A key strand of our mission is to provide an equal and inclusive learning and working environment for our students and staff so that all develop to their full potential.
To embrace our vision of equity and access, we ensure that equality, diversity and inclusivity is an integral part of our practices and is embedded in all that we do.
We strive to build an enabling community free from prejudice, discrimination, hate and harassment and an environment that supports and promotes the diverse backgrounds of our staff and students.
We value others for their contribution irrespective of personal differences and actively encourage diversity and inclusion, good employment practice, staff training and a positive working and learning environment. The Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity Forum includes staff from across Hartpury and meets regularly to ensure equality and diversity issues are addressed at all levels within the organisation.
Hartpury Students' Union (SU) is fully committed to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion. The SU officer team includes a Liberation Officer who ensures that students feel represented and their voices heard, regardless of their race, gender, religion, sexuality or disability. They hold focus groups to discuss issues with students, run campaigns and sit on inclusivity forums to drive change. The SU work with the University’s Head of Inclusivity to create a university experience that's accessible and inclusive to all members of the Hartpury community.
The following sections provide further information regarding our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusivity.
Our commitment to equality of opportunity regardless of age
Our commitment
We're committed to equality of opportunity for our students and our staff regardless of their age. Our aim is to enable all students to access learning and to improve their personal and professional development, their employability and their chances of success.
We'll continue to work to narrow age-related success gaps. Our recruitment methods and employee support will reflect best practice. We'll create opportunities for staff to have a voice via the staff forum and will work to develop excellent professional development and progression opportunities to evolve staff careers, irrespective of their age. We have a zero-tolerance stance to eliminate any unfair behaviour arising from differences in age.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Our commitment to ensure inclusive learning and teaching at Hartpury
Our commitment
We're committed to reviewing the student experience for all student groups at Hartpury to ensure each student is able to reach their potential. We strive to recognise the diverse needs of our students and frequently engage with the student voice in order to do so.
Recently, Hartpury University launched an Inclusive Teaching & Learning Guide for academic staff, which provides guidance and support to inclusive practice and highlights our commitment to the student experience.
We also offer a range of financial support packages including bursaries, grants and scholarships for current College students and University students so they may fully engage with learning opportunities as part of their study.
We endeavour to ensure all students with special educational needs or disabilities, including mental health, are able to follow a programme of study most suitable to their needs with appropriate support. Read Hartpury’s student disability policy.
Equality, diversity and inclusion events
Events and activities
Hartpury University and Hartpury College hold and support many equality, diversity and inclusion-related events and activities throughout the year including a Celebration Week, which schedules activity to promote equality, diversity and inclusion within the institution.
Inclusivity Symposium
Staff from all departments are invited to the Inclusivity Symposium, which aims to provide updates on equality, diversity and inclusion activity at Hartpury, information and guidance, and subject specific talks. Annually, this includes updates from our Students’ Union and on the progress against Access and Participation targets. Subject-specific talks in the past have included student mental health (The Charlie Waller Foundation), dementia (Dementia UK), and student sexuality (Gay Glos).
Our commitment to higher education access, success and progression
Hartpury University is committed to ensuring fair and equal access, success, and progression for students from all backgrounds, and you can read about this in our Access and Participation Plan.
Access and participation plans set out how higher education providers will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups to access, succeed in and progress from higher education (The Office for Students, 2021). Our goal is to widen access to higher education by encouraging participation in our learning programmes and creating the conditions where students can succeed irrespective of background.
Read more about our commitment and targets in the Hartpury’s Access and Participation Plan.
We offer a wide range of resources, activities and outreach events for teachers and advisors looking to work with us to develop aspirations and understanding of higher education. Find out more on our working with schools and colleges pages.
You can find out more about our collaborative outreach activity here: https://www.grows.ac.uk/.
Age
Our commitment to equality of opportunity regardless of age
Our commitment
We're committed to equality of opportunity for our students and our staff regardless of their age. Our aim is to enable all students to access learning and to improve their personal and professional development, their employability and their chances of success.
We'll continue to work to narrow age-related success gaps. Our recruitment methods and employee support will reflect best practice. We'll create opportunities for staff to have a voice via the staff forum and will work to develop excellent professional development and progression opportunities to evolve staff careers, irrespective of their age. We have a zero-tolerance stance to eliminate any unfair behaviour arising from differences in age.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Inclusive teaching and learning
Our commitment to ensure inclusive learning and teaching at Hartpury
Our commitment
We're committed to reviewing the student experience for all student groups at Hartpury to ensure each student is able to reach their potential. We strive to recognise the diverse needs of our students and frequently engage with the student voice in order to do so.
Recently, Hartpury University launched an Inclusive Teaching & Learning Guide for academic staff, which provides guidance and support to inclusive practice and highlights our commitment to the student experience.
We also offer a range of financial support packages including bursaries, grants and scholarships for current College students and University students so they may fully engage with learning opportunities as part of their study.
We endeavour to ensure all students with special educational needs or disabilities, including mental health, are able to follow a programme of study most suitable to their needs with appropriate support. Read Hartpury’s student disability policy.
Equality, diversity and inclusion events
Equality, diversity and inclusion events
Events and activities
Hartpury University and Hartpury College hold and support many equality, diversity and inclusion-related events and activities throughout the year including a Celebration Week, which schedules activity to promote equality, diversity and inclusion within the institution.
Inclusivity Symposium
Staff from all departments are invited to the Inclusivity Symposium, which aims to provide updates on equality, diversity and inclusion activity at Hartpury, information and guidance, and subject specific talks. Annually, this includes updates from our Students’ Union and on the progress against Access and Participation targets. Subject-specific talks in the past have included student mental health (The Charlie Waller Foundation), dementia (Dementia UK), and student sexuality (Gay Glos).
Access and particpation
Our commitment to higher education access, success and progression
Hartpury University is committed to ensuring fair and equal access, success, and progression for students from all backgrounds, and you can read about this in our Access and Participation Plan.
Access and participation plans set out how higher education providers will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups to access, succeed in and progress from higher education (The Office for Students, 2021). Our goal is to widen access to higher education by encouraging participation in our learning programmes and creating the conditions where students can succeed irrespective of background.
Read more about our commitment and targets in the Hartpury’s Access and Participation Plan.
We offer a wide range of resources, activities and outreach events for teachers and advisors looking to work with us to develop aspirations and understanding of higher education. Find out more on our working with schools and colleges pages.
You can find out more about our collaborative outreach activity here: https://www.grows.ac.uk/.
Our commitment to take positive action to address inequalities and oppose racism
Our commitment
We're committed to making Hartpury a place where students and staff are valued and respected and able to develop equally. We promote best practice in race equality and we'll identify and combat racism. Racial harassment won't be tolerated within the organisation. We'll continue to take positive action to encourage the recruitment of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups of students and staff and to close any gaps in success. We recognise the limitations of the BAME acronym, subsequently, we aim to acknowledge the needs of individuals including all the intersections that might involve. Meanwhile, our subscription to the BAME acronym ensures our targets and measurements align to the main regulatory bodies including the Office for Students (OfS) and Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (OFSTED).
Our curriculum and extra-curricular activities raise awareness and enable students to gain respect, self-esteem and confidence, preparing them to live in a racially diverse society. We'll continue to seek to increase the number of staff, particularly senior staff, from BAME groups and encourage links with supportive professional bodies such as the Network for Black Professionals. We'll work to develop role models through our body of students and our community and recognise the contribution they can make to students’ aspirations. We'll work to secure the fullest participation of BAME students and staff.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Black Lives Matter
Read our Students' Union's response to the Black Lives Matter movement here and Black Lives Matter: Some practical actions, including suggested reading lists and other positive actions.
Diversity Dates
In the academic year 2020-21, Dr John Fernandes (Senior Lecturer) launched Diversity Dates which involved a series of interviews showcasing the research and experiences of academics and professionals from diverse backgrounds in the field of sport and exercise science. The interviews were promoted internally to help improve diversity within reading lists and teaching materials. They were also presented externally at the annual Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference (July 2021) to encourage other institutions to think about how they might showcase diversity within their respective industries and offer examples of diverse authors that can appear in reference lists.
Black Further Educations Leadership Group
We support the work of the Black Further Education Leadership Group, and have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister to address systematic racism in further education.
Gloucester Race Commission
We also support the work of the Gloucester Race Commission, which was established by Gloucester City Council for an initial period of 12 months to reflect upon and gain a better understanding of experiences of racism with Gloucester. The Chair of the Commission was invited to promote the work of the group to the staff at Hartpury. We also provided demographic information about university staff and student populations. Next steps involve a call for evidence that seeks to gather lived experiences from Gloucester’s residents on race relations.
