Froebel believed that every person’s uniqueness made an important contribution and was an equally valuable part of the whole of humankind. He believed that we are all connected. At the Froebel Trust we strive for unity in our rich diversity.

Our vision at the Froebel Trust is of an inclusive organisation which is accessible to all. We recognise that to achieve this we must demonstrate equality, equity, diversity and inclusion in all that we do.

Everyone should feel represented and see themselves reflected in our policies and structures, our people, our audiences, our events, our projects and our publications.

It is the role of everyone working for and volunteering for the Froebel Trust to ensure our commitment to diversity and inclusion is nurtured and delivered. This means we have a responsibility to challenge systemic inequity and all forms of discrimination including racism:

  • We will not accept unfair discrimination or less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
  • Our Charter for Inclusive Practice commits us to treating others with honesty, dignity and respect and refusing to engage in or support any form of harassment, bullying or unfair discrimination.
  • Our funding programmes, events and training programmes are designed to facilitate maximum participation and to be accessible. We seek content from a range of voices and perspectives.
  • Equality, equity, diversity and inclusion (EEDI) principles and expectations underpin all our policies and processes.

We recognise that there is much more we can do - and must do - and regularly revisit and update our EEDI commitments and our action plan.

Our charter for inclusive practice

This explains our commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality and makes connections to Froebelian philosophy and principles.

Take a look

Equal Opportunities at the Froebel Trust

We want everyone to feel welcome, valued, respected and have a sense of belonging.

Equality, equity, diversity and inclusion (EEDI) are important Froebelian values. They are cross-cutting themes in our organisational strategy for 2021-2026. In 2021, we commissioned an independent consultant to carry out a comprehensive EEDI audit.

As a registered charity, The Equality Act (2010) and The Human Rights Act (1998) is the legal spine that underpins our work and we are informed by its associated guidance and Codes of Practice (2011) for equal pay, employment, and services, public functions and associations.

In our practice as a grant-making charity and provider of support for early childhood educators and researchers, we focus on EEDI as vital aspects of our structures, systems, policies and practices.

We have a governance structure that is led by our Council of trustees. We evaluate the effectiveness of our governance every year through self-evaluation surveys for our Council and all our committees. In 2022 our self-evaluation has included equalities monitoring and perceptions of EEDI at the Froebel Trust. The results of these surveys and some interviews by our independent consultant have fed directly into our EEDI action plan.

Employing staff and recruiting volunteers

We welcome difference and actively seek diversity when we are recruiting employees and volunteers for a variety of roles and responsibilities, including senior positions.

Every member of the Froebel Trust team is entitled to fairness, dignity and respect, as are the people who apply to join us.

Everyone who joins our organisation is guided and supported by our Equalities Policy and our Charter for Inclusive Practice.

Our organisation has a team of employees, trustees and committee volunteers, Travelling Tutors, and other sub-contracted colleagues, including authors and editors of our commissioned publications.

We work hard to make sure that nobody in our organisation or who applies to join us, is subject to less favourable treatment (this is direct discrimination) or is disadvantaged as a result of any requirements we impose that we cannot justify (this is indirect discrimination) in relation to their: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation (these are characteristics that are protected in law).

We treat all applicants respectfully and fairly. We are open and transparent about our recruitment process and selection criteria for different roles, and we make decisions on the basis of merit in accordance with those criteria.

When someone joins our organisation we want them to be confident that they will work or volunteer in an environment that has fair terms and conditions of service and is free from discrimination, victimisation, harassment and bullying. An environment and culture where they can be confident that their uniqueness is valued and respected and, if ever something doesn’t feel right, they can speak out without fear of recrimination and knowing that they will be taken seriously.

Grant-making

The Froebel Trust is known for its applicant focused, supportive and flexible approach to its grant-making. We will continue to provide funding and support to educators and researchers at every stage of their careers.

Our aim is to ensure that the funding and grants we offer are distributed fairly. We are committed to equality of opportunity, which means that we need to be mindful of barriers which may inhibit some people’s involvement; and to find ways to open up avenues for inclusion on an equitable basis.

Both Trustees and the Froebel Trust team are committed to increasing the inclusiveness of our grant-making processes, with the aim of achieving greater diversity in our applicants (including the schools, early years settings and universities which receive our funding).

We routinely collect equalities monitoring data from our grant applicants, bursary holders and course participants on a voluntary basis. We do this in accordance with our Privacy Policy and we only collect information that is necessary to help us monitor and improve EEDI.

Measuring the impact of our grants and the analysis of equalities monitoring data helps us to understand who our funding is reaching and who we are failing to reach and engage. The findings help us to adapt our action plan and make our funding systems more inclusive and equitable.

What next?

We are constantly monitoring, reviewing and working to improve EEDI across our organisation’s structures, systems and policies.

We plan to:

  • Introduce equality impact assessment for our policies and grant-making, and as a specific question within our grant application forms
  • Collect and analyse equalities data and use our findings to inform our decisions
  • Actively monitor and recruit for greater diversity including among our key decision-makers
  • Collectively develop statements of intent and actions to improve EEDI, making sure we have appropriate training, guidance and support so that we all feel competent and confident to bring them to life in our everyday work and professional relationships. This includes feeling empowered to speak up and make challenges
  • Appoint EEDI working group members with representatives in all our committees, including our Board of Trustees, and among our employees.
  • Harness the expertise our team and external partners who can help us.
  • Be open to challenge and constructive criticism, which we will take seriously as part of our pathway to improving EEDI at the Froebel Trust.