A Promise of Equality

You have the right for your stay at Derwentside College to be free from harassment, bullying or discrimination of any kind. This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. To help protect you from these we have three policies -

• The Equal Opportunities and Fair Treatment Policy
• The Anti-Harassment and Anti-Bullying Policy
• The Race Equality Policy

The following Statement of Principles is taken from the Equal Opportunities and Fair Treatment Policy.

As an equal opportunities and fair treatment organisation, Derwentside College -

• is committed to the elimination of unfair discrimination, and to the promotion of equality of opportunity in education, training and employment by the continuous development of non-discriminatory culture
• strives to create an accessible institution, and to extend opportunities in education, training and employment to all sectors of the community, in particular those currently under-represented in further education
• aims to ensure that no job applicant, employee, student, prospective student, or visitor receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, special needs, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, political belief or any other grounds, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be justified by specific reference to the job, situation or course of study
• recognises that working towards genuine equality of opportunity is not additional or marginal to its activities but is central to the efficiency and development of the institution, and to the assurance of high quality education and training

The full text of all policies are available on request.

Please remember that with rights come responsibilities - you have the responsibility to treat everyone else at the College with respect and not to discriminate against, harass or bully anyone. You also have the responsibility to help stop anyone else showing this kind of behaviour. You can do this either by asking the culprit to stop (if you feel confident to do so) or reporting the behaviour to a member of staff.

We must all work together to make Derwentside College a place where people can come, confident in the fact that they will not be subjected to discrimination of any kind.

We cannot do it without your help.