The Equality Standard for Sport
The Standard is owned by the 5 Sports Councils through the Sports Councils Equality Group (SCEG): Sport Wales, Sport England, UK Sport, Sport Scotland and Sport Northern Ireland.
Foundation Level
The Foundation Level of the Equality Standard is the first step in a four stage process which intends to take an National Governing Body, or other similar sports organisation, through to a position where they better understand the demographic of their membership, areas where they can focus work to ensure that their sport is accessible to people who may not currently be engaging, and improving what they do generally so as to become more inclusive in their planning, delivery and reviewing processes.
At this level, the principle is about making sure that you know what your organisation looks like; finding out what the demographic of your staff and board are, identifying a champion for equality within the Board, and ensuring that there is a high quality Equality Policy in place.
Guidance for Foundation Level
Guidance produced by the Sports Council's Equity Group (SCEG) for completion of the Preliminary Level of the Equality Standard:
Preliminary Level
The Preliminary Level of the Equality Standard is the step after the Foundation level, and builds on the learning and knowledge which the NGB or similar sports organisation has gained from their initial involvement with the process.
At this level, the principle is about making sure that you know what your organisation looks like beyond just the core staff, so extends this understanding to the membership, and then starts to identify and implement actions which will address some of the areas for improvement in provision and thinking. This includes finding out what the demographic of your broader membership is, creating an Equality Action plan based on these findings, and highlighting how a programme of training, support and awareness-raising needs to be established and what this will look like on an annual basis
Guidance for Preliminary Level
Guidance produced by the Sports Council's Equity Group (SCEG) for completion of the Preliminary Level of the Equality Standard:
Intermediate Level
The Intermediate Level of the Equality Standard is the third level of four. It is the point at which NGBs, and other similar sports organisations are challenged to ensure that all processes, policies and programmes are Equality Impact audited.
At this level, the principles are centred around the need to demonstrate that specific consideration are being given to groups who share common protected characteristics, and that these considerations drive programming so as to ensure that a wider and more diverse range of groups are engaged. There should be a continuation of the Equality Audit established in the previous two levels, and the ongoing and increasingly applied interpretation of what this data means to the organisation and how they can use it to continue to grow. The results of prior work should now be emerging, and there should be a growing representation of individuals from groups who share protected characteristics who have previously not been visible within the organisation.
Guidance for Preliminary Level
Guidance produced by the Sports Council's Equity Group (SCEG) for completion of the Advanced Level of the Equality Standard:
Advanced Level
The Advanced Level of the Equality Standard is the final part of a continuous journey; whilst this might be the last element of the Equality Standard to be completed, the provision of equality and equitable thinking needs to be continued now that it has been established and beginning to be implemented.
At this level, the principle is fundamentally that equality is embedded and 'mainstreamed' throughout the organisation. There needs to be evidence that the whole organisation think about, and incorporate in their normal daily work the interests, challenges and processes for ensuring anyone, regardless of a shared protected characteristic, has access to all areas of the sport - from participation, through employment, to officiating and volunteering. It should also be evident that the organisation is proactively working to address 'issues' which may be impacting on the involvement of individuals who share other protected characteristics, above and beyond those which were identified as of high importance during the earlier stages of the Equality Standard. An all-round approach to inclusion should be demonstrated by the whole organisation consistently at this level.
Guidance for Advanced Level
Guidance produced by the Sports Council's Equity Group (SCEG) for completion of the Advanced Level of the Equality Standard:
