Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Challenge Partners

We recognise that there are deep structural inequalities in our education system. We aim to reduce these to improve the life chances of all children

Through collaboration, challenge and leadership development, we are working to ensure every school community can benefit from the combined wisdom of the education system.

A vision of a more equitable society is integral to our mission, and we work proactively to contribute to this goal. Challenge Partners is a values-driven organisation and welcomes schools that share our vision of Excellence, Equity, Collaboration, Challenge, Innovation and Courageous Leadership. 

The Challenge Partners central team works hard to achieve our mission of reducing educational inequality and as an organisation we are committed to making Challenge Partners a great place to work.

DEI Vision Statement

We are building a diverse, inclusive and equitable organisation where all colleagues feel they belong and can thrive as individuals and as a team. By recognising, enhancing and valuing the diversity of our team and embedding inclusive practices for all, we can be more innovative, collaborative and achieve excellence in serving the schools and communities we work with.

Our Actions

We have a dedicated DEI Action Group comprising staff from all levels of the organisation and a DEI Steering Group which includes our Managing Director and Action Group Leads. These groups meet regularly each term to drive progress and accountability.

In 2023/24, the DEI Action Group and Leadership Team collaborated to create a 12 month action plan which focused on embedding DEI as a crucial aspect of our culture by assessing how we collect staff voice, reviewing our recruitment and training practices, and implementing key policies.

We are grateful for the support of the Social Business Trust, which has connected us with an expert consultant to help shape and build our long-term DEI strategy.

Governance

We are working to secure greater diversity at every level of the organisation including among trustees, our Education Advisory Group, Lead Reviewers, leadership team, and the wider team. Actions taken so far to address this includes:

  • Enhancing Board diversity: in our last trustee recruitment round, we designed the process to ensure that at least half of the roles were filled by candidates from minority ethnic groups and/or people with lived experience of socio-economic disadvantage
  • Competency-based recruitment: we subscribe to the Be Applied platform, an automated recruitment platform that supports fair and unbiased hiring practices through a competency based blind recruitment process. 
  • We have a DEI policy monitored and reviewed regularly by the Board of Trustees and Leadership Team in collaboration with the DEI group.

What diversity means to Challenge Partners

We value, encourage, and celebrate diversity in all its forms. We champion different talents and viewpoints to achieve the best outcome, which helps to foster our value of innovation. We recognise that representation matters, including (but not limited to) - LGBTQ+, (dis)ability, gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic background, religion, age, and neurodiversity. We treat each other fairly, with care and respect, and seek to understand the systemic challenges faced by individuals and groups. We are empathetic and considerate in our intentions and actions, making space for others’ thoughts and feelings without judgement, allowing for development, growth and contribution

What equity means to Challenge Partners

We know that there are some children and young people who are not well-served by the education system and this impacts their outcomes. Deprived areas also struggle to recruit qualified teachers. This results in a persistent gap in outcomes between disadvantaged pupils and their more affluent peers. We know that socioeconomic disadvantage intersects with other factors, particularly race and sometimes special educational needs and disability (SEND). We cannot solve these problems alone, but helping to share excellent practice between schools ensures more children benefit from the best expertise within the system. This is why we centre all of our work on reducing educational disadvantage.

What inclusion means to Challenge Partners

Inclusion is about ensuring everyone feels they belong within Challenge Partners and we look to foster a culture where everyone is safe to share different ideas, which are heard, appreciated, and not judged based on a person’s identity. We listen to our staff and practitioners across our partnership through formal and informal channels so that everyone feels a sense of belonging. Ideas are listened to and acted on. We know that when everyone feels they belong, innovation can thrive, which helps us to create a more inclusive education system externally as well.

Our DEI agenda is driven from the top by our Chief Executive, Kate Chhatwal, as well as a committed and passionate group of staff from all levels of the organisation. Our leadership, trustees and the DEI group are proactive in challenging the organisation, our network of schools and the wider education sector to do more to ensure DEI is consistently considered – from recruitment to programme delivery, from representative leadership to systematic change. We recognise this will be an ongoing process.