Equality, Diversity & Inclusion - Northern School of Contemporary Dance
 

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Equality & Diversity statement

NSCD recognises, promotes and actively celebrates the positive value of diversity and equality, whilst challenging discrimination. We welcome and encourage applications to our courses and our job roles from people of all backgrounds.

We embrace diversity in all its forms. We particularly welcome applications from people with a disability, people of African or Caribbean heritage and people of South Asian, East Asian and South East Asian heritage, as well as any individual who self-identifies as part of an underrepresented group.

When it comes to staff recruitment, as an equal opportunities employer we actively encourage interest from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, age, race, cultural background, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or belief. We are committed to interviewing people who self-identify as belonging to any of the groups listed above, who meet the essential criteria for the role.

 

INCLUSIVITY POLICIES AND PROTOCOLS

As part of the School’s Inclusive Cultures Strategy, the school is  developing a series of policies and protocol addressing a range of subjects including: gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and belief, race and ethnicity, mental health and well-being, and disability.

This is an on-going project. Additional policies and protocols will be published as they are completed.

Statement from Sharon Watson MBE, chair of the EDI committee

It’s been over a year since headline statements regarding the death of George Floyd in the US were palpable here in the UK. There has never been a time in the history of our existence as a school where the need to be vocal about equality and inclusion has been greater.

As Chair of the EDI committee it has felt necessary to add to the conversation and bring our voices as Northern School of Contemporary Dance to a place where our collective understanding informs the possibility of change.

We have a responsibility to act accountably and remain authentic. Contentious subjects are given space and time to be discussed. Conversations are having an impact not just internally but across the organisations who feed us a Higher Education Institution with a creative and cultural remit.

Identity is fluid and should remain so. BAME as an acronym takes away our ability to make the specificity of our lived experiences visible.

None of us exist within one characterisation or set of characteristics. Here at NSCD we embrace intersectionality, which gives us a lens through which to better understand our behaviours and create vision, statement, policies and action.

We are very aware of structural inequalities which systemically prevent organisational change. We need to work hard so as to not lose momentum, to stay focused and be more accountable than ever before, evolving as a school with tangible outcomes.