Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

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EDIB stands for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. Our vision is to become a fully inclusive organisation.

To achieve this vision, we have formed an EDIB Committee with representatives from the Council, teaching staff, support staff and pupils.

The aims of the committee are:

To educate our community about Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
To celebrate the contributions of marginalised groups to history and our contemporary society
To embrace and celebrate diversity
To give voice to all members of our community
To create a sense of belonging for all members of the community

We really value parental engagement and are keen to work with you to achieve our vision. Should you want to get involved and discuss this further with Geraldine Maringo, our Assistant Head leading on EDIB, please do not hesitate to contact her via edib@cliftoncollege.com.

How we support our students

Pastoral support

Pastoral support is provided from different people who are part of the House team. There is the Housemaster or Housemistress that pupils can talk to, and there are also other adults, like the Assistant HoM, the Matron and the Tutor. If pupils prefer to talk to someone confidentially about worries or concerns they have, they can contact the School Counsellor or the Chaplain.

Whisper

Whisper is an online reporting tool that allows pupils to safely and securely share any concerns they may have anonymously. The reporting can be completed either by an online form or by text message.

Using Whisper empowers the Clifton College community to speak up safely without fear of repercussions or ‘whistle blowing’. Whisper gives the College greater visibility of issues that may otherwise go unreported allowing pupils to report issues without fear of consequences.

Posters can be found across the College displaying the various ways pupils can report using Whisper.

Anti-racism work

Anti-racism statement

Clifton College is committed to being an anti-racist organisation.

The Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on global majority communities highlighted the urgent need to examine more closely what we can do, both as individuals and as an organisation, to tackle racial injustice, inequality and unconscious bias.

Clifton College has a zero-tolerance approach to racism and condemns all racist and discriminatory behaviour. We are committed to challenging and dismantling structural racism within our practices, policies and community.

We are committed to ensuring that Clifton College is an anti-racist environment within which all our pupils and young people can feel safe, welcome, learn and make progress.

It is unacceptable that anyone at the College experiences racism or discrimination.

We have formed an Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee (EDIB) with representatives from parents, pupils, staff, governors, old Cliftonians and Council members.
Our mission is to ensure our organisation becomes fully inclusive.

Flair survey

Clifton College is working in partnership with Flair impact, an organisation that is committed to build an anti-racist culture in schools. In the Lent term (2021) all staff and pupils completed an anonymous survey.

Flair’s anti-racism insights covered four key areas:

Racial Awareness
Racial Diversity
Racist Behaviours
Racial Inclusion-barriers

Flair interpreted the data and provided a report with a range of strategies that we can adopt to ensure we build an inclusive community. We have implemented some of these strategies already and hope to work with Flair again in the near future to review our progress in this area of EDIB.

Resources for parents

Should you want to learn more about anti-racism and discrimination in general, please feel free to look at these resources.

Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) is the UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity.

SARI provides free and confidential support for anyone who is a victim of hate crime. Whether that’s based on race, faith, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or sex. They also work to build greater understanding and respect for diversity and difference within our community.

Here is a series of five podcasts regarding the impact of racism on individuals and the school community.

RSE/PSHE

RSE statement

Clifton College is committed to delivering effective, and inclusive, relationships and sex education (RSE) to students, in an age appropriate way, to enable them to make informed, healthy and independent choices.

To improve staff confidence in promoting values of equality across the College we have enrolled all teaching departments in UK Feminista’s online module for challenging sexism in schools. We have also enlisted the support of experts from external agencies (including itHappens, Beyond Equality & Brook Education) to help inform staff and students about RSE topics in a variety of engaging ways.

RSE policy

Resources for parents

Our current PSHE curriculum is based on the PSHE Associations recommended curriculum. The lesson materials and student workbooks (produced by the Head of PSHE) have been updated to reflect the 2019 statutory changes to relationships and sex education (RSE) in schools.

