Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2024/25

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2024/5

Our Commitment and Intent

Colchester Institute believes firmly that equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are essential factors which contribute to the academic and economic strengths of the College and the wellbeing of all students and staff.

Our Vision, Mission and Values

The Principal, Governors and senior managers have a clear vision and strategy for improving all aspects of the College’s work. Senior leaders communicate the ambitions and direction of the College well to staff and students, ensuring that everyone works in alignment with its mission and values.

Our Vision

To be a vibrant, sustainable College, exceeding the expectations of all those we serve.

Our Mission

To support our local communities and to transform lives through the development of technical, professional and personal knowledge and skills.

Our Values

It matters to us that:

• We are an INCLUSIVE College, welcoming employees and learners of all backgrounds, ages and abilities.
• We are COLLABORATIVE, working in partnership internally and externally to achieve shared goals.
• We are RESPECTFUL of each other in our words, actions and behaviours.
• We are AMBITIOUS for our learners, our staff and our College, always striving for excellence.
• We are HONEST and open, and act with integrity in all that we do.
• We provide a physically and emotionally SAFE environment, where people can be themselves, try out ideas and thrive.

EDI Data Analysis 2024/2025 (FE Learners, all ages)

Achievement data for our FE Learners for the year 2024/2025 has been reviewed in terms of ethnicity, sex and disability. This has been broken down across 16-19 study programmes, 19+ Classroom based programmes and Apprenticeships.

Ethnicity Overview of Learners

Of 7,223 students in 2024/25, 15.5% (1,118) were non-white. This data reflects the headcount.

Analysis of achievement data (11,978 quals) by ethnicity identifies that white learners marginally outperform non-white learners by 0.9 percentage point. Within 16-18 provision, white learners marginally outperform non-white British learners by 0.3 percentage points and for 19+ classroom-based learners white learners outperform non- white learners by 1.4 percentage points.

Apprenticeship leavers (all ages) data identifies that white British apprentices (455 apprentices) outperform non-white British apprentices (46 apprentices).

Sex Overview of Learners

Of 7,223 students in 2024/25, 43.3% (3,127) are reported as female and 56.7% (4,096) as male. This data reflects the headcount.

Achievement data (leavers) by sex (all quals) identifies that overall female learners outperform male learners by +1 percentage point.

For 16-18 learners, male learners outperform female learners by +1 percentage point and for adult classroom-based learners females outperform the males by +4.8 percentage points.

Apprenticeship (all ages) data identifies that male learners outperform female learners by +12.2 percentage points.  Whilst the gap is significant, both male and female are performing above their respective national rates, with males +17.2 percentage points above the national rate.

Disability Overview of Learners

Of 7,223 students in 2024/25, 24% (1,767) declared having a learning difficulty/disability. This data reflects the headcount.

Learners with a declared learning difficulty or disability do not achieve as well as those with no declared difficulty or disability, or those who do not provide this information.  Learners (all ages) with a declared learning difficulty or disability achieved 2.6 percentage points below the college overall achievement rate of 84.8%. This is a significantly smaller achievement gap than has been seen in previous years.

For learners with a declared learning difficulty or disability aged 16–18, the achievement rate has narrowed, however remains 1.8 percentage points lower than the college achievement rate. For 19+ classroom-based learners, the difference is 4.7 percentage points lower than the college achievement rate.

Whilst Apprentices (all ages) with a declared difficulty or disability achieved at 68.2% compared to 74.2% of those without, this has narrowed significantly from 2023-2024 where the achievement gap was 19.5 percentage point.

Higher Education Programmes

As an OfS registered provider of Higher Education, the College produces an Access and Participation Plan every four years. This uses key data sets to identify areas where access, participation or other opportunity may not be even for learners of different backgrounds or with particular characteristics.

In the Access and Participation Plan 2025/6 – 2028/9, the following are priority groups for action:

• Students with a declared disability
• Students from low-income households
• Young students

A summary of the Access and Participation Plan  can be found here University Centre Colchester | Summary of 2025-26 to 2028-29 Access and Participation plan – Colchester Institute.  This provides further detail on the specific metrics which are identified for improvement and the actions that will be taken to achieve those improvements, for our small population of Higher Education students.

