BARBRI International Limited’s (BIL) Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy has been informed by:

The Equality Act 2010 which legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and broader society.

Equality is core to our BIL Strategy, which sets our values and goals. We want all our staff and students to reflect on the global and diverse environment we live in. We aim to be a place where people can be free to be themselves no matter what their identity or background.

Introduction

BIL recognizes that providing equality of opportunity, valuing diversity, and promoting a culture of inclusion is vital to our success. We want our staff and students to reflect on the diversity of the regional, national, and international communities that we provide for, and we aim to be a place where people can feel free to be themselves.

BIL will seek to ensure that equality, diversity, and inclusion are embedded in all our activities, at all levels, and within our activities, policies, and decisions.

This policy sets out the scope of BIL’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.

BIL is committed to:

• equal opportunity for all its students irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage, and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, nationality, sex or sexual orientation class;
• complying fully and transparently with all applicable legal requirements set out in the Equality Act 2010; and
• taking active measures to investigate and eliminate

BIL conducts all of its activities accordingly, but recognizes that the following are likely to be of particular significance:

• the admission of students;
• the recruitment and selection of staff;
• the management and development of staff;
• approaches to teaching, learning, and assessment;
• the provision of academic support, student support, and administrative services;
• the monitoring and evaluation of the student experience and student success;
• the governance and management of staff, students, and

BIL further recognizes that, because of its role in legal education, it has a special responsibility to assist professional bodies and other regulatory authorities to achieve their targets relating to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Scope

This policy applies to all BIL employees, including external vendors, students, visiting staff, and contractors or consultants working on the premises or behalf of BIL.

Responsibility for implementing this policy

The ultimate responsibility for the development of clear and valid processes and procedures associated with the quality assurance and maintenance of standards of academic provision and overseeing their application lies with BIL.

Key aims and principles

BIL:

• ensures that its activities are, and remain, free from all forms of discrimination;
• maintains an open, tolerant and inclusive community, which encourages mutual respect and promotes diversity;
• enables staff and students to understand the importance of equal opportunities, non-discrimination, and diversity;
• prepares students to understand, work within and serve a diverse multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-racial community; and
• adopts appropriate equality standards for all aspects of its work and implements them through all its policies, processes and practices.

Procedural approach

BIL uses all means at its disposal to achieve these key aims and objectives. However, it recognizes that the following are likely to be of the highest importance.

Recruitment of staff

BIL is committed to attracting employees who can meet the high standards of performance and delivery that will be expected of them. It is in the interests of both the organization and the employee that employees can fulfil their potential while ensuring the achievement of organizational objectives.

BIL will give equal consideration to appropriately qualified applicants during the recruitment process and will not discriminate on any grounds.

Job descriptions and person specifications will use non-discriminatory language. Our criteria for selection will relate to the requirements of the job, relevant qualifications, and relevant experience. The person specification is objective, ensuring that all of the criteria included are appropriate and relevant to the performance of the job in question.

Shortlisting and interviewing processes will be thorough, fair, and free from discrimination. To support this, we will provide training for all employees involved in recruitment and selection to help them understand our processes and make them aware of relevant employment laws.

We welcome applications from people who are currently under-represented at BIL. If an applicant has a disability, we will make reasonable adjustments to our recruitment and selection process, and if successful in their application, to our workplace and working arrangements so the individual can work at BIL.

BIL will promote best practice in recruitment and selection. It will continuously develop its recruitment and selection practices to allow new ideas and approaches to be incorporated.

All documentation relating to applicants will be treated confidentially and following the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Recruitment of students

BIL of Law recognizes that all higher education providers have both a legal and moral duty to promote equality of opportunity, and we are committed to ensuring we recruit students from a wide range of backgrounds. We understand that our success, and that of our students, depending on celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion.

Training and staff development

BIL is committed to ensuring that colleagues are aware of, and are actively implementing, what is required of them to comply with BIL policies and all relevant legislation.

We will provide staff with, and expect them to take part in, appropriate training to support our equality policies.

We do not discriminate when providing training and development that allows staff to carry out their jobs more effectively. This applies to full-time or part-time or on a permanent or fixed-term contract.

Learning, teaching, and assessment

BIL ensures that all new program proposals and modifications to existing programs are designed to be accessible to students across all backgrounds and that students who wish to seek registration onto BIL’s programs are not hindered from doing so.

In practice, this means that information regarding BIL and its programs is available in an accessible format that takes into account the needs and requirements of a diverse cohort of students.

Programs are inclusively designed to enable students to access embedded and contextualized learning outcomes; however, BIL in its scrutiny and approval of programs ensures that due regard is taking to students who may need specific additional support or intervention strategies.

Programs and co-curricular activities provide students with a framework that supports students to maintain responsibility for their own learning, development, and resilience through a range of embedded and contextualized learning outcomes. These are designed to be achieved through a series of formats via formative and summative assessments.

Assessments are designed to support the learner in meeting the learning outcomes and reach their fullest potential. They are designed to take into account non-traditional, but effective benchmarks for a student to demonstrate that they have achieved module or program outcomes and do not rely on an assessment instrument framework which comprises of one format of assessment throughout the program. Students can access a range of assessment methods that are designed to be mindful of the varying and diverse needs of the student population, and which are reflective of the current sector and professional practice.

BIL ensures that students with additional needs are supported through the inclusive design of its modules and assessments, and students are supported to seek reasonable adjustments to enable full access to the curriculum. As such, BIL has an agreed set of policies and protocols which focus on student accessibility, student study skills support, and support to study requirements and arrangements. Students with identified Special Educational Needs (SEN) or additional learning needs are supported appropriately to ensure that they can achieve successful long-term career, learning, and personal development outcomes.

Students are supported by specialist staff to be able to access additional external support, such as funding through Disabled Student Allowance (DSA), where appropriate.

Students are supported and encouraged to participate in co-curricular opportunities, which enhance their overall student experience and add value to their personal and professional development. Students are recommended to access all opportunities which support their development without barriers resulting from location or mode of study, their protected characteristics, or circumstantial restraints.

Student support

BIL of Law is committed to taking account of the diversity of all the communities it serves, advancing equality of opportunity for everyone.

We aim to foster an environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and supported throughout their studies and beyond, where our services are, as far as is reasonably possible, accessible to all, with students receiving specific and timely support according to their needs.

We will achieve this by:

• actively promoting all our services at every stage of the student journey;
• reacting promptly and effectively to student need and requests for help; and
• working collaboratively with internal and external partners and stakeholders;

Monitoring and evaluation

BIL uses the following mechanisms to monitor issues relating to equality and diversity:

BIL’s Annual Monitoring Process, which requires the annual critical appraisal of the quality and delivery of a program, includes the analysis of data relating to student enrolment, progression and achievement; student feedback; and complaints. Where issues (supported by quantitative and qualitative data) are identified concerning student demographics or protected characteristics, appropriate actions will be set and monitored through the annual monitoring process.

In general, BIL will use the following data to monitor success in achieving the key aims and maintaining the principles of this policy:

• student recruitment;
• student progression and achievement; and
• student and staff

All data used as part of the monitoring process will be managed following the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Responsibility for the provision

Responsibility for giving effect to the Equality and Diversity Policy of BIL is shared across all staff and functions, both individually and collectively, of BIL.