Resources and support

The mentoring scheme is part of our EDI action plan to support retention and progression of our staff. You can contact the Head of Operations, Tom Carslake, or your Head of Department to join the scheme.

The purpose of this grant is to support colleagues with caring responsibilities and enable them to undertake professional development or work activities (such as conference attendance or helping with Open Days) by contributing towards any resulting additional caring costs. If you would like to apply for this, contact either your HoD, the Operations Manager Tom Carslake, or the Director of EDI Liz Ratcliffe (e.ratcliffe@lboro.ac.uk) with a brief explanation of the support needed.

Some examples of support provided so far include:

• Support for additional childminder and / or nursery fees.
• Support where babies or very young children are involved, support for a carer to accompany the member of staff to attend a UK-based conference, where that conference is held over a few days.
• Match-funding support for professional development / conference attendance when returning to work from a period of leave relating to caring responsibilities.

The caring support grant is not only for carers of young children, if you have any type of caring responsibilities and need support to engage in additional work activities, you can apply to the caring support grant, where we can help, we will strive to do so.

The School leadership recognises the difficulties of balancing caring responsibilities with work and appreciates the efforts that carers make to achieve this balance. This is particularly difficult for staff, researchers and doctoral researchers who are supporting activities such as Open Days or attending important conferences outside of normal hours.

Some example issues are (but not limited to):

• People with caring responsibilities who are covering Saturday open days / visit days.
• People feeling ashamed or uncomfortable asking for help.
• Additional needs consideration, for example considering the needs of staff who may be carers of neurodiverse children – where the challenges may not relate to funds or the availability of the childcare, more the impact of routine change on the child and the level of difficulty this causes for both parent and child, which may be better managed by the parent bringing the child with them.
• A lack of awareness of the offer of some financial support through the AACME Caring Support Grant.
• A lack of a clear and pragmatic approach for people to easily get permission to bring children in where necessary, on the understanding that they do so safely.

To address the issues around awareness and approach, the new AACME Caring Support guidance has been reviewed and agreed by the AACME EDI Staff Committee and AACME SMT (May 2024), it will be disseminated across the School to all staff and highlighted to those staff with line management responsibility. Information will be provided on School noticeboards highlighting the types of support and resources available on the AACME EDI website.

Where staff or researchers need support, they should feel able to contact their HoD or the Operations Manager to discuss their needs openly and transparently. Where we can help, we will do:

• If you need permission to bring your child to work for limited periods under your care, contact your HoD or the Operations Manager Tom Carslake with a brief explanation of the support needed.
• If you need financial assistance to enable you to complete one-off work commitments, use the Caring Support Grant as outlined above.

When considering applying for or granting permission to bring children into the workplace, the below excerpts from the Children in the Workplace Guidance are provided to assist a pragmatic and safe approach.

• Parents/ Carers are always responsible for the supervision of their child(ren) during the period the child(ren) are on the work premises and for exercising sufficient supervision to prevent any hazardous situation from arising.
• If the parent is required to leave the child(ren) at any time, alternative supervision must be arranged for that period.
• Children are only allowed into low-risk areas and must never be allowed to enter any area where hazardous activities are being undertaken, hazardous equipment or hazardous substances are being used or if their presence could cause harm to the child(ren).

There is University guidance about bringing children to work which describes our obligations. It explains when children are allowed to come to the workplace and that permission should be obtained beforehand. However, the School would like to emphasise the need for a pragmatic approach to make this easy for carers to engage. Individual conversations with your HoD or Operations Manager are often the best way to find a solution. Children in the Workplace Guidance | Health and Safety Service | 含羞草视频 (lboro.ac.uk).

The School aims to use a variety of rewards and mechanisms to recognise members of staff who have performed exceptionally in their role. We will ensure that the process for nominating and distributing these awards is transparent and inclusive, to get the best from these rewards and to recognise staff across all groups. All the awards that are made to staff will be recorded and published.‌

Throughout the year, managers and supervisors are encouraged to think creatively about how they can use these arrangements to reward their staff. Those in professional services should contact the Head of Operations with nominations. Those in academic or research job families should approach their HoD and the Dean. All rewards will be reviewed at our regular SMT meetings for approval.

