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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategy

At Action Tutoring we believe every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential, regardless of their background or circumstances. Since our founding in 2011, a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion has been integral to our mission of supporting children and young people facing disadvantage.

This document outlines our updated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy, reflecting our ongoing dedication to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for our pupils, volunteer tutors, staff, schools, funders, partners, and wider supporters.

DEI is not merely a set of policies; it’s fundamental to who we are and how we achieve our mission. We believe that:

• DEI is essential to our impact: Our core mission is to unlock the potential of children and young people facing disadvantage. Understanding the multifaceted nature of disadvantage, including systemic barriers, is crucial to achieving this goal. DEI is not a separate initiative but an integral part of our programme delivery.
• DEI amplifies our impact: Diverse perspectives lead to more creative solutions, more profound engagement with the communities we serve, and, ultimately, greater impact. A diverse team allows us to better understand the nuances of our pupils’ challenges.
• DEI reflects the communities we serve: The schools and pupils we work with are diverse. Embracing DEI ensures we understand and can reflect their needs, enriching our programmes and improving cultural insights within our organisation.
• DEI strengthens our organisation: A culture of inclusion fosters employee wellbeing, engagement, and retention. 

We define effective DEI as the intentional creation of an environment where all individuals are:

• Valued and respected: Recognised and appreciated for their unique identities, backgrounds, and perspectives.
• Given fair and equitable opportunities: Provided with equitable access to resources, support, and advancement.
• Included and belong: Feel a sense of belonging and psychological safety, empowering them to participate and contribute fully.

This definition encompasses three key components:

• Diversity: The presence of a wide range of individuals with varied backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
• Equity: Fair treatment and access to opportunities for all individuals, addressing systemic barriers and historical disadvantages.
• Inclusion: A culture where everyone feels welcome, valued, heard, and empowered to participate fully.

Our DEI strategy is constructed to align with our theory of change (how we understand the change we seek to create and our impact) and our five-year strategy. Our values are also central to our approach.

We use our values to guide how we approach our DEI work:

• Collaborative: We work with external experts and engage our internal team in developing and implementing DEI initiatives.
• High standards: We benchmark our work against best practices and strive for continuous improvement.
• Reflective: We regularly evaluate our progress, learn from our experiences and peers, and adapt our approach.
• Integrity: We are transparent about our progress and challenges, using data to inform our decisions and share with our wider network.
• Evidence-based: As a starting point, we track key metrics to measure the effectiveness of our DEI initiatives.
• Aspirational: DEI is essential to achieving our mission and creating a more just and equitable society.

We recognise the complexity of intersectionality – the interconnected nature of social categories like race, gender, class, age, and disability – and how they can create unique experiences of discrimination. While we strive to be inclusive of all, we have chosen to focus on the following key areas in our strategy:

• Socio-economic background: Addressing the socio-economic disparities that create barriers to educational success is at the heart of our mission. We recognise that disadvantage can manifest in many ways and are committed to understanding and addressing these complexities and ensuring that it is part of our mission. We strive to include lived experience directly in what we do, whether in our employees, volunteers or governance structures.
• Age: We value the contributions of individuals of all ages, from experienced to younger members of the organisation. We are committed to combating ageism and fostering intergenerational understanding. We acknowledge that our workforce is more heavily composed of younger members and are actively working to diversify this.
• Race and ethnicity: We are committed to fostering a diverse community of tutors, staff, and pupils, reflecting the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We strive to understand and address the unique challenges faced by individuals from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
• Sex and gender: We are committed to promoting gender equality within our organisation and challenging gender stereotypes. We strive to create a workplace where all genders feel valued and respected. We are aware that the majority of our employees are female. We see that as a strength and seek to be a role model for supporting women in higher positions within the sector; at the same time, we are committed to understanding the implications of this.
• Disability: We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for individuals with disabilities, both within our workforce, volunteers, and programmes. This includes addressing accessibility needs and promoting an understanding of neurodiversity.

We have agreed on a detailed action plan which outlines specific initiatives for each area of our organisation: pupils and schools; volunteer tutors; leadership and governance; the wider team; and curriculum and training. These plans are updated and reported on annually to our Trustee Board, who are responsible for holding us accountable for our work in this area. 

Ownership for our work in this area is held internally between our DEI working group, a cross-organisational representative group of employees, and our Senior Leadership Team and Senior Management Team.

By working together, we can create a truly inclusive organisation where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute to our mission of transforming the lives of children and young people facing disadvantage. We look forward to writing external updates on our work as it progresses.