Actions as a result of the above

Data has been shared with the wider college leadership and management group and is being discussed in Area Monitoring Meetings (AMM), Apprenticeship Performance Monitoring Meetings (APMM) and relevant 1:1 management meeting.  Where areas of concern are identified there are actions to address these within Quality Improvement Plans (QIPs), both at college and departmental level, and set as management objectives.

The Learner Experience 2024/2025

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is embedded throughout the curriculum for all learners within the college. It is also focussed upon within the personal development component of every study programme. Learners develop an understanding of the impact of discrimination, the benefits to society of diversity, the importance of inclusion and how to be an ally. Underpinning legislation is explored, discussion using case studies encouraged and clear links are made to the relevance within the workplace and successful business.

During 2024-25 learners throughout the college experienced meaningful encounters with employers to hear about career opportunities, see stereotypes challenged and link equity, diversity and inclusion to thriving in the workplace.

College Week- breaking down barriers to opportunity

Hutchison Ports challenge stereotypes in working environments.

Hutchison Ports is the world’s leading port investor, developer and operator. Port staff at all levels came to our Colchester Campus to share their lived experience of inclusion and diversity in their workplace and the career opportunities available. Students were able to see inspiring roles models from diverse backgrounds and talk about their own aspirations.

Learner Voice Ambassadors – Charity Fundraiser

Over a period of three months, Learner Voice Ambassadors (LVAs) held weekly meetings to plan and coordinate a major charity fundraiser at Colchester Institute. The initiative included a big bake sale, with staff and students contributing a wide variety of baked goods, as well as a live music night featuring performances from college bands.

The fundraiser supported Action for Family Carers and the Nick Alexander Music Trust, raising a total of £750. Through this project, learners developed teamwork, leadership, and organisational skills, while engaging the college community in meaningful social action and promoting charity awareness. The initiative also showcased the LVAs’ ability to plan and deliver large-scale events, strengthening learner voice and impact across the college.

LGBTQ+ History Month (UK) – Colchester and Braintree Campus

For LGBTQ+ History Month, the college’s LGBTQ+ Society and allies collaborated to create an informative exhibition showcasing the history of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as influential LGBTQ+ figures and icons.

The exhibition encouraged learners and staff to engage with diverse histories, celebrate achievements, and reflect on issues of equality, representation, and inclusivity. By leading this initiative, students developed organisational, teamwork, and communication skills, while fostering a more inclusive and supportive campus environment.

The exhibition was so well received by our community the exhibition period was extended beyond February and was seen in three locations within our community.

LGBTQ+ Awareness – Outhouse Sessions

To further support LGBTQ+ History Month, Outhouse visited the college to speak with learners about local youth groups and provide insight into the LGBTQ+ community.

These sessions offered learners the opportunity to ask questions, explore experiences, and gain a deeper understanding of LGBTQ+ identities and issues. By engaging directly with knowledgeable facilitators, students developed empathy, awareness, and appreciation for diversity, reinforcing the college’s commitment to inclusivity and supportive environments.

Black History Month October 2025

The success of the LGBTQ+ exhibition led to further student input for Black History Month in October. As part of the personal development programme, learners discussed and identified black people they found inspirational, and groups nominated those figures for inclusion in the exhibition. To encourage all member of our college community to think about black history, staff were also invited to contribute.

Cedar Group, learners studying towards a career in wood occupations, nominated Lewis Hamilton as an inspiration for his work in lockdown for the Black Lives Matter Movement and because he led the call for Formula One Drivers to take the knee before races.

Learner Voice in the wider community – Young People’s Panel

This year our learners have had their voice heard as part of the City Council’s Young People’s Panel, offering input at First Site and the Town Hall on planning the future of the City.

