Equality and Diversity

The local Hounslow area benefits from a diverse, ­culturally rich population. We are proud to be an integral part of the local community and we proactively celebrate diversity.

At West Thames College you will have the opportunity to work with an incredibly wide range of ethnically and culturally diverse students and staff. This will broaden your experience and positively enhance your career.

Black and Asian people have made a significant and valuable contribution to the education of young people in our communities. We believe that employing a more representative number of black teachers and managers at the college will have a positive impact – not only on the success and achievements of our black students, but on all our students – preparing them for life in multicultural Britain and the wider world.

In 2007-08 and 2008-09, we won National Beacon Awards for Equality and Diversity and Racial Equality and received an ‘outstanding’ grade in our Ofsted inspection in 2007.

Our commitment to equality and diversity is clearly reflected in our ethos and culture – demonstrated by some of the following college initiatives:

• Our black staff group meets regularly to discuss matters of common interest, such as professional development and how the college can best support its black students.
• We offer additional support to teachers who qualified overseas and have little or no experience of working in an inner-city college in the UK. 
• Black and minority ethnic staff are actively encouraged to participate in work-shadowing and secondments through the Black Leadership Initiative and in the CEL (Centre for Excellence in Leadership) “stepping up” programmes.
• We have a staff development programme which aims to raise cultural awareness and challenge stereotypical assumptions and prejudices.
• We benefit from the advice and guidance given by our Community Advisory Group, consisting of students, college staff, members of local faith groups, LEA advisers and college governors.

Positive about disability

As part of our commitment to the employment and career development of disabled people, we will:

• Interview disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a job;
• Ensure there is a mechanism in place to enable disabled staff to develop and use their abilities;
• Make every effort to ensure employees remain in employment if they become disabled;
• Ensure staff are aware of disability issues.

Please use the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (attached to both the online and hard copy job application forms) to tell us about your disability so that we can support and accommodate your needs.

If you require the application form in an alternative format – large print or on tape etc, or if you require support completing your application form, please call our Personnel Team on 020 8326 2638, or email: personnel@west-thames.ac.uk