, training and awareness raising sessions and various social activities which are designed to bring staff together to spend time together and make connections.

The Board recognises the value of having a diverse composition with members providing a blend of differing skills, experience, perspectives and characteristics.

Our Board and our leadership culture reflects the diversity of our College and the communities that we serve and is committed to setting an inclusive leadership culture that values and celebrates diversity and inclusion for our staff, learners and key stakeholders.

‘Our Board and leadership culture reflects the diversity of our College and communities that we serve. We continue with our commitment, to ensure that the Board demographics are more closely aligned to our College population. This is reflected within our Equality Aims.’

Our Board

Many of our Board members are local residents who have firsthand experience of working and living in Bolton, with a personal understanding of the diverse needs of our communities. Our Board recognises that effective leadership and good decisionmaking is enabled through a diverse membership, a culture of listening to, and acting on, diverse perspectives and, having behaviours that embody respect, openness and constructive challenge.

Our Board

Board Member Profile by Gender

The percentage of our Board members who are female has increased slightly to 47%, this is not representative of our local population.

10 – 53%

9 – 47%

Board Member Profile by Age Band

The age range of our Board members has not changed significantly and the percentage of those in the 40-60 age bracket has increased slightly, though we are still under-represented in this bracket.

Board Member Profile by Ethnic Group

The percentage of Board members from BME ethnicity groups is not representative of our local population at the moment. BME representation has reduced from 27% in 2020-21 to 21% 2021-22.

Ethnicity

The Rainbow Flag Award - Supporting and valuing LGBT+

In the past 12 months we have achieved two additional Rainbow Flag badges:

Achieving the Skilled Teacher standard means:

‘Staff, including Senior Leadership Teams and non-teaching staff, can recognise and consistently challenge and report LGBTphobia, and are confidently using positive and appropriate language around LGBT+ identities.’

We were able to show the following indicators through our inclusive practice:

• Effective LGBT+ inclusion training has been cascaded to the wider staff team, including non-teaching staff.

• Staff can confidently and consistently recognise and appropriately challenge LGBTphobia, supported by organisational systems for recording and reporting such incidents.

• Staff are confidently using appropriate and positive terminology for LGBT+ people and identities.

Achieving the Skilled Teacher standard means:

‘LGBT+ people and identities are positively represented across all areas of the curriculum. This includes in lessons and activities that are LGBT+ inclusive, as well as those that are LGBT+ specific.’

We were able to show the following indicators through our inclusive practice:

• Staff positively educate about lesbian, gay and bisexual people by making them visible across many curriculum areas.

• Staff positively educate about the existence of trans people by making them visible across many curriculum areas.

• Information shared through Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is inclusive to LGBT+ young people.

• Through comprehensive PSHE programmes, students are aware of the existence of LGBT+ lives, people, and families.

• Through comprehensive PSHE programmes, students can recognise, report, and challenge LGBTphobia.

• Through comprehensive PSHE programmes, students know where to access further information and support for themselves, should they need it.

Celebrating Equality, Diversity and Inclusion across Bolton College

At Bolton College we are passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion and strive not only to meet our statutory requirements, but to embed EDI into everything that we do. We pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive college with a real commitment to continually raising awareness of equality and diversity matters and minimising discrimination and prejudice. Here at Bolton College we are incredibly proud of how we celebrate the diversity of our College and run a vast array of events to do just this. These are promoted through our enrichment brochure, awareness posters, electronic screen promotions, news features, positive case studies and diverse cross-College events.

The Freshers’ Fair is the first opportunity our students have to sample the wide range of activities and events they can get involved in while studying at the College. This year we held an event on-site at the beginning of the year which was a huge celebration of everything learners can do during the year at the college as well as partner organisations from the local community coming in to show everything that happens in our area. It was a massive success and from that initial event we were promoting EDI from the beginning.

Our cross-college enrichment programme has been constructed and designed so that all learners across the whole of the college can access it and will through the activities available interact with each other, meeting and spending quality time with those from different backgrounds and learn from each other. We use enrichment as an opportunity to further embed EDI, we are running trips to The Peoples’ History Museum, International Slavery Museum and run onsite enrichment which promotes diversity such as the Introduction to Sign Language or the ‘Campaign for Change’.

We have a Learner Volunteer Group that is made up of learners of various ages and backgrounds; departments work together on events and projects and this brings learners together and develops their awareness and understanding of cultural and social differences.

We are an organisation that values passionately and effectively promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. We celebrate the variety of cultures and backgrounds from which our college family is made up of. We are driving our equality, diversity and inclusion agenda forward with dedication and determination to create a sense of belonging for our staff and learners a like. We believe that if learners, and staff feel like they belong and are in an organisation where who they are is not only respected, but celebrated they will strive to be their best self and become the best version of themselves.

‘What I enjoyed the most on the Fresher’s Fair is the LGBTQ+ stand. I really enjoyed doing the wordsearch and I got my own sexuality into that wordsearch. I didn’t regret it one bit.’ Learner, Bolton College

The Equality Diversity and Inclusion Champions Team

Throughout the year and across the whole college curriculum we celebrate and promote equality, diversity and inclusion. This is supported by a team of 10 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champions who come from different curriculum areas with a passion for our college and its promotion of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Champions are recruited from colleagues with an interest and passion for the promotion of EDI. They volunteer to represent protected characteristic sub groups of age, gender, race/ ethnicity, religion & belief, disability, mental health and LGBT+. The EDI Champions aim to be an accessible and visible ‘face of fairness’ who pro-actively promote inclusion across the College. The group produces an EDI calendar for the College and lead on a range of awarenessraising promotional campaigns.

The EDI Champions also produce an annual calendar of national events. The calendar is shared across College as a planning tool for curriculum and an awarenessraising tool for learners. The calendar highlights national events and showcases College events organised by the EDI Champions.

This year we have developed our EDI Champions further and now have two learner EDI Champions, one for Disability and one for LGBTQ+. They are working with the EDI Champion of their protected characteristic to look at ways for promoting awareness and inclusion.

‘What I enjoyed the most was seeing the support of the LGBT, seeing how the college is trying to inform about hate crimes and getting a small free badge.’

Learner, Bolton College