Anti-Semitism
We won't tolerate any form of racial or religious discrimination and have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of anti-semitism:
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
Further information and the full definition can be found on the Holocaust Remembrance website here.
Our work to support and promote gender equality and reduce the gender pay gap
Our commitment
Gender equality, representation and progression is important to us at Hartpury. We welcome people of all genders, in all departments and roles and educational programmes across our curriculum learning environments. We promote an inclusive culture of mutual respect in relation to gender. We don't tolerate gender-based harassment. We'll remove barriers and actively encourage inclusive participation in traditionally gender specific job roles, job levels, curriculum areas and programmes of study, in accordance with legislation. Hartpury strives to be a place where people are encouraged to follow their chosen career or learning pathway regardless of gender status as we seek to build an environment where respect is valued by all.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Gender Pay Gap
Our most recent gender pay gap report is significantly less than the UK’s national average (Office of Statistics) and we remain committed to further reducing the gender pay gap.
Pay gap reporting requires employers to publish statutory calculations every year showing the pay gap between male and female employees.
Gender pay gap differs from equal pay. Whilst equal pay deals with the differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value, gender pay gap shows the differences in the average pay between men and women. Hartpury has undertaken Equal Pay Audits, which have demonstrated there are no significant gaps.
Read Hartpury's latest gender pay gap report
Read our Harassment and Bullying policy here
Our commitment
We celebrate the diversity of our staff and students and welcome people of any sexual orientation. We have a zero-tolerance stance to homophobia and will actively challenge homophobia when it arises. Hartpury strives to be a place where the LGBTQ+ community is visible.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Visit our Students’ Union website to discover more about our SU Officers, including our LBGTQ+ liberation officer.
Read our Harassment and Bullying policy here.
Our work to develop new and better opportunities for disabled people
Our commitment
We have adopted the social model of disability, which promotes the right of a disabled person to belong, to be valued, to choose and to make decisions. In adopting this model, we accept that we'll have to strive to remove disabling barriers created by attitudes, systems and practices that prevent participation by disabled persons.
As a ‘Disability Confident’ registered employer, we're committed to the development of new and better opportunities for disabled people and aim to develop both practice and delivery options in order to ensure their success. We promote positive attitudes towards disabled people and will continue to take steps to remove any barriers, by putting in place reasonable adjustments and operating a zero-tolerance stance in relation to discrimination. We'll gather and use information on how our policies and practices affect the educational opportunities available to, and on the achievements of, disabled students and staff.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Our work to promote learning and understanding between faiths, religions and beliefs
Our commitment
We welcome people of all faiths, religions and none, and will promote learning and understanding between these groups. We have a zero tolerance stance to eliminate any discriminatory behaviour arising from differences in belief. We'll work to secure respect for faith, religion and belief and welcome all of them equally, providing opportunities for the faithful to celebrate their beliefs. As a learning organisation, we'll place firm emphasis on the primacy of education and we will develop and deliver our curriculum to strengthen moral and social awareness wherever it's appropriate.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Race and racism
Our commitment to take positive action to address inequalities and oppose racism
Our commitment
We're committed to making Hartpury a place where students and staff are valued and respected and able to develop equally. We promote best practice in race equality and we'll identify and combat racism. Racial harassment won't be tolerated within the organisation. We'll continue to take positive action to encourage the recruitment of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups of students and staff and to close any gaps in success. We recognise the limitations of the BAME acronym, subsequently, we aim to acknowledge the needs of individuals including all the intersections that might involve. Meanwhile, our subscription to the BAME acronym ensures our targets and measurements align to the main regulatory bodies including the Office for Students (OfS) and Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (OFSTED).
Our curriculum and extra-curricular activities raise awareness and enable students to gain respect, self-esteem and confidence, preparing them to live in a racially diverse society. We'll continue to seek to increase the number of staff, particularly senior staff, from BAME groups and encourage links with supportive professional bodies such as the Network for Black Professionals. We'll work to develop role models through our body of students and our community and recognise the contribution they can make to students’ aspirations. We'll work to secure the fullest participation of BAME students and staff.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Black Lives Matter
Read our Students' Union's response to the Black Lives Matter movement here and Black Lives Matter: Some practical actions, including suggested reading lists and other positive actions.
