Annual Report of the Equality & Diversity Committee 2023–24

Christ Church is one of the largest colleges of Oxford University, and sits alongside 39 other independent, self-governing colleges within the wider collegiate University. The House, as it is also known, is a unique institution, being one foundation with two functions: religious and educational. The two parts, Cathedral and College, are equal partners. Christ Church is an education provider strongly committed to teaching and research, as well as a Cathedral committed to the furtherance of religion. Christ Church is also an employer committed to providing policies that are fair, equitable and consistent with the skills and abilities of its staff.

Christ Church’s Equality & Diversity Working Group was formed in 2017 and became a committee reporting directly to the Governing Body of Christ Church in Trinity Term 2018. The Committee meets termly, and its membership is drawn from all constituencies of Christ Church, including staff (academic and non-academic, representing the College and Cathedral) and students. It has established a regular cycle for monitoring equality data and acts, and as a contact point for the discussion of equality and diversity issues across the joint foundation. The Committee’s remit includes socio-economic background and mental health in addition to the characteristics protected under the Equality Act (2010).

The Committee considers the impact its work has on its communities and pays due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Whilst the College often closely follows (and works with) the policies and practices of the central University, it nonetheless sets its own equality objectives in line with its own local priorities.

Christ Church wishes to create a culture of acceptance, inclusion and belonging, where individual differences are celebrated.

Our approach to equality and diversity is outlined in more detail in our separate Equality Policy.

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination in employment or the provision of training and education in respect of a number of ‘protected characteristics’. These are: age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race (including ethnic origin and nationality); religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation. Marriage and civil partnership are also protected in respect of employment only.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a duty requiring public bodies and others carrying out public functions to have due regard to:

• eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010;
• advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it; and
• fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

In addition, the Act introduced a number of specific duties which require the College (as a public sector institution) to:

• Annually publish information to demonstrate our compliance with the General Equality Duty.
• Publish objectives setting out how we will meet the requirements of the Act, at least every four years; and
• Ensure the published information and objectives are made available to the public.

This report provides a review of Christ Church’s activities in support of equality and diversity during the academic year 2022/23 (01 October 2022 to 30 September 2023) and provides an update on progress towards its existing equality objectives in addition to key priorities for 2023/24.

Christ Church’s equality and diversity objective(s) agreed in Michaelmas Term 2021 for the period 2021/22 to 2024/25 were as follows:

• To develop an institutional equality, diversity and inclusion strategy and action plan;
   
• To improve Christ Church’s arrangements for the collection and analysis of Equal opportunities data from students, staff and applicants. Including key data relating to the recruitment of academic and non-academic staff within Christ Church during the academic year, and (where appropriate) also provides relevant statistics and commentary concerning the demographics of the College’s current workforce;
   
• To source appropriate staff training to improve awareness of, and engagement with, issues relating to equality, diversity and inclusion;
   
• Continue to extend and promote the work the Equality and Diversity Committee is undertaking in terms of initiatives, events, policy reviews and communications that address the needs of the diverse Christ Church community.

Further ongoing equality and diversity objectives include:

• To attract those from a black or minority ethnic background to apply for senior roles, including Governing Body, by reviewing recruitment processes, job description processes, and advertising practices.
   
• To continue to improve Christ Church’s provision for the support of students from financially less advantaged backgrounds.
   
• To develop and further Christ Church’s access initiatives.

1. Support for students from socio-economically less advantaged backgrounds

We continue to work on Christ Church’s provision for the support of students from socio-economically less advantaged backgrounds.

Since 2017, Christ Church has offered a 50% maintenance subsidy to UK undergraduates with a household income of £16,000 or less, and a 25% subsidy to those with a household income of £42,875 or less. From Michaelmas 2022, the upper threshold for eligibility for a 50% maintenance subsidy was increased in line with changes to Moritz Heyman Scholarships, increasing our support for students in this bracket. A further change, to both thresholds, came into place in the 2023-24 academic year: currently, undergraduates with household incomes of £32,500 or less normally receive a 50% subsidy on accommodation while undergraduates with household income above £32,500 and below £50,000 normally receive a 25% subsidy on accommodation.

Grants are available to students for books, study, travel, sports, the year abroad, and University language courses. In addition, undergraduates whose household incomes are below a certain level are eligible to apply for summer bursaries to help them meet living costs while undertaking a summer internship, laboratory placement or academic course; this level was raised from £43,000 to £50,000 in 2022-23. Christ Church has signed the University’s Standalone Pledge to provide support for estranged students. The College has generous financial assistance funds for which all enrolled students are eligible to apply