Better Practice in
Equality and Diversity
The Equalities Tagging Tool - A better way
to share and find equality and diversity
resources
NIACE
November 2014
© NIACE 2014
Published by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (England and
Wales)
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lifelong learning. We are an international development organisation and think-tank,
working on issues central to the economic renewal of the UK, particularly in the
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The Equalities Tagging Tool: A better way to
share and find equality and diversity resources
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 4
Background ................................................................................................................ 5
Closure of LSIS....................................................................................................... 5
Better resources? ....................................................................................................... 6
Better tagging? .................................................................................................... 7
Better search skills? ............................................................................................... 8
A more diverse workforce? .................................................................................... 8
The resources review survey of practitioners ............................................................. 9
Method ....................................................................................................................... 9
About respondents ..................................................................................................... 9
Findings ................................................................................................................... 12
Searching for resources ........................................................................................ 12
What makes a good resource? ............................................................................. 23
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 31
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
A better way to share and find equality and diversity resources
Introduction
Wouldn't it be great… if practitioners knew where to look to quickly find good
quality, up-to-date, relevant equalities resources when they need them to
support their teaching, learning and assessment? Well that's exactly what the
(RR) Crowd sourced 'resources review' and The Equalities Tagging Tool (TETT)
are about – improving things so that practitioners can find what they are
looking for when they need it, share their own ideas and resources and get
feedback from other practitioners.
The project started in January 2014 and published this final report in
November 2014. The project design involved 3 overlapping activities:
 A survey of practitioners
 Crowd sourced practitioner reviews of equality and diversity resources
 Using the above to develop and then test out a tool to support better tagging of
equalities resources
Practitoner
survey
RRCrowd
sourced
content
and reviews
Tagging
tool
Figure 1 The Resources Review Project Design
This report details:

Findings from the RR Crowd online survey of practitioners

Criteria for what makes a ‘good’ equality and diversity resource

Development of the equalities tagging tool and how it is being used
alongside crowd sourced curated resources on the equalitiestoolkit website

How NIACE is working with partners to develop better ways for the education
and training sector to share and find equality and diversity resources
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
A better way to share and find equality and diversity resources

Ideas from and for the sector for sustainability and what next
Background
In 2013, the Skills Funding Agency (the Agency) asked NIACE to carry out a
review of existing equality and diversity materials aimed at learning providers
and practitioners in the FE learning and Skills sector to support providers to
meet the General and Public Sector Equality Duties.
Closure of LSIS
Equality and diversity is a high priority for the Skills Funding Agency. As
detailed in its Single Equality Scheme published in 2012, the Agency is
committed to meeting the public sector Equality Duty and to ‘embed and
promote equality across its business.1 The Agency has supported the
development of a wide-range of equality and diversity resources.
Many of these resources were, at the time, hosted on the Learning and Skills
Improvement Service (LSIS) Excellence Gateway. At the time LSIS was due to
close and there was uncertainty over the future of the Excellence Gateway
beyond a plan to image the site on the National Archive on 31 March 2013
and again on 31 July 2013. As a result, the Agency, funded NIACE to identify:
•
What equality and diversity resources the sector (in all its diversity) wants in
order to improve practice and meet the Public Sector Equality Duty (2010)
•
Criteria for effective resources
•
The sector’s preferred solutions for finding resources
•
Effective ways of promoting the content and availability of the many existing
Open Source resources
•
A method for sharing resources that are in-development at any given time
•
Real gaps in what is available/wanted
•
A sector-led plan that will help bring closer the aspiration of a sector that
genuinely embeds equality and diversity in everything we do
The Agency required the review to be wide-ranging and not limited to
Agency funded resources and/or the Excellence Gateway.
1
Skills Funding Agency (April 2012) Skills Funding Agency Single Equality Scheme
http://readingroom.skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/sfa/sfa_single_equality_scheme_april_2012.pdf
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
A better way to share and find equality and diversity resources
The Agency required that the review would be wide-ranging and not limited
to Agency funded resources and/or the Excellence Gateway.
Better resources?
There is evidence that many staff in the sector found it hard to track down
resources to support their teaching learning and assessment. For example:2
‘The rationale for the project was to develop a resource
on gender conflict and sexual bullying which could be of
wider use to the sector. At the time, staff could not find
any resources on this topic that could be used in the FE
sector.’
Lewisham College, cited in Marangozov et al (2014:66)
This was brought into sharper focus by the 2012 Ofsted Common Inspection
Framework, in which Equality and diversity ceased to be a limiting grade. At
the time, there was concern expressed that this would mean the priority that
education and training organisations gave to equality and diversity (because
it was a limiting grade at inspection) would be lost. Instead there followed a
period in which inspectors made judgements about equality and diversity
based on what they observed in the ‘classroom/learning environment’ and
learners’ contextualised understandings of equality and diversity. Many
teachers, particularly those in provision that was referred to the LSIS
intervention service suddenly found themselves expected to ‘embed’
equality and diversity in their teaching, learning and assessment practice in
new ways. And they often struggled, in particular in those curriculum areas
and learning environments where teachers personal experiences of and
confidence about equality were limited, to find good quality, relevant
resources to support them to do so.