Every September, in line with the statutory guidance, parents are given the opportunity to withdraw their child from RSE specific lessons before the age of 16. Information about the PSHE curriculum can be found on the college’s website and Clifton College welcomes parental contribution to the curriculum. Feedback or input can be sent at any time via email to the Head of PSHE (Upper School) via info@cliftoncollege.com or through our annual parent PSHE survey in the Michaelmas term. To help support parents with conversations about RSE topics at home, Clifton College provides opportunities for parents to engage with RSE focused webinars and talks.

Useful links include:

SEND & Accessibility

Clifton College is committed to providing the best possible support to all pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities according to their individual needs and in accordance with the requirements laid down by the Equality Act (2010). In the Upper School, SEN covers a range of specific difficulties from ASD, ADHD, dyspraxia and mild through to severe dyslexia.

The Learning Support Department offers learning support as a timetabled subject in the language option block and provides specialist individual tuition in English, maths and study skills. We use an inclusive, encouraging and supportive teaching approach within a nurturing environment in order to enable pupils with SEND to realise their potential. The location of the Learning Support Department places it much more in the heart of the school, allowing greater liaison with other departments, and in particular the English Department.

SEND policy

Support for parents

Accessibility statement

Accessibility policy

Clifton College is committed to providing an accessible, non-discriminatory environment which values and includes all pupils, staff, parents and visitors, regardless of their educational, physical, sensory, social, spiritual, emotional and cultural needs.

As a College, we strive to ensure that each and every pupil can access our whole school curriculum, including a broad range of extra-curricular activities and school trips.

The College also takes a fully inclusive approach to staff recruitment and aims to appoint the best person based on their skills and qualifications, regardless of any disability they might have.

Resources for parents

Our Accessibility Policy and day to day decisions are guided by the Equality Act 2010, which seeks to protect people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. The Equality Act 2010 can be found here: The Equality Act 2010

An introduction to the Equality Act 2010 – A short, helpful video explaining the Protected Characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010.

LGBTQ+ work

Pride Society Statement

Clifton College is committed to celebrating differences and diversity.

Clifton College understands how important it is for LGBTQ+ students to see their community accepted and celebrated in their lessons, physical surroundings and in the policy decisions being made behind the scenes. The school aims to create an environment that is welcoming, inclusive and visibly supportive of our LGBTQ+ students and staff. Since the creation of the first Clifton College Pride group, students have commented that they feel increasingly nurtured and respected in the school.

At Clifton College we have two complementary Pride groups; Pride Society and Pride Action. Students are welcome to attend either or both depending on their own preferences. The Pride groups are open to all Upper School students; members of the LGBTQIA+ community and cisgender, heterosexual allies.

Pride Society

Pride Society has been running for eight years, and meets each Thursday at 6pm in the Percival Library to discuss issues of gender and sexuality, alongside wider areas of diversity. We have hosted a wide range of guest speakers, from bestselling author Juno Dawson to Dr Carole Buckley, Clinical Champion for Autism and Science Communicator Antonia Forster who gave an excellent talk on Gender and Sexuality in the Animal Kingdom. The activities, events and speakers are organised to meet the needs and desires of the current cohort, which means we’ve organised trips to Forbidden Planet and engaged in epic Dungeons and Dragons quests as well as film nights, tie-dye sessions and She-Raathons. We also provide excellent snacking opportunities.

Pride Action Group

Pride Action Group is the Pride Society’s baby sibling, being established in Lent Term 2022. Pride Action meets every fortnight and has a focus on activism and change both within the school and in the wider community. Pride Action has close ties with the EDIB Committee, allowing opportunities for integration and collaboration between the two groups. Like Pride Society, Pride Action is very much driven by the ideas and needs of its members, meaning that the changes we hope to make will be relevant and meaningful for our students.

Pride Society Initiatives

The Pronoun Project

The Pronoun Project was created by students as an opportunity for members of the staff body to opt-in to learn about pronouns and their use by the LGBTQ+ community, usualising the use of alternative pronouns and increasing confidence in their use by members of the school.

Feedback from the Pronoun Champions was overwhelmingly positive and the programme means a great deal to members of the College community.