The HR pages have more details about the LU Reward Framework. There are three main types of awards are described here:

1. Lump Sums. These can be made at any time of the year and would normally be £250. In exceptional circumstances they can be higher. Line managers should put a case forward to the Operations Manager for support staff or to the Dean for academic staff and these will be taken to SMT for approval.
2. Thank You Awards. These can be made at any time and should be creative ways to thank staff for a particular job done well. The award might be a gift, vouchers or a meal out. Vouchers would be given at a value of £25, £50 or £100. Team meals should be capped at £25 per head. Other team events should be capped at £100 per head. Line managers should put a case forward to the Operations Manager for support staff or the Dean for academic staff and these will be approved immediately, but recorded and reviewed at SMT.
3. AACME School Awards. These are detailed below and will be awarded at an annual event, to recognise staff contributions. The prizes for each will be decided each year based on available budget and the nature of the award. A call for nominations will go out each year and the winners will be decided by the SMT which will have an enhanced membership for that discussion, to ensure inclusivity across all staff groups. We will also use the event to acknowledge all those who have received Lump Sums or “Thank you” awards during the preceding year.

AACME School Award Categories

‌The award categories are for staff or researchers across all job families. There are five categories but there may be multiple winners in each category.

The Citizenship or Collegiality Award. This award recognises individuals or teams who have gone above and beyond to support our School. This may be people who have helped out in areas not normally related to their role, or people who have helped others when it was needed. These actions and behaviours make things happen, bring people together and create a helpful, inclusive culture.

The Collaboration Award. This award recognises individuals or teams who have worked collaboratively often across different job families, to create and build innovative solutions and accelerate progress in their chosen field.

Unsung hero of the Year. This award recognises an individual who performs exceptionally, but who may do so in a way that is less high-profile or visible.

Teaching Awards. This year we are not asking our students for nominations. Instead, we are asking all colleagues to nominate members of staff or researchers who deliver teaching. Nominations could be for staff from all job families, including those who deliver lectures, workshops, off-campus activities, lab sessions, or those who enable all of these to happen. Nominations could be for a particularly inspiring experience, for innovation, for practical teaching or for other reasons that you describe.

Student Champions. This award recognises the enormous impact that our students (including PhD students) have on our School. They act as ambassadors, representatives on committees, help to improve our taught programmes and enhance communication with staff.

The AACME School Award Winners for August 2022 are available here: AACME School Award Winners August 2022

The AACME School Award Winners for August 2023 are available here: AACME School Award Winners 2023

As a School, in support of our EDI objectives, we are taking positive action to produce inclusive, balanced shortlists. This means that, wherever possible, shortlists of candidates that have been selected for interview should have a balance of genders. A balanced shortlist does not mean 50/50, but it does mean that at least one of the applicants who identify as either gender, or as non-binary, should have the opportunity to interview for the post. For academic posts, the current practice is to have early contact through Teams to create a long list of candidates and then to short-list for interviews.

Job Families. Creating a balanced shortlist is particularly relevant to academic and research posts but applies to all job families in the school. In some job families this will be difficult to achieve (such as some of the technical areas), but by taking action in this area we aim to drive positive change.

Other Protected Characteristics. We are also asking all recruiting panels to consider other protected characteristics as they shortlist, for example ethnicity. There is no target, limit, or formal policy, but the School asks shortlisting panels to review their shortlists in terms of gender and ethnicity and challenge themselves to be more inclusive.

Data Issues. There is a practical problem, related to GDPR and current HR data, in that the applicant’s ethnicity or gender information is not included in the application form. Therefore, the panel would have to make assumptions about gender and ethnicity from the applications which is not best practice. Having shortlisted, the panel can check with HR that gender and ethnicity of the shortlisted candidates is balanced. Although this process is imperfect, nonetheless, the act of following it can drive positive thinking and change.

Future policy development. This text is not intended to be a fixed policy. It is intended to promote positive action. In time, there will be further guidance at a university level about recruitment surrounding protected characteristics. There is much more detail available on the HR website, including details of training for those involved in recruitment.

Prepared by the EDI Committee and SMT, April 2022

The School EDI committee and SMT have developed these guidelines to help line managers and staff who have long term, planned or unplanned leave. The document is here: Long Term Leave.

Staff Wellbeing

Visit the Staff Wellbeing pages to find out about resources available. The School's Wellbeing Adviser is available at studentwellbeing@lboro.ac.uk. 

The Employee Assistance Programme is also a useful source of advice and information.

In the School, we also have nominated Wellbeing Champions whose role is to help communicate wellbeing initiatives to the School and act as Champions for this area. Most of these individuals also act as Mental Health First Aiders, so you can contact them if you need support.

The aim of the Mental Health First Aider is primarily to support staff rather than students, as there are existing support mechanisms for students. Mental Health First Aiders are not counsellors, the aim is to support individuals as a "first responder" and then signpost to other services.

• Rebecca Higginson 
• Dave Travis 
• Tom Carslake
• Shaun Fowler
• Thomas Steffen
• Debbie Halliday
• Sarah Hurst
• Huyen Le
• Simon Martin
• Hannah Sutcliffe

Student Wellbeing

There is a wealth of support available. Finding the right team is important. This overview PPT is helpful: Student Mental Wellbeing Support

F‌irst Steps / Non-Urgent Cases

• The first step is normally for students to complete the Referral Form which allows the Wellbeing team to triage requests and direct them to the right support.
• Our Wellbeing Adviser is available at studentwellbeing@lboro.ac.uk
• After talking to a student and referring them, it is sensible to make a generic note on co-tutor that you have "had a wellbeing conversation and have referred them appropriately". Respect confidentiality and avoid putting unnecessary detail on Co-tutor. Think about what is relevant to the academic course, and what is more personal / confidential. 

What if it is Urgent? 

• This staff guidance page is helpful
  • An Emergency Situation (eg imminent threat to life). Call the emergency services on 999 and let Security know on 01509 222141.
  • An Urgent Situation (eg suicidal thoughts). The Duty Assessment and Inclusivity Team (“DAI” Team), offer day to day more urgent help. 01509 227615 dai@lboro.ac.uk Or there is a DAI Referral Form
  • For support out of hours please call Security on 888 or 01509 222141.
• To report other urgent incidents, students should use the online reporting tool: /internal/online-reporting/

Wider Resources

• The full range of student services is outlined here Student Services Page
• The Health and Wellbeing page guides students to specific help such as:
  • Student Wellbeing Advisers as above
  • The Mental Health Support Team
  • The Counselling Team
• There are also External Partners who deliver support for students as an enhancement to what Student Services provides
• GP Practice appointments are often helpful for evidence for MC claims
• To help students help themselves, there are also Wellbeing Groups throughout the year.

This document has been prepared by the ADR&I, Karen Coopman. EDI in Grant Proposals. Feb 2023

Staff Networks

A number of staff networks have been established by People and Organisational Development so that members can support each other, raise any concerns and influence the University’s People Strategy.

LEADING

The 含羞草视频 Equality And Diversity and Inclusion Networked research Group. This virtual hub aims to foster collaboration on EDI research across disciplines; raise the profile of 含羞草视频’s EDI research nationally and internationally; work collaboratively with all colleagues to enhance the student and staff experience at the University.

WISE - Women in Science and Engineering

WISE is a UK Community Interest Company which provides Business to Business services to get more women into all levels of STEM roles. Their aim is to achieve gender equality in STEM by driving diversity in sectors across the UK.

Ensuring module Inclusivity

When delivering content in person or online it is important to consider whether all students on your module may be able to access, engage with and feel included in the content being delivered. There are a range of issues to consider when designing content for a mixed delivery cohort with support available here and through the Centre for Academic Practice

This section signposts students to the main sources of support on the Campus: 

Student Union Welfare & Diversity

Student Advice and Support Service

Student Incident Reporting Portal

Academic Language Support Service

Centre for Faith and Spirituality

Medical Centre

Here are just a few societies which may be of interest. There are more listed here on the LSU site

WES - Women's Engineering Society WES provides opportunities for 含羞草视频 female undergraduate and postgraduate students across the engineering departments and schools. Wes@lboro.ac.uk There are departmental WES webpages here: AAE.  Chem Eng.  Materials.

Engineers Without Borders Engineers Without Borders UK inspire, upskill, and drive change in the engineering community and together take action to put global responsibility at the heart of engineering.

含羞草视频 Afro-Caribbean Society Working to uplift and inspire 含羞草视频's Afro-Caribbean student community.

Acts 29 Acts 29 is a society as part of the LSU and the representative group of the Junction Church at 含羞草视频.

Asian Society The society is aimed at creating an environment where members are able to express an unforgettable time at 含羞草视频.

Believers Loveworld Our aim is to take God's divine presence to our fellow students.