For 4 years (from 2009 to 2013), providers repeatedly applied to the LSIS and
Skills Funding Agency/LSIS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Grant Funds (EDI) to
develop new equality and diversity resources, citing a lack of suitable/useful
available resources. In the independent evaluation of 3 years of EDI (from
2Marangozov,
R. et al (2014) Evaluation of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Grants.
Brighton. Institute for Employment Studies. http://www.employmentstudies.co.uk/pdflibrary/sfa0914.pdf
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
A better way to share and find equality and diversity resources
2010 to 2013) carried out by the Institute for Employment Studies, Marangozov
et al (2014:25) identified 61% of funded projects involved the development of
a resource of some kind:3
‘Developing a resource was a chosen activity of the next
largest proportion of projects (61 per cent). Most commonly
this tended to be a guide or toolkit, which allowed the
outcomes of their project to be disseminated to the wider
sector. For some projects, this formed their longer term
impact, as they suggested it would help to embed
knowledge and lessons learned into practice. Additionally,
projects also created websites, films, video- and photodiaries as project outputs, as well as leaflets and posters to
raise awareness – and some created multiple resources.’
Better tagging?
In theory a ‘Google search’ is the answer and will return the resources that
practitioners in the sector need, but it doesn’t. Not yet. The main reasons for
this appear to be two-fold the need for better tagging of resources and the
need for people to develop better search skills.
There is certainly no shortage of resources tagged as ‘equality and diversity’:
A simple Google search for equality and diversity in further education’ on UK
sites yields ‘About 2,720,000 results (0.34 seconds)’. Enter ‘equality and
diversity maths level 2 and the return is ‘About 1,170,000 results (0.21
seconds)’. On the Excellence Gateway, for example, a simple search for
‘equality and diversity’ yields 1685 items –which is 169 pages of results. The
sheer volume of resources is daunting and too time consuming for many
practitioners to ‘stick with it’ to find what they need.
There is anecdotal evidence that despite the funding of new equality and
diversity resources year on year by the Agency, LSIS, sector membership
bodies and trade unions – as well as high quality resources published by the
Equality and Human Rights Commission – providers do not access these
resources.
Marangozov, R. et al (2014) Evaluation of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Grants.
Brighton. Institute for Employment Studies. http://www.employmentstudies.co.uk/pdflibrary/sfa0914.pdf
3
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
A better way to share and find equality and diversity resources
Internal LSIS website analytic data for 2011/12 showed that the equality and
diversity pages on the Excellence Gateway were the least accessed of any.
Contrast this with over 30,000 people registered for the equality and diversity
leadership courses on the LSIS Leadership Learning Environment Moodle
(LLE).4
On investigation, there was evidence that the tagging of resources was
worryingly poor. For example all of the EDI 3 provider case studies were
tagged simply as ‘case study’ and not tagged as anything else.
Better search skills?
Usage data for the Excellence Gateway in 2011/12 showed that with regard
to searches for equality and diversity resources on the website, the three most
frequently used search terms were:
 ‘Equality’ which returned 2615 result(s), 262 pages
 ‘Equality and diversity’ 1685 result(s), 169 pages
 ‘Equality and diversity toolkit’ 391 result(s), 40 pages
There was then little evidence of practitioners trying out more differentiated
search terms. Instead they appeared to give up and left the site.
It is for this reason that the NIACE site that subsequently hosted the EDI 4 and
EDIF project resources and case studies is named ‘equalitiestoolkit’ –not
because the site is necessarily toolkit (although it may eventually become
one) but because we know that for now anyway the site is likely to be
returned as a ‘result’ for most sector searches.
A more diverse workforce? 5
However, changes in the Ofsted Common Inspection framework and better
tagging of resources and search skills are all downstream responses to a
sector in which equality and diversity’s place on the agenda has always
been precarious and characterised by a great deal of diversity among its
learners and a lack of diversity and social mobility in its workforce. In
particular, in leadership and governance.6 This situation is not new or
These Moodle courses have been re-branded and are available again on the Education
and Training Foundation’s ‘Foundation online Learning (FOL) at:
http://www.foundationonline.org.uk
4
McCamley, A & Barrett, C (2007) ‘They must give what’s inside there to the outside’: Exploring
policy and practice in North Yorkshire to enable young Black and minority ethnic learners who have
mental health difficulties to achieve their full potential in learning and skills. Leicester: NIACE.
5
6
http://www.et-foundation.co.uk/supporting/research/fe-workforce-data-reports/
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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particular to the further education and skills sector in Britain. Unless the sector
finds rapid and long-term ways in which to tackle the determinants of
diversity and social mobility in the workforce many practitioners will continue
to lack the language and confidence to be able to engage fully with what
equality and diversity means for them and for their learners skills and ability to
fulfill their potential in our future society.
In other concomitant equality and diversity consultation activities that NIACE
carried out in 2014, we found that broadly speaking sector leaders, teachers
and learners held very different understandings and views about the
importance of equality, diversity and fairness in the sector and their future
lives. Equality and diversity was most powerfully identified as a live,
challenging, urgent and exciting issue by learners, including apprentices and
least ‘urgent’ or of concern to leaders.