Clifton College Pride Week

Clifton College Pride Week has been celebrated since 2018, and has grown in scale year on year.

For information about 2023’s Pride Parade and 2024’s Pride Festival, follow the links below.

2024 Pride Festival

2023 Pride Parade

If you have questions about either group, please contact Ms Walker and Mr Rossell at pride@www.cliftoncollege.com

EDIB and the Upper (Percival) Library

The Library has a commitment to Equality Diversity Inclusion and Belonging. We have made incremental changes to the ways in which we select our resources and choose visiting speakers, but we are aware that there is still work to do to ensure that we fully support ALL our staff and students. Detailed below are some of the initiatives that we have in place. We work continuously with the wider College community to ensure that we continue to improve the provision of resources and our programme of events and activities.

EDIB in the library’s visiting speakers programme 2018-2023

BAME authors and writers

Yvonne Battle-Felton: Author and Lecturer
Season Butler: Author
Vanessa Kisuule: Poet
Patrice Lawrence: Author
Irfan Master: Author
Temi Oh: Author
Nikesh Shukla: Author, Journalist, Screenwriter, Anti-racism Activist
Dean Atta: Author and Poet
Polly Ho Yen: Author
Sue Cheung: Author and Illustrator
Alex Wheatle: Author and Screenwriter
Polly Ho-Yen: Author
Saili Katebe: Poet
Deanna Rodger: Poet
Ben Dean: Author

LGBTQ+ speakers

Antonia Forster: Science Communicator
Juno Dawson: Author and Activist
Natasha Broad: LGBTQ+ Youth Worker
Julia Ray: Digital Curator
Basil Waite: Artist
Dr Vanessa Jerome: Academic
Henry Poultney: LGBTQ+ Youth Worker
Dean Atta: Author and Poet
Addy Tyler: Director and Ffion Evans: Actor
Kat Lyons: Poet
Ben Dean: Author

Neurodiverse speakers (including speakers about neurodiversity)

Tom Pollock: Author
Dr Carole Buckley: Clinical Champion for Autism
Gaby Oxley: AutiMs volunteer
Sally Gardner: Author

Speakers on Gender Equality

Sian Norris: Journalist and Activist
Holly Bourne: Writer, Journalist and Activist
Louisa Reed: Author
Kate Weston: Author
Amy Beashel: Author

Book Shadowing and Reading Groups

Bristol Teen Book Award (YA book award with the theme of diversity)
BTBA Shadowing in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Carnegie Award

Whole Class Carnegie shadowing since 2018, which has included studying fiction by authors of colour and discussions on racism and activism:

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

EDIB Reading Group

The library runs EDIB Reading Groups for staff and students.

Promotion of Resources

Promotion of diverse books using screens around the College and the library’s Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Annual book displays for Black History Month, LGBTQ+ History Month and International Women’s Day.
Goodreads Lists: ‘Celebrating Writers of Colour’, ‘Activism, Resistance and Dissent’ and ‘Pride’.

National Poetry Day

Showcasing the work of Black poets through online events, resources and library display.

With National Poetry Day falling during Black History Month, the library combines our annual poetry festivities with the celebration of Black British poets. Librarians collate a collection of inspiring and thought-provoking spoken word performance videos for students to watch and discuss during English lessons along with printed resources and competitions.

International Women’s Day

The library recognises that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. In 2022, the librarians gathered videos of members of the Clifton community making a pledge to #breakthebias.

Lunar New Year

To celebrate Lunar New Year with our students we have organised crafts, storytelling with pupils from the Prep school and welcomed the Bristol University Lion Dance Troupe to perform on the Quad.

Religious Celebrations

The library has hosted talks and displays on Diwali, Purim, Hanukkah, Eid and Ramadan. Where appropriate after consulting with students and staff participating in these celebrations, the talks have been accompanied by food (such as Barfi and Jelabis for Diwali) and the library has been decorated appropriately.

Other

Clifton Herald Student Newspaper
Articles discussing racism and a BLM resource list curated by the librarians and the Clifton Herald journalists and featured on the Herald website.

