Equality and Inclusion

Diversity: Diversity literally means difference. It recognises that though people have things in common with each other, they are also different and unique in many ways. Diversity is about recognising and valuing differences. Diversity therefore involves visible and non-visible factors, which are personal features such as background, culture, personality and work-style in addition to the characteristics that are protected under discrimination legislation in terms of race, disability, gender, religion and belief, sexual orientation and age. Equality: Equality means treating people in a way that is appropriate for their needs. For example, if someone who was in a wheelchair wanted to board the plane, it would be no good saying to then, “you have the same stairs as everybody else”. What is needed is a way of getting on the plane that will suit everybody’s needs without showing them up and treating them in a way that is worse than other people. Inclusion: Inclusion making the practice of “equality of opportunity” a worthwhile activity in the setting. It means trying to remove as many barriers as possible for children to ensure they can get everything they need from the setting.

For instance, if you have a child at the setting and their first language isn’t English but you have someone at the setting who speaks the same language they do then that member of staff can give other staff phrases and things to ensure the child understand and gets the best benefits they can. Inclusion also includes the idea that all children need to feel welcomed and valued at a the setting, practitioners need to ensure every effort is made for this to happen Discrimination: Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. Discrimination is when someone treats someone else less favourably than others. It could mean a child is getting less attention then another child because of their skin colour, race etc. There are laws against discrimination because of Race, Sex, Age, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Religion or Beliefs and Gender Reassignment.

1.2 Describe ways in which discrimination may deliberately or inadvertently occur in the work setting Discrimination may deliberately occur in a work place because someone could be treated less favourable, or treated differently because of their gender, age, race, disability, sexuality or their religion. Discrimination may inadvertently take place when job policies are only given to you in English instead of different languages.

1.3 Explain how practices that support equality and inclusion reduce the likelihood of discrimination. By supporting a person’s equality you are treating them as equal and including them in all activities, you will be reducing the likelihood of discrimination.