The resources review survey of practitioners
Between February and July 2014, NIACE carried out a crowd-sourced review
of the resources needed by and available to education and training
organisations to help meet the Public Sector Equality Duty (2010). The
RRCrowd project was funded by the Skills Funding Agency in order to ensure
that providers have easy access to good quality equality and diversity
materials to help them develop better practice.
Method
An online survey was chosen as the most appropriate and cost-efficient
research method to reach a large number and wide range of respondents. A
member of the NIACE research team and the Head of Inclusion developed
the questions. An email with a link to the online survey was sent to 200
contacts, inviting them to respond. A total of 94 responses were received to
the survey, giving a response rate of 47%.
About respondents
Table 1 below shows the curriculum areas in which respondents taught or
supported learners. The most common curriculum areas were described as
education and training (51 respondents) and preparation for life and work
(47 respondents). Respondents were least likely to teach or support learners in
history, philosophy and theology (eight respondents), construction, planning
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
A better way to share and find equality and diversity resources
and the built environment (five respondents), or agriculture, horticulture and
animal care (three respondents).
Table 1: The curriculum areas in which respondents taught/supported learners
Frequency
Education and training
51
Preparation for life and work
47
Health and public services
35
Languages, literature and culture
23
Science and mathematics
18
Information and communication technology
20
Leisure, travel and tourism
15
Arts, media and publishing
16
Business, administration, finance and law
18
Retail and commercial enterprise
10
Engineering and manufacturing technologies
10
Social sciences
13
History, philosophy and theology
8
Construction, planning and the built environment
5
Agriculture, horticulture and animal care
3
Table 1 Curriculum areas in which respondents teach/support learners n=94. Multiple options invited.
Respondents taught across the range of levels from pre-entry to level 5 (see
table 2 below) and were most likely to teach learners at Level 2 (65
respondents), Level 1 (62 respondents) or Entry Level 3 (53 respondents). Less
than a fifth of respondents (18) indicated that they taught at Levels 4 and 5.
Table 2: Levels at which respondents taught
Frequency
Pre-entry
25
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
33
36
53
62
65
44
18
18
Table 2 Levels at which respondents teach, N=94. Multiple options invited.
Respondents were asked to specify the type of education or training
organisation they worked for. Their responses are shown in table 3 below:
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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about a third of respondents (32) worked for a General FE College, and
around a quarter (23) worked for an Adult and Community Learning provider.
Respondents were least likely to work for a Specialist or Land-based College.
‘Other’ types of education or training organisation included:







Charity
Housing provider
Independent trainer/consultant (2)
NHS Trust
Open University
Secondary school (2)
Trade union (2)
Table 3: Types of education or training organisations respondents worked for
Frequency
General FE College
32
Adult and Community Learning
23
Independent Training Provider
9
Third Sector
9
Specialist Designated Institution
5
Sixth-Form College
4
Specialist College
1
Land-based College
1
Other
10
Table 3 Types of education/training organisations respondents worked for. N=94. Single response
invited.
As table 4 below shows respondents’ organisations were based in each of
the English regions. Respondents organisations were most likely to be based in
the London (20 respondents), East Midlands (16 respondents) and South East
(15 respondents) regions and least likely to be in the South West.
Table 4: Region in which respondents’
organisations were based
Frequency
London
20
East Midlands
16
South East
15
North East
9
West Midlands
8
Yorkshire and The Humber
7
East of England
6
North West
5
National
5
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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South West
3
Table 4 Region in which respondents' organisations
were based. N=94. Single response invited.
Respondents were asked to specify their current job role. Table 5 below shows
that the majority of respondents were either a teacher, tutor, trainer or
lecturer (45 respondents), or a manager or coordinator (33 respondents).
‘Other’ job roles included:











Assessor/tutor
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (2)
Consultant
Consultant and trainer
Equality and Diversity Officer
Education Officer
Learner Services Manager
Librarian
Manager and tutor
Project Officer
Quality Officer
Table 5: Respondents’ job roles at the time of completing the survey
Frequency
Teacher/tutor/trainer/lecturer
45
Manager/Coordinator
33
Learning/student support worker
2
Trainee teacher
1
Other
13
Table 5 Respondents’ job roles at the time of completing this survey. N=94. Single response invited.
Findings
Searching for resources
Respondents were asked to identify one thing that would make it easier for
them to find good quality, online equality and diversity resources to support
their teaching, learning and assessment. Table 6 below shows their answers.
In general, respondents wanted resources to be held in a single place with a
good ‘search engine’ and which included links to other relevant websites
and policy or legislative documents. They wanted resources to be relevant
for a range of learners and subjects and to be able to organise resources in
different ways (e.g. by level, curriculum area or protected characteristic). It
was important to respondents that resources were developed and used by
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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practitioners and providers with strong/positive Ofsted results, and that the
content included multi-media formats, including pictures and films. Some
respondents suggested that an online resource repository could have a
forum for practitioners to share good practice, or may have a regular enewsletter which raised awareness of events or new resources.
