ISEB is among a growing collection of assessment and awarding bodies to sign the Federation of Awarding Bodies Equity, Diversity & Inclusion pledge signalling an organisational commitment to embedding the principles of EDI at all levels of practice.

Fittingly coming on the heals of Neurodiversity Celebration Week, organisations who sign the pledge commit to:

– The fundamental principles of ensuring equity and inclusivity for all learners, stakeholders and colleagues across the education and skills system.

– Actively working towards and pushing for a systemic shift in the proportion of people from diverse backgrounds who work in and engage with vocational and technical education.

– Ensuring that accessibility, equity, inclusion and diversity are central considerations in the design of all assessments and qualifications. Review mechanisms will include a strong focus on equity, diversity and inclusion.

– Refining delivery mechanisms and policies to make them equitable and inclusive; and supporting others to do the same.

– Listening to feedback and evidence on educational outputs and acting swiftly to address any concerns related to equity, diversity and inclusion.

– Investing in personal and organisation-wide education on all forms of discrimination and racism and ensuring that working practices and outputs incorporate this learning.

– Developing a road map for our EDI journey, provide accountability, and demonstrating our commitment to change.

ISEB CEO Julia Martin said, “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are central to the organisational values and operational principles at ISEB. We have commissioned research that has already had an impact on the access and outcomes of many pupils’ assessments this year and have a number of really exciting projects ongoing as we speak, to ensure our provision for neurodiverse pupils grows substantially in line with our pledge.”

ISEB is committed to supporting all pupils, parents/guardians, teachers, and schools preparing for, sitting or administrating our assessments to access the resources, information and guidance needed to excel. The reinvigoration and introduction of a range of new products and qualifications and a growing portfolio due this year, will provide additional support for families and educators as we continue to evolve and develop with EDI at the core alongside the organisational values of accept, transform and inspire.