Introduction

We have set out to build an inclusive culture that recognises individual talents and backgrounds, protected characteristics, language preferences and different perspectives – both among our staff and our stakeholders.

We believe that all forms of diversity add real value to our work.

An inclusive approach to our engagement ensures conversations, feedback and experiences from a diverse range of learners are shared across the organisation to help develop and shape our thinking and future plans.

Equalities plan

Our principal aims are to ensure that qualifications, and the Welsh qualification system, are effective for meeting the reasonable needs of learners in Wales, and to promote public confidence in qualifications and in the Welsh qualification system.

Within these aims, we are committed to:

  • promoting diversity, recognising that people are all different and that this diversity brings wider perspectives that help us better understand and meet learners’ needs
  • treating people fairly, so that everyone has equal opportunities and equal access – be that in recruitment, HR policies, staff development, taking part in consultations, obtaining information from us, using our facilities or attending our events
  • refusing to tolerate discrimination, victimisation, bullying or harassment (direct or indirect, intentional or unintentional) against any person on any grounds whatsoever, including, but not limited to, those protected characteristics listed within the Equality Act 2010
  • providing opportunity for our policies and decisions to be informed by both the views of and potential impact on people with different characteristics
  • in regulating awarding bodies, requiring that when developing qualifications, awarding bodies remove or minimise disadvantages to people with protected characteristics and proactively put in place reasonable adjustments/arrangements to enable people with a disability to be able to take qualifications
  • using our approach to equalities to incorporate human rights based on shared values of fairness, equality, diversity, dignity and respect
  • recognising children’s rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child through seeking to understand and take account of the views of children in relevant decisions or policies

Our current Equalities Plan 2024-2028 outlines four key organisational equality objectives:

  • increase representation and inclusion within the qualification offer by ensuring the content of approved qualifications reflects the diversity of society, that the range is inclusive and that qualifications are designed in a way that is fair and advances equality of opportunity
  • take a fair, transparent, and unbiased regulatory approach that supports inclusivity and diversity in the delivery and assessment of qualifications
  • enhance diversity and representation within our workforce and board, while promoting an accessible and inclusive workplace culture
  • involve diverse stakeholders in our work and undertake research to understand their needs and different perspectives, inform decision making, and drive change

We report our progress against our equalities objectives on an annual basis.

Our latest equality report covering the period 2023-2024 can be read here.

You can also look back at our reports for 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, and our Equalities Plan 2022-2024

Inclusive qualifications

Qualifications Wales and CCEA Regulation have produced joint guidance on how qualifications can be designed to give all learners the fairest possible opportunities to show what they know, understand and can do.

Consideration of fair access early in the design of a qualification or assessment can help to reduce the need for subsequent modifications or adjustments. For more details, please read our Fair Access by Design guide.

Public Sector Equality Duty

The Public Sector Equality Duty is part of the Equality Act 2010 and requires public bodies in Wales to have due regard to the need to:

  • eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
  • advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who don’t
  • foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who don’t

The general duty covers the following protected characteristics - age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We have a duty to publish employment information annually and present it for each of the nine different protected characteristics. Our latest data - covering 2020-2022 is available below. To increase accessibility, accountability and transparency, the data is published in open data format.

Equality Data 2022-23.

Equality Data 2021-22.

Equality Data 2020-21

Equality Data 2019-20

Anti-racist Wales Action Plan

We are committed to supporting the aims of the Welsh Government’s Anti-racist Wales Action Plan. We understand that this means actively identifying and eradicating the systems, structures and processes that produce radically differential outcomes in life for learners from diverse backgrounds.

Here is our own organisational action plan which covers the period for 2024-2028.

Our latest Anti-racist progress report covering the period 2022-2024 can be read here.