Diversity Dates
In the academic year 2020-21, Dr John Fernandes (Senior Lecturer) launched Diversity Dates which involved a series of interviews showcasing the research and experiences of academics and professionals from diverse backgrounds in the field of sport and exercise science. The interviews were promoted internally to help improve diversity within reading lists and teaching materials. They were also presented externally at the annual Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference (July 2021) to encourage other institutions to think about how they might showcase diversity within their respective industries and offer examples of diverse authors that can appear in reference lists.
Black Further Educations Leadership Group
We support the work of the Black Further Education Leadership Group, and have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister to address systematic racism in further education.
Gloucester Race Commission
We also support the work of the Gloucester Race Commission, which was established by Gloucester City Council for an initial period of 12 months to reflect upon and gain a better understanding of experiences of racism with Gloucester. The Chair of the Commission was invited to promote the work of the group to the staff at Hartpury. We also provided demographic information about university staff and student populations. Next steps involve a call for evidence that seeks to gather lived experiences from Gloucester’s residents on race relations.
Anti-Semitism
We won't tolerate any form of racial or religious discrimination and have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of anti-semitism:
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
Further information and the full definition can be found on the Holocaust Remembrance website here.
Gender
Our work to support and promote gender equality and reduce the gender pay gap
Our commitment
Gender equality, representation and progression is important to us at Hartpury. We welcome people of all genders, in all departments and roles and educational programmes across our curriculum learning environments. We promote an inclusive culture of mutual respect in relation to gender. We don't tolerate gender-based harassment. We'll remove barriers and actively encourage inclusive participation in traditionally gender specific job roles, job levels, curriculum areas and programmes of study, in accordance with legislation. Hartpury strives to be a place where people are encouraged to follow their chosen career or learning pathway regardless of gender status as we seek to build an environment where respect is valued by all.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Gender Pay Gap
Our most recent gender pay gap report is significantly less than the UK’s national average (Office of Statistics) and we remain committed to further reducing the gender pay gap.
Pay gap reporting requires employers to publish statutory calculations every year showing the pay gap between male and female employees.
Gender pay gap differs from equal pay. Whilst equal pay deals with the differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value, gender pay gap shows the differences in the average pay between men and women. Hartpury has undertaken Equal Pay Audits, which have demonstrated there are no significant gaps.
Read Hartpury's latest gender pay gap report
Read our Harassment and Bullying policy here
Sexuality
Our commitment
We celebrate the diversity of our staff and students and welcome people of any sexual orientation. We have a zero-tolerance stance to homophobia and will actively challenge homophobia when it arises. Hartpury strives to be a place where the LGBTQ+ community is visible.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Visit our Students’ Union website to discover more about our SU Officers, including our LBGTQ+ liberation officer.
Read our Harassment and Bullying policy here.
Disability
Our work to develop new and better opportunities for disabled people
Our commitment
We have adopted the social model of disability, which promotes the right of a disabled person to belong, to be valued, to choose and to make decisions. In adopting this model, we accept that we'll have to strive to remove disabling barriers created by attitudes, systems and practices that prevent participation by disabled persons.
As a ‘Disability Confident’ registered employer, we're committed to the development of new and better opportunities for disabled people and aim to develop both practice and delivery options in order to ensure their success. We promote positive attitudes towards disabled people and will continue to take steps to remove any barriers, by putting in place reasonable adjustments and operating a zero-tolerance stance in relation to discrimination. We'll gather and use information on how our policies and practices affect the educational opportunities available to, and on the achievements of, disabled students and staff.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Faith, religion and belief
Our work to promote learning and understanding between faiths, religions and beliefs
Our commitment
We welcome people of all faiths, religions and none, and will promote learning and understanding between these groups. We have a zero tolerance stance to eliminate any discriminatory behaviour arising from differences in belief. We'll work to secure respect for faith, religion and belief and welcome all of them equally, providing opportunities for the faithful to celebrate their beliefs. As a learning organisation, we'll place firm emphasis on the primacy of education and we will develop and deliver our curriculum to strengthen moral and social awareness wherever it's appropriate.
Read more about our context, commitment and intended impact in the Hartpury Single Equality Scheme 2020-2025 here.
Our partners & accreditations
