Investors in Diversity Silver award
6th May 2025 – Tags: Staff
City College Norwich’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion has been recognised with the achievement of the Investors in Diversity Silver award.
Accredited by the National Centre for Diversity, the silver award recognises the work the college has done to listen to staff and students on how they view and experience the culture within our organisation - and the progress made against the subsequent action plan.
It ties in with the organisation-wide training on the FREDIE principles. FREDIE stands for Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement, and is the backbone of a truly inclusive culture.
Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement (FREDIE)
Fairness is about being reasonable, right and just.
Respect is having due regard for feelings, wishes and rights of others.
Equality is about making sure people are treated fairly and given fair chances whilst recognising they may have different needs to meet.
Diversity describes a commitment to recognising and respecting differences between people while valuing the contribution they can make to the organisation.
Inclusion is encouraging innovation within the workplace, allowing people to contribute to the way things can be done for the better.
Engagement shows a two-way communication and commitment between our organisation, our people and our partners.
We began our FREDIE journey with the National Centre for Diversity in 2022, with surveys of staff and students that informed our FREDIE action plan.
We have worked with the National Centre for Diversity on the implementation of the action plan and were assessed on the progress we have made in February this year.
Findings from the assessment included:
- There have been improvements in how staff and students view accessibility and fairness at the college;
- There is a clear commitment by senior leaders to increase the sense of belonging and inclusion of staff and students;
- Our Ways of Working have been a core element in promoting the values of FREDIE;
- Our approach to good mental health and wellbeing is good;
- There is good evidence that we are proactive with respect to supporting student with a range of disabilities;
- Communications across the organisation on FREDIE issues and our Ways of Working is good and staff surveyed are very positive about this.
The Investors in Diversity assessment has given the college clear ‘next steps’ as we continue on our FREDIE journey and ultimately towards achieving the Gold accreditation.
Among the key areas of focus are: staff recruitment, to ensure that our staff are more representative of the local population and our student population; addressing the gender pay gap; and integrating our procurement process with FREDIE principles.