Table 6: Suggestions for what would make it easier to find online resources
A single place to find resources
Easy to use and navigate with clear labelling, headings/sub heading and
descriptors of resources
Website that is maintained and up-to-date
Resources should be up-to-date and high quality
Signposting and links to other websites/resources, e.g. BBC Skillswise, EHRC
Links to policy and legislative documents
Resources organised by curriculum area/subject
Resources organised by level
Resources organised by protected characteristic
Resources organised by type, e.g. staff training, lesson plan
Resources should be relevant to a range of subjects and different learner
groups
Regular communication and notifications of updates
Contributions from practitioners
Good search engine
Guidance on integrating resources into teaching and learning sessions/
lesson plans
Picture library
Video content
Resources used or produced by Ofsted Grade 1 providers
Newsletter/e-zine raising awareness of events, current resources, etc
Examples of success stories
Q&A section/forum/sharing good practice
Resources specifically for adults
Table 6 Suggestions for what would make it easier to find online resources?
As Table 7 below illustrates, respondents were most likely to search for
equality and diversity resources or information whenever they need
inspiration (55) or every time they plan a session (26). Only three respondents
said they never search for equality and diversity resources or information.
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
A better way to share and find equality and diversity resources
Table 7: How often respondents search for equality and diversity
resources/information
Frequency
Whenever I need inspiration
55
Every time I plan a session
26
Once a term
8
Once a year
2
Never
3
Table 7 How often did respondents search for equality and diversity resources/information. N=94. Single
response invited.
Note: Respondents could only select one option
Respondents gave three main reasons for searching for equality and diversity
resources, as shown in Table 8 below:
1. To differentiate the content/activities in a session to meet individual
learners’ needs (24 respondents);
2. For interest/for ideas and inspiration (20 respondents); and
3. To support students/learners to develop skills in equality and diversity
as part of their life and/or employability skills (18 respondents).
‘Other’ - respondents also gave the following ‘other’ reasons:






All of the above (2)
Awareness raising among learners
During equality and diversity week
Enrichment activities and workshops
For use in staff training
In its broadest sense of developing cultural and social awareness of learners and
in managing the classroom. How to challenge and explore equality and diversity
within a classroom.
Table 8: Reasons for searching for equality and diversity resources
Frequency
To differentiate the content/activities in a session to
24
meet individual learners’ needs
Interest/for ideas and inspiration
20
Support students/learners to develop skills in equality
18
and diversity as part of their life and/or employability
skills
For things I can embed in the curriculum
7
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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For information about a specific protected/vulnerable
group(s)
Support students/learners to develop skills in equality
and diversity as part of their vocational skills
7
Find information relating to equality and diversity
legislation
For information that covers all protected/vulnerable
groups
Other
3
6
2
7
Table 8 Reasons for searching for equality and diversity resources. N=94. Single option response invited.
Respondents were asked to specify the first place they visit to find online
equality and diversity resources. Table 9 below shows their responses. The
place which respondents were most likely to visit when looking for online
equality and diversity resources was a search engine (35 responses). ‘Other’
places included:



















All Faiths and None AFAN (afan.uk.net)
Association of Teachers and Learners (ATL)
BBC SkillsWise
Change
EIHR
Equality Network
Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities
Government websites
HEA
Institute for Learning
MHFE
National Governing Body websites
Preparing for Adulthood
Prezzi
SEN websites
Signposted by employer
Stonewall
Talent
TED talks
Table 9: First place respondents visit when looking for online equality and
diversity resources
Frequency
Search engines (Google)
35
TES
8
Excellence gateway
7
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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Equality and Human Rights Commission website
YouTube
Own organisation’s website
University or College online resources
Skills Workshop
Online newsletters
TUC website
NIACE
None
Other
7
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
19
Table 9 The 1st place respondents go to find online equality and diversity resources. N=94
Respondents were asked to further specify the websites they use when
looking for equality and diversity resources or information. Table 10 below
shows, the majority of respondents (85) used internet search engines. Other
common websites included YouTube (39 respondents) and respondents’
work intranet (28 respondents). Five respondents said they do not look for
resources online. ‘Other’ websites included:




Pinterest
LinkedIn
Online resources from development training
ESOL sites, such as Talent
Table 10: Websites respondents use when looking for equality and diversity
resources/information
Frequency
Internet search engines
85
YouTube
39
Work intranet
28
Facebook
4
Twitter
4
Ask colleagues
2
TES
2
Other
4
I don’t look for resources online
5
Table 10 Websites respondents used to find equality and diversity resources/information. N=94. Multiple
options invited.
Almost two-thirds of respondents (60) said that they do not find it easy to find
equality and diversity resources or information (see Table 11 below).
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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Table 11: How easy it is for respondents to find
equality and diversity information/resources
Frequency
Very easy
2
Quite easy
32
Not very easy
53
Not at all easy
7
Table 11 How easy is it for respondents to find equality and diversity
information/resources. N=94.
Respondents were asked what words and phrases they use when looking for
equality and diversity resources or information online. Table 12 below lists the
search terms identified by respondents. We have grouped these into broad
categories to simplify the presentation of them here.
