Equality and Diversity (SIL)

The company recognises that the young people who require support may come from different backgrounds to the staff that look after them. It is essential that each child is treated as an individual. This includes explicitly, the promotion of each child’s religion, language, gender, sexual orientation & cultural heritage in order to support the development of a positive identity and realization of their full potential.

Young People may come into our care with pre-existing stereotypes, attitudes and prejudices It is therefore important that we to do not reinforce such prejudice. On the contrary, it should be our aim to counteract such prejudice and create an ethos which is free from discrimination.

This policy outlines how the holistic needs of children and young people will be met.

This policy should be understood in relation to Care Planning and Placement Plans and the Equal Opportunities policy.

Equality is ensuring individuals or groups of individuals are treated fairly and equally and no less favourably, specific to their needs, including areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, and age. Promoting equality should remove discrimination in all of the aforementioned areas. Bullying, harassment or victimisation is also considered as equality and diversity issues.

Diversity aims to recognise, respect, and value people’s differences to contribute and realise their full potential by promoting an inclusive culture for all children, young people, and staff.

We can promote equality and diversity by:

• Treating all children, young people, and staff fairly;
• Creating an inclusive culture for all children, young people, and staff;
• Ensuring equal access to opportunities to enable children and young people to fully participate in the day to day running of the home;
• Enabling all children, young people to develop to their full potential;
• Equipping children and young people with the skills to challenge inequality and discrimination;
• Ensuring all policies, procedures and processes are not discriminatory.

Care and placement planning policies and procedures put particular emphasis on meeting the individual needs of children and young people that arise from their cultural background, religion and language.

The care placement plan describes how these needs will be met on a day to day basis and how the effectiveness of these plans will be assessed.

Special efforts must be made to ensure that important aspects of a child’s heritage are not lost at any stage of the child’s life whilst supported by us.

All care planning is participative with children and young people at the centre of the process. Consideration of cultural, religious and linguistic needs must be undertaken using a child centred approach to ensure their individual needs and wishes are taken into consideration.

The needs of the children will not be generalised by use of stereotypes, myths or misconceptions.

Each child will be encouraged and supported to follow their chosen religion. Facilities for religious observance e.g. diets and clothing will be provided.

It is important to remember that for all young people there may be individual/family variances and that these specific variances are given due consideration. Where appropriate, children’s immediate and extended families may be a point of reference in identifying specific resources to meet that Child's individual needs. Community and faith groups are also a useful resource.

Religious festivals and holidays will be celebrated in accordance with each Young Person's beliefs. Furthermore, religious festivals should be demonstrated to promote an understanding of diversity with multi-cultural society today. For example: Christmas, Diwali, Eid etc.

Children should have the opportunity to learn about various faiths in order to help them in consider the spiritual aspects of their lives.

Each home will have details of all the local religious/spiritual places of worship of the major religions and ensure each Young Person is enabled to explore other faiths should they wish to do so.

Where there are specific places of worship that cannot be easily accessed in the immediate area religious observance will be considered at the point of referral. Suitable arrangements will be made for the child to attend a place of worship which ensures that children and young people maintain a healthy understanding of their identity and supports their religious needs.

Cultural needs should not always be assessed solely on the assumption of race or ethnicity. They must also encompass the type of upbringing, lifestyle and environmental influence including the area in which a child / young person has grown up in.

Young people in our care come from a variety of social backgrounds and our homes will reflect this social and cultural diversity. Menu’s, images on the walls and traditions are enmeshed in the fabric of the building and the ethos of the staff team ensuring that all children and young people feel unique and valued.

Not all child / young people in our care have English as their first language. Children may also have other communication difficulties. Staff will ensure effective communication is maintained between the child, staff and child’s family. Where necessary the services of translators and interpreters will be used.

The importance of body language is covered through training in managing challenging behaviour and it also recognised that certain non-verbal communication has different significances within differing cultures.

Written documentation is available in differing formats, including large format, children’s guides are aimed at different age groups.

Asylum Seekers are people who flee their home country to seek refugee status in another country and then lodge an application for asylum with the government of that country.

Asylum seeking and refuges children may have direct experience of

• High intensity war;
• The destruction of their homes;
• The violent death of family or friends;
• Getting separated from family;
• Injury;
• The arrest of members of their family;
• Being arrested, detained or tortured themselves;
• Being forced to join the army or militias;
• Rape;
• Grave shortages of food, water or other necessities;
• The fear of discovery or arrest;
• Hostility in their new homeland;
• Material deprivation in the UK.

We recognise children may experience ‘flashbacks’, with extreme emotions such as rage, terror, distress, shame or guilt. They may have difficulties in sleeping, eating or concentrating.

We will provide support for the complex needs of asylum seeker/refugee children, and work in partnership with the local authority and other external agencies.

There are various advocacy support agencies available for young people in care settings to meet the diversity of needs currently represented within the sector. Support will be accessed should it be appropriate in consultation with the young person and their placing authority.

The home manager will ensure as far as is reasonably possible, that professional services are provided to help children develop an individual identity in relation to their gender, religious, racial, cultural, or linguistic background.

Through the care planning process and consultation with children and young people Specific arrangements will be made to address any personal, cultural or religious needs in regard to health and dietary needs and health promotion.

We will always promote equality of opportunity and the promotion of each child’s religion, language, gender, sexual orientation & cultural heritage in order to support the development of a positive identity, and realisation of their full potential.

Young people are actively encouraged to make informed choices and be involved in the decision-making affecting various aspects in their life. Assistance and equal opportunities for progression and personal development must be an intrinsic part of all young people’s lives.

The home manager actively promotes the involvement of all children/young people in the home’s social group, counters isolation of individuals, nurtures friendships between children and supports anyone who for any reason does not readily integrate with the group.

Working in a multi-racial and multi-cultural society requires staff to be committed to equality in meeting the needs of all children and their families, and to understand the effects of racial harassment, racial discrimination and institutional racism, as well as cultural misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Staff have an understanding of Anti-Oppressive child care and adhere to the principles to ensure to a high standard of child care practice.

In order to make sensitive and informed professional judgments about a child’s needs, it is important that staff are sensitive to different family patterns and lifestyles that vary across racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Where possible staffing should reflect the background of the children placed in the home. Where this is not the case ways how these shortfalls can be addressed will be part of the care planning process and reflected in individual Placement plans.