Film Society

Focus on black film directors for Black History Month (Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Barry Jenkins).

Annual Book Displays

Annual displays for a variety of cultural and religious events, such as Black History Month, LGBTQ+ History Month, International Women’s Day, Holocaust Memorial Day, Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Diwali.

EDIB and the Prep/Pre-Prep Library

We are committed to improving Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging within our community. Both Librarians are dedicated to improving this in any way that we can, from constantly assessing our collections and the ways in which we discover new resources and evaluate old ones to running events, creating displays, providing teaching resources and booking speakers.

Below are some examples of the work that we do and the role that we play in the life of the school that promote EDIB.

Pride Week & LGBTQ+ Representation

Pride Week is celebrated in the Prep Library with age appropriate displays and book selections available. When gathering collections for Mother’s Day & Father’s Day in the Pre-Prep we provide a diverse collection of books that reflect and celebrate many different family structures.

Mental Health Week

We marked Mental Health Week with displays, promotion of our mental health collection and activities in the Library. In the Pre-Prep books about emotions and worries were displayed and a picture of them shared with staff so that they were aware of the kind of books that we have. Both Librarians have a close working relationship with the School Counsellor and the Head Prep School Librarian attends the weekly HoMs pastoral meeting as the Library is so central to the pastoral care in the school.

Black History Month

Displays are created in both Libraries featuring books and posters/quotes to highlight Black History Month, resources to support teaching are shared with staff. In 2021 we helped run a College-wide creative tie-in competition.

Lunar New Year 2022

We celebrated Lunar New Year across the College with competitions, crafts, storytelling and pupils sharing their experiences to children younger than themselves.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

Neurodiversity Celebration Week was marked in the Prep School with a public display of famous and successful neurodiverse people, resources for staff to share in PSHE classes and a display of books in the Library.

We have also celebrated and provided resources on International Women’s Day, Chanukah, Christmas, Purim and Easter. In the future we are hoping to create a calendar of celebrations and events to support EDIB to share cross-College and promote more collaborative working across year groups involving more pupils and staff.

Visiting Authors

Over the past few years we have consciously invited a more diverse selection of visiting authors and illustrators to speak to our pupils about their work and this is something that we are committed to continue doing.

Pupils with SEND

The Prep Library has a quick-read section, which includes books by publishers who specialise in dyslexia friendly titles (such as Barrington Stoke). The main library stock contains a range of books for all abilities and interests.
The Pre-Prep has a special sensory board book collection for EYFS children with sensory processing issues.
Books with CDs are available.
Audiobooks can be accessed via our subscription to Listening Library downloaded onto MP3 devices which are loaned to pupils with SEND.
The Library has abridged and high grade reading materials, including graphic novel versions of works studied in English as well as other popular titles.
Individualised approach to encouraging a love of reading – staff bring SEND pupils for one-to-one Library sessions.
We are aware of the need some pupils have to find a quiet space without the distractions and sensory overload that exist in other communal spaces and we support them in finding that space in the Library.

Stock selection policy

The basic criterion for all stock selection in the Library is to provide for the needs of the members of the school and, in particular, the students.
The stock should stimulate the learning, research and recreational reading requirements of the school community including a diverse, inclusive collection with wide representation.
We constantly review, weed and add to our collections to ensure that we are providing the highest quality books and other resources for our students. In 2021 there was a complete review of the Non-Fiction section of the Prep School Library to weed-out outdated stock and review the coverage of our collection. A large new biography and auto-biography section has been added to both Libraries to reflect diverse stories and facts about the lives of others.
Book lists are produced throughout the year to highlight books in our collections on various EDIB themes e.g. mental health, Holocaust Memorial Day, Different Kinds of Families.

Below represents a sample booklist from the Prep and Pre-Prep Libraries of books from their collections that celebrate, explore and teach us about diversity:

Multi-faith school

The College is committed to enabling pupils and staff from any religion to observe and develop their faith. As a diverse community of individuals, many of the major world faiths are represented in the student and staff body.