Table 12: Search terms respondents used when looking for equality and
diversity resources and information online, grouped by category
Category
Frequency
Equality and Diversity (resources)
35
Teaching Equality and Diversity (4)
Embedding Equality and Diversity into the curriculum (4)
Equality and Diversity activities (3)
Equality and Diversity Maths (2)
Equality and diversity in lessons (2)
Equality and Diversity in FE (1)
Equality and Diversity training (1)
Equality and Diversity in apprenticeships (1)
Equality and Diversity posters (1)
Equality and Diversity Videos/Quizzes (1)
Free Equality and Diversity resources (1)
Construction curriculum Equality and Diversity resources (1)
Equality & diversity media (1)
Examples of Equality and Diversity (1)
Engineering curriculum equality diversity resources (1)
Family learning lesson plans equality and diversity (1)
Diversity (resources)
25
Diversity in teaching and learning (2)
Diversity exercises (1)
Diversity policy (1)
Workplace Diversity (1)
Sex and sexual orientation
21
LGBT (4)
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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Gender (2)
ESOL women
Female composers
Gay prejudice
Gay weddings
Gender equality
Gender identity issues
Gender stereotyping
Girls in engineering
Inspiring women
International Women's Day teaching resources
Learners groups Gay Bisexual
LGBT + ESOL
Transgender
Transsexual
Women
Equality
Disability
Disability (4)
Learners with learning difficulties and/ or disabilities (2)
Challenging disability
Deaf Awareness
Disability + ESOL
Disability hate crime
Disabled legislation in education
Dyspraxia sufferers
Dyslexia
Maths resources for blind learners
Maths resources for visual impaired learners
Positive images of people with disabilities
SEN
Support for LDD learners for completing ILPs
Visual impaired resources
Race
Race (2)
African literature
African writers
Black composers
Black history
Black writers
BME
Caribbean literature
Ethnicity
Ethnicity profile
Gypsy/Roma holocaust
18
19
19
18
The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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Race awareness
Race Hate Crimes
Race Responsibilities Council
Racial Abuse
Skin types
What is the correct term for, e.g. traveller community
Inclusion/inclusive
Equalities Act 2010
Mental health
Mental Health (and wellbeing) (6)
Community Learning Champions and Mental Health
Religion and belief
Multi-Faith Diversity Calendars (2)
Belief
Faith
Religious education
Age
Adult learners
Age discrimination and employment
Ageing
Equal opportunities (exercises)
Protected characteristics
Vulnerable learners
Engaging vulnerable learners
Vulnerable adults resources
Others
Discrimination (3)
Human rights (2)
Multicultural (2)
Promoting equality (2)
Accessible maths resources
Awareness quiz
Barriers
Bullying in NHS
Challenging stereotypes
Classroom
Community
Creative
Cultural
Cultural diversity
Current legislation
Differentiated literacy resources
Differentiation
Disadvantage
Disclosure and Barring Service
19
11
7
7
5
3
3
3
2
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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English grammar
English resources
Equal rights
Equality case law
Fair
Festivals
Forms of Discrimination
Free online literacy worksheets
Free resources/templates
Health
How should you deal with......e.g. victimisation?
Images/icons
Lesson plan of
News stories
Paradise island
Prejudice
Questioning techniques
Resources in English for eal learners
Risk assessment
Role models
Safeguarding
Social cohesion
Specialised sewing methods
Statistics
Supporting tutors facing difficult situations in classrooms
Whistle-blowing
Table 12 Search terms used when looking for equality and diversity resources. N=94. Multiple responses
invited.
The majority of respondents reported (see Table 13 below) that the last time
they searched for equality and diversity resources or information, it took them
between five and 20 minutes (47 respondents), or over 20 minutes (32
respondents), to find what they were looking for. Only six respondents said it
took them less than five minutes to find what they were looking for.
Table 13: Length of time it last took respondents to
find equality and diversity resources/information
online.
Frequency
Less than 5 minutes
6
5-20 minutes
47
More than 20 minutes
32
Don’t remember
9
Table 13 Length of time it tool to find equality and diversity resources
online. N=94. Single option invited.
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
A better way to share and find equality and diversity resources
As Table 14 below shows, the majority of respondents said that the last time
they searched for equality and diversity resources or information, they either
more or less found what they were looking for (59 respondents) or they found
an alternative resource and used that (21 respondents). Only seven
respondents said they found exactly what they needed or something better
than they had hoped, and the same number said they gave up in their
search.
Table 14: Whether respondents found the equality and diversity
resources/information they were looking for
Frequency
Yes better than I hoped
2
Yes exactly what I needed
5
More or less
59
No but I found something else and used that
21
No I gave up
7
Table 14 Did you find what you were looking for? N=94. Single option invited.
Respondents were asked to identify what would have made it easier for them
to find the resource they were looking for. Table 15 below provides their
coded responses. The main things respondents requested was to be able to
access relevant resources from one website or online portal which covered a
range of curriculum areas, levels and protected characteristics.
‘I would suggest having resources within a central location
would make things easier. Quite often I can find resources
,which belong to other colleges and training providers which
are fantastic. If resources such as videos, audios, IAG,
quizzes etc could be made available for network members
to share and use accessible through a dedicated site I think
this would make things easier.’