The EDI Steering Group

The EDI Steering Group inspired member Muhammad to successfully raise awareness of Colchester as a City of Sanctuary, a place that ‘goes above and beyond to welcome people’ who are seeking refuge. Furthermore, to write a successful project bid, enabling the college to fund a specialist officer to support ESOL learners, particularly asylum seekers and refugees, access courses, bursaries and fee waivers, to avoid social isolation, exclusion from education and financial hardship.

In just a few months the impact of this inclusion work has been remarkable, learners and staff have reported an improved learner experience. The project collaborates with different teams in the college as well as the ESOL curriculum area, local charities, and community organisations to ensure coordinated support for learners. By reducing barriers, ESOL learners can participate fully in college life, enabling us to celebrate their skills, cultural diversity, and contributions.

Tuqa (left) has made a real difference to the lives of others since beginning her new role at the college and really enjoys her work leading the project.

We are ambitious to work towards becoming a College of Sanctuary, joining organisations within the city to make our wider community safe where all can thrive.

This year we celebrated 17 years of ESOL at Colchester Institute.

Learners and staff celebrated at the annual ESOL picnic and all the college community enjoyed Eid sweets being shared in main reception. Our ESOL Provision continues to grow from strength to strength.

Our People EDI Data Analysis 2024/2025

Staff by Contract Type

77% of staff were on core contracts and of those, half were full-time and half were fractional. 21% of all staff were on hourly paid contracts, with 2% of all staff were casual workers.  Many staff welcome the flexibility of an hourly paid contract as it assists them in balancing work with other commitments.

For the College, in many areas, such contracts provide a way of providing services which can have an uneven demand throughout the year, such as exam invigilation with peaks of activity through the year and learning support which is driven by fluctuating student need. To demonstrate this we have broken down the contract type between teaching and business support staff.

Gender Balance

The workforce had 565 females, 346 males, 2 other, 1 prefer not to say and 1 person who identified as non-binary in the data collection. Females make up 62% of the Colchester Institute workforce. This gender balance is slightly below the national picture, with the most recent DfE data (released in late May 2025) showing that in 2023/24, females made up 65.5% of the FE workforce.^[i] (^[1] Further education workforce, Academic year 2023/24 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK).

Ethnicity Profile of Staff

Within the College’s current Strategic Plan, there is an aim to ensure that the workforce is fully representative of the communities it serves.  The chart shows the ethnic profile of staff.  This shows that 85% of the College’s staff identified their ethnic group as White* (including White – English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British or Irish and White – Gypsy, Irish Traveller or Roma or Other White Background). This is the same percentage as last year’s workforce and the staff ethnicity profile closely mirrors that of our students.

Nationally, data shows that 21.6% of the FE workforce identify as belonging to an ethnic minority group.  However, of more relevance in this respect, is a comparison with the local community.  In this respect, the College is representative of the communities it serves with 91% of the population recorded as White across the three districts – Braintree (95%); Tendring (97%) and the more populous Colchester (87%) (ONS data).

Below is a breakdown of the other ethnic groups that make up 11% of the workforce:

Employee Nationality

Data on Nationality is comprehensive.  This shows that 89% of employees were British (irrespective of ethnic origin). This represents a 2-percentage point decrease on last year when 91% of staff were British. The remaining 11% included 31 different nationalities, the largest grouping being Indian.

Below is a list of nationalities represented by the 97 non-British staff members.

Disability – Current Employees

The current workforce data on disability includes 41 unknown and a further 31 preferring not to say.  Of the staff who have provided a response, just over 9% reported a disability.  This represents a 1 percentage point decrease on the previous year when almost 10% of staff had declared a disability, but data was less complete.

The volume of unknowns has fallen considerably (from 53 last year to 41) and the College continues to make strenuous efforts to collect more complete data in this respect. Of the 84 staff who declared a disability, 23 of our staff declared having multiple disabilities.

Colchester Institute remains a ‘Disability Confident’ Committed Employer.

This means that the College commits to:

• ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible including when communicating and promoting vacancies,
• offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job,
• anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required at both application stage and when in employment,
• supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long-term health condition,
• carrying out at least one activity that will make a difference for disabled people.