The College has a large, purpose built historic chapel, where the whole school is able to gather to enhance our experience of being part of a community. Services of quiet reflection and teaching from a variety of speakers and faith leaders take place regularly. The Chapel is overseen by the College Chaplain, an ordained Church of England priest.

Clifton College has a unique and historical link to welcoming pupils of Jewish faith. The College is very fortunate to have a Synagogue, where Jewish pupils are able to meet throughout the week for services, prayer and social events aimed at developing a supportive and cohesive community for Jewish pupils and staff from around the world. The Synagogue is overseen by the Jewish Chaplain, an ordained Rabbi. Read more about Jewish Life at Clifton college.

A Multi-Faith Prayer Room is available for use by all students and staff, which is equipped with the necessary items and scriptures needed for worship from all the major world religions. The College Chaplain is able to pastorally support students from all faiths and can also arrange for different faith leaders to provide specialist support to pupils if required.

Pupil's Artwork

As an organisation, we strive to engage pupils in a wide variety of topics covering EDIB. The result has produced some fantastic artwork…with more to come!

(Click on an image below to expand the gallery.)

Employment Equal Opportunities

Clifton College is committed to creating and promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce that better reflects the community we are part of. Applications are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates regardless of ethnicity, gender, age or disability. We particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups.

Why Join Us?

Clifton College is housed in splendid, grand buildings in the beautiful suburb of Clifton in Bristol, which in 2017, topped the Sunday Times rankings of best places to live in Britain. It was also recently listed fourth in the Rough Guides’ top ten cities to visit worldwide. We think it is easy to see why. The city has charm and beauty, and is innovative in its culture and economy, drawing more and more families to move here from London. We believe Bristol is the perfect place to be educated, and to work.

We have a strong academic and support staff team who work across a wide range of departments such as IT, Finance, People and Organisation, Teaching Support, Estates and who all contribute to the smooth running of the College.

How to Apply

If you are interested in joining our incredible team then please do look at our current vacancies here.

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Policies

What's on

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Remembrance Services 2024

Clifton College House Art to be exhibited at award-winning gallery

Cooking up a storm for Black History Month

House Song 2024

Nicholas Hammond Society Dinner 2024

Pre-Preparatory School News

Remembrance Services 2024

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The Schools

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

EDIB stands for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. Our vision is to become a fully inclusive organisation.

How we support our students

Pastoral support

Whisper

Anti-racism work

Anti-racism statement

Flair survey

Resources for parents

RSE/PSHE

RSE statement

Resources for parents

SEND & Accessibility

Support for parents

Accessibility statement

Resources for parents

LGBTQ+ work

Pride Society Statement

Pride Society

Pride Action Group

Pride Society Initiatives

The Pronoun Project

Clifton College Pride Week

EDIB and the Upper (Percival) Library

EDIB and the Upper (Percival) Library

EDIB in the library’s visiting speakers programme 2018-2023

BAME authors and writers

LGBTQ+ speakers

Neurodiverse speakers (including speakers about neurodiversity)

Speakers on Gender Equality

Book Shadowing and Reading Groups

Carnegie Award

EDIB Reading Group

Promotion of Resources

National Poetry Day

International Women’s Day

Lunar New Year

Religious Celebrations

Other

Film Society

Annual Book Displays

EDIB and the Prep/Pre-Prep Library

EDIB and the Prep/Pre-Prep Library

Pride Week & LGBTQ+ Representation

Mental Health Week

Black History Month

Lunar New Year 2022

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

Visiting Authors

Pupils with SEND

Stock selection policy

Multi-faith school

Pupil's Artwork

Employment Equal Opportunities

Why Join Us?

How to Apply

Our Partners

Policies

What's on

Remembrance Services 2024

Clifton College House Art to be exhibited at award-winning gallery

Cooking up a storm for Black History Month

House Song 2024

Nicholas Hammond Society Dinner 2024

Remembrance Services 2024

Two OCs Selected to Face Australia