Survey respondent
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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It was important that resources were organised in a clear way with accurate
summaries and that the website or portable had an effective search facility.
Respondents also needed to be confident that resources were up-to-date
and from a reliable source. For around a tenth of respondents (13) the main
problem they had faced when searching for resources was that there were
not enough high quality resources available on the topic they were looking
for. ‘Other’ ways in which finding resources could be made easier included:
 An online network for providers to share resources;
 Email updates about upcoming dates or months relevant to protected
characteristics;
 A way for practitioners to collect resources; and
 An online account.
Table 15: Ways in which finding resource could be made easier
Frequency
A one-stop-shop (website or online portal) where
39
resources are hosted or linked to
More varied resources of high quality
13
More organised way of structuring resources (e.g. by
7
subject area, resource type)
Clearer resource titles, tags and summaries
6
A website with resources dedicated to adult learning
5
Effective search facility
4
More open/free resources
2
Other
6
Not sure
4
Nothing
7
Table 15 How could finding resources be made easier? N=94. Multiple responses invited.
Table 16 below shows the way that respondents labelled and filed or
organised useful equality and diversity resources. The most common way in
which respondents organised resources was by course title (41 respondents).
‘Other’ ways in which respondents organised resources included:




By title
By date and source
Alphabetical
Favourites on computer
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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Table 16: How respondents label and file/organise useful resources so that
they can find them again
Frequency
By course title
41
By protected characteristic/vulnerable group
28
By session
24
By level (Entry, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc)
20
By date
12
By format (e.g. film, audio, workbook. Newsletter)
11
By theme/topic/keywords
8
Other*
4
Table 16 How respondents label/file/organise useful resources so that they can find them again. N=94.
Multiple responses invited.
What makes a good resource?
Respondents’ criteria for determining whether an equality and diversity
resource is good or not are shown in table 17, below. The most commonly
cited criteria were that the resource is relevant to learners’ needs and
context (22 respondents) and that it is accessible to learners at all levels (18
respondents). ‘Other’ criteria included:









Variety of activities
Includes common statistics
Includes real examples
Balanced view
In-depth
Meets Ofsted requirements
Cheap
Available in multiple formats
Accessible for learners with learning difficulties
Table 17: Respondents’ criteria for determining whether an equality and
diversity resource is good or not
Frequency
Relevant to learners’ needs and context
22
Accessible to learners at all levels
18
Engaging for learners
11
Provokes discussion/challenges commonly held views
6
Reliable source (e.g. recognised organisation)
6
Interactive
4
Promotes diversity
4
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
A better way to share and find equality and diversity resources
Adaptable
Up-to-date
Refers to legislation
Illustrated
Avoids stereotypes
Includes practical examples/suggestions
Other
4
4
3
3
3
2
11
Table 17 What makes a good equality and diversity resource? N=94. Multiple responses invited.
Table 18 below shows the kinds of equality and diversity resources
respondents usually look for. Over half of respondents (53) said they usually
look for materials that they can easily adapt for their learners or subject area,
and almost half (46) said they look for resources at the right ability levels for
different learners.
Table 18: The kinds of equality and diversity resources respondents usually
look for
Frequency
Materials that I can easily adapt for my learners/subject
53
area
Resources at the right ability levels for different learners
46
Things that catch my eye or make me think differently
33
Resources contextualised specifically to my curriculum
27
subject
Factual information I can put in a session or hand-out or
18
as directed reading/self-study
Information on policies and procedures that have to be
17
followed
Popular media - things like films, TV/radio soaps, TV/radio 16
adverts
Resources contextualised to the demography of the
13
local population/area
Resources at the right academic level for my course
13
Things that can be used straight off the shelf, without
12
having to change or update them
Materials other people have produced that learners can 8
use to do things on their own or in groups
Materials and resources that have been produced for
4
learners by learners
News reports, documentaries
4
Equality campaign materials
4
Art, music
3
Table 18 What kinds of equality and diversity resources do you look for? N=94. Up to 3 responses
invited.
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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As Table 19 below shows, respondents are most likely to look for equalities
resources developed for use with/by older learners (60 respondents) or
with/by Black and minority ethnic/mixed ethnic learners (57 respondents).
Only around a quarter of respondents (25) looked for equalities resources
developed for use with/by learners who are pregnant have recently had a
baby.
Table 19: Resources respondents looked for
Equalities resources developed for use with/by older learners
Equalities resources developed for use with/by Black and
minority ethnic learners
Equalities resources developed for use with/by female learners
Equalities resources developed for use with/by young learners
Equalities resources developed for use by/with learners of
particular religious or belief or non-belief groups
Equalities resources developed for use with/by LGBT learners
Equalities resources developed for use with/by male learners
Equalities resources developed for use with/by deaf or
disabled learners
Equalities resources developed for use with/by learners who
are pregnant have recently had a baby
Frequency
60
57
49
46
45
39
39
31
25
Table 19 What resources did respondents look for? N=94. Multiple responses invited.