Dying to Work Charter

The College signed the Dying to Work Charter in 2019 and continues to commit to fully supporting staff who are given a diagnosis of a terminal illness.

Age Profile

The workforce spans the age range of 16 to 80.  The chart shows the spread of ages. The mean age is 47 – which is one year older than last year.

The most populous group is 50 – 59, making up 27% of the workforce.  22 employees are aged over 70 and just 8 are under 20. 274 staff (30%) are under 40 representing an increase of 31 staff in this age group from last year.

The higher percentage of older workers than would be seen in, for example, schools, reflects a particular characteristic of the teaching staff in General Further Education.  In almost all cases, those teaching and assessing in vocational areas have previously worked in the industry they are training students to join, so are effectively in a second (or subsequent) career. This industrial experience and expertise is an important aspect of teaching and assessing on professional and technical programmes but can impact longevity in roles and staff turnover as staff approach retirement.

Whilst experience and expertise developed in a particular sector is of great value, for many vocational teaching staff, a workforce with a more even representation of age groups can also have advantages, in an environment where young people are a key stakeholder.  To this end, it is good to see a 25% increase in the number of employees aged under 30.

Continuing Professional Development

Continuing on from our work with Kathryn James, EDI Specialist from the Education and Training Foundation,  staff and learners within the Centre for Hospitality and Salon Studies  have traiblazed EDI learning beyond the curriculum. Rory, member of the Hospitality Team, designed and courageously led CPD within his team and across the college to share lived experience of how attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards others can reduce and impoverish lives of those viewed as different.

The Salon Team have educated learners and staff about Alzheimer’s to raise awareness and understanding to support inclusion. Again, from lived experiences staff have supported others to show compassion and give practical support to enable those living with Alzheimer’s to access services. Students and staff also  raise awareness through cross college fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Society.

In June 2025 The Progress and Destination Tutors (PDTs)  came together to work with  Ellisha Soanes (Award-Winning EDI Consultant, Author ,Speaker, Cultural Strategist, First UK FE Lecturer to Teach Black History Year-Round, Director of Power Stories and recognised by Glamour magazine top 15 influential Black Women). PDTs worked together exploring lived experience and anti- racist practice. Our Progress and Destination Tutors play a key role, as personal development leads, in encouraging a positive and inclusive culture and supporting learners to develop professional behaviours for learning and work. PDTs have reach and influence cross college not only with learners but within teams, their commitment to EDI is of great value to the organisation.

The college subscribes to the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN)– a charitable membership organisation that exists to support and champion those working with, and for, children and young people with SEND and learning differences. This platform offers extensive, up to date, free resources to enable all staff to become effective, inclusive practitioners. Including online SEND CPD Units which all staff can access to meet their development needs. Our Learning Support Practitioners are encouraged to access this resource to support their development needs so we can as a college offer exceptional individualised support to all of our SEND learners.

As part of our commitment to ensure that all our learners, including those with SEND needs, have the best support to access opportunities for employment all our PDTs also received CPD to be able to signpost to our very successful Supported Internship provision.

Our Action Plan linked to the AoC EDI Charter

Colchester Institute is proud to have signed up to the Association of Colleges Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Charter, a national initiative for Further Education (FE) in England.

Governors committed to the Charter and the Action Plan below and to the statement below at the Board meeting on Friday 28 March 2025, further strengthening our public commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, and reflecting our core values.

The action plan is monitored by the EDI Steering Group once a term, and between times by a sub-group comprising the College Principal, the Head of Learner Engagement and Progression and the Learning and Development Manager.  Reports are made to the Senior Leadership Team, periodically and to Governors, annually through this report.

The full AoC Charter, signed by Alison Andreas, Principal and Chief Executive and Lisa Blake, Chair of Governors can be read here.

What does signing the charter mean for the Colchester Institute community?

In order to embrace the spirit and the letter of the Charter, the College identified he four key areas for development and some associated priorities in April 2025.  The table below provides an update on progress against these, as at February 2026, further actions to be taken and the Success Factors we hope to see by December 2026.