Almost two-thirds of respondents (60) said that they need more resources that
are accessible to dyslexic learners (see Table 20 below). Other resources
which respondents commonly said they needed more of included resources
that are accessible to learners with mental health difficulties (45 respondents)
and to learners with learning difficulties/disabilities (43 respondents).
Table 20: Resources respondents need more of
Resources that are accessible to dyslexic learners
Resources that are accessible to learners with mental health
difficulties
Resources that are accessible to learners with learning
difficulties/disabilities
Resources that are accessible to dyslexic staff
Resources that are accessible to blind/partially sighted
learners
25
Frequency
60
45
43
14
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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Resources that are accessible to staff with mental health
difficulties
Resources that are accessible to staff with learning
difficulties/disabilities
Resources that are accessible to deaf BSL speaking learners
Resources that are accessible to learners with motor difficulties
Resources that are accessible to learners who are hard of
hearing
Resources that are accessible to blind/partially sighted staff
Resources that are accessible to learners with mobility
difficulties
Resources that are accessible to deaf BSL speaking staff
Resources that are accessible to staff who are hard of hearing
Resources that are accessible to staff with mobility difficulties
Resources that are accessible to staff with motor difficulties
10
7
6
5
5
4
3
3
2
2
2
Table 20 Resources respondents want more of. N=94. Up to 3 responses invited.
Respondents were asked to give the name of an equality and diversity
resource which they found particularly useful and why. Table 21 below gives
their answers.
Table 21: Names of equality and diversity resources respondents find
particularly useful
Name of resource
Why respondent finds it useful
A Class Divided - the
Always provokes strong feelings and stimulates
Eye of the Storm
discussion
Bingo, using Dolch
The very title 'Bingo' evokes fun in the learners! It
words
might seem left to 'chance' but actually it employs
some very useful remembering skills. It doesn't seem
to disadvantage any learners.
Black People Don't Go http://mediadiversified.org/2013/10/21/blackto Galleries article
people-dont-go-to-galleries-the-reproduction-of(online)
taste-and-cultural-value/
It explores the borderland between protected
characteristics and gets people thinking differently.
Change: How to make The resource has been created with the help of
information accessible people with learning difficulties.
The resource has all information necessary for me to
create my own materials.
The resource is clear and straightforward.
Culture Wheel
Because it is a practical resource that can be
integrated in to most family learning programmes
to create a dialogue that promotes intercultural
understanding.
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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Diversity Calendar with
celebratory dates
DVD (the eye of the
storm)
Interesting for learners and raises awareness.
The DVD is a good talking point. Even though old it
helps the learners understand the genesis of the
political and ethical debates. I use it as point of
where/ what are the equality and diversity issues have things changed? relate to modern day issues
- people with disabilities, the older population etc,
EHRC teaching films
Good quality, intelligent content, I am able to build
(see EHRC web site)
sessions around this easily
Entrepreneurship Video It's visual, informative, has a catchy theme tune
on you tube
and also has subtitles.
Equal opportunities
I am able to adapt this resource depending on the
(homeskills web site)
vocational area and level of the students that I am
teaching at the time.
Equalities and Human
It has useful videos related to bullying on racism
rights commission
and gender discrimination for use with students in
website
tutorials
Equalities Commission
relates to legislation and usually has lots of other
guidance
links
Equality Act 2010
Ease of accessibility
Equality and Diversity
useful to use as an icebreaker in sessions
Awareness Quiz
Equality and Diversity
It is a clear, straightforward checklist that makes me
Checklist for Teaching
think about what I am including in my
resources/lessons.
Equality and Diversity
It isn't - it worked for me but I can't use it for my
discussion
students as that would be against copyright -I use it
as a discussion exercise
Equality and Diversity
The resources provide inspiration and can be easily
UK packages
adapted.
Explaining
It covers an area where there are very few
safeguarding to
resources.
learners with learning
Provides ideas and support to colleagues working
with learners with learning disabilities and the
content largely came from the sector and has
been tried and tested.
Fitness to Study
To continue with the development of a set of
protocols
GERI report and
Good guidance and examples of activities
supporting documents
good practice for the
Because it relates directly to the industry my
construction sector
students will potentially be employed in.
http://www.equalityan Useful posters for our training rooms
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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ddiversity.net/posters.h
tm
http://www.youtube.c
om/
watch?v=02tkp6eeh40
http://www.youtube.c
om/user/EqualityHuma
nRights/vi
interactive drama
[forum theatre]
paradise island
Interactive Picture
Dictionary
Learning to Teach
inclusively
Living in the Outback
LSIS Guidance on
SMSC 2010
MHFE:
http://mhfe.org.uk/
mind website
Modified yoga
postures
Multi-Faith Calendars
Animated scores of music as well as scores on
YouTube are a great resource as they provide a
visual entry route into a potentially difficult piece of
music. You don't have to be in the concert hall which can be intimidating to some- and they make
a link to a medium that many are familiar with -the
electronic screen. The YouTube links that provide
actual scores are also useful as I can help the
learners follow the scores.
I can pick certain videos to illustrate an equality
(inequality) We can discuss the clip after we have
watched it, and I can embed the learning
it has so many aspects to it
It is used with learners who have no alphabet when
trying to support them to read and write
It can be found here:
http://www.wlv.ac.uk/Default.aspx?page=24685
this resource is useful because it's visual, there are
real people in it, it aids reflection and it provides
opportunities for discussion.
Learners find it interesting
It is the basic resource for staff training on religion,
belief and SMSC in FE
I find the library of resources and the network
extremely useful.
learners can explore independently
Inclusive Learning
The resource enables our Assessors/Trainers to
engage with their about current Multi-Faith dates
which are taking place during the month. We find
the resources allows the learners to choose a
subject within the calendar and either classroom or
121 discussions allow the subject to grow. Learners
can offer their current knowledge and opinions
about a subject and because the calendars
include sources of IAG and signposting, we can
agree SMART targets with learners about a
celebration / Multi-Faith subject for them to own
and complete ahead of their next Assessor/Trainer
visit. So far we have created the 2014 calendars for
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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Multiplication 7 x table
Newly developed
resources from my
employer
NHS Equality Delivery
System
NIACE ESOL citizenship
materials
Noughts and Crosses
by Malorie Blackman
OU Diversity guidelines
Patient Voices
Programme
(www.patientvoices.or
g.uk
PECS
Picture instructions e.g.
Fire exit, toilets,
Quiz Busters
report-it-website
the months January through to July. Our next step
will be evaluate the effectiveness of the calendars
with our colleagues and learners when they will be
invited to participate in completing a feedback
survey in the next few months.
I wanted to upload this resource but video is not
allowed as an upload choice - nor is audio.
Knowing what types of resource can be uploaded
under the question 17. would be useful. My
resource is on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGaHL9glTqQ
I find it useful as learners with dyscalculia need
different strategies for multiplication. This method
can help but they need to practise it quite a few
times before they remember it and having a video
they can watch between sessions helps - rather
than a handout. The video isn't good in that it
assumes the person has no visual or hearing
impairment.
Because it is quite comprehensive and context
appropriate.
it is outcome not process focussed
it's mapped to the ESOL curriculum and has
suggestions for differentiations
Promotes awareness and discussion of equality
issues
Clear and to the point. Short document which
specifies what I need to do.
Authentic, compact, freely playable.
It promotes communication and language
Some of the LDD learners find it difficult to
understand basic instructions with out pictures
http://www.teachers-direct.co.uk/resources/quizbusters/quiz-busters-game.aspx?game_id=4815
The students like to be a bit competitive and also
work in teams. I use a quiz to check understanding,
so this was great at the end of my session on
equality and diversity
makes hate crime reporting accessible to people
with learning disabilities
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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sample embedding
equality and diversity
PDF
scils
sex education and
relationships
Teaching and
Supporting Vulnerable
Learners
Ted videos in Spanish
TES
The equality act
explanatory notes
Training materials
TUC equality
understanding mental
health game
Units of sound
Upworthy website
using work cards and
books that show
women and men
Video about
transgender adult
learning tutor
Video Hotel Rwanda
Worldwide Waste
disposal & safety batteries
YouTube generally just really useful
Although 2011 and there are updates it is a toolkit
that has practical use
ease to use across all groups
Meets learners needs
PSD resource designed to support teachers and
key workers in their engagement and support of
vulnerable learners 9Understanding Dyslexia,
Mental Health, confidence barriers)
TED Chimananda Adichie El peligro de una única
historia
Has some easy to understand resources, that can
be adapted for the college learners
Explains in plain English the act. Also human rights
commission documents
Very thorough
It is a good starting point.
i have to deal with many more learners who have
poor mental health and it would be useful to bring
this information into a session for other learners to
find out about. the resource would need to be fun
with full instructions on how to deal with the issues
that may arise
It is a computer programme that can be used as
part of a lesson or for independent study
They have a range of positive clips that are short
but make my learners think. Accessible via
Facebook, so learners can find their own clips to
watch.
I find this resource useful because it raise learners'
awareness of sexist issue and questions sexism
It tackles a protected characteristic that often gets
left out. It's a real live person, not writing on a piece
of paper, so you can't ignore it. It stimulates
debate.
Shows many areas particularly to do with genocide
and racial tension.
Link to a motor vehicle lesson
Because there is almost everything you could hope
to find on any topic - gives learners a different way
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The Equalities Tagging Tool:
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resources
of accessing information. I make sure I choose
one that has good audio to support as have a
blind learner.
Good for explaining topics like assertiveness,
scientific basis of mental health topics, Backs up
what you say and offers credibility
Table 21 Names of equality and diversity resources respondents find particularly useful and why. N=94
Conclusion
Since the survey was completed and analysed we have since accepted and
implemented all of the recommendations that practitioners made. This is
captured in summary form in the ‘You said - We made it happen…’ report
available on the equalities toolkit website.
The Equalities tagging Tool is in use on the equalities toolkit website and the
Open source code, which will enable providers and sector membership
bodies to install the plugin on their own websites/intranets was launched at
the NIACE annual national digital learning conference on 14 November 2014.
It is available to download via the website.
We hope that the Equalities Tagging Tool will provide practitioners with a
better way to share and find equality and diversity resources and that this in
turn will support them to develop better equality and diversity practice to
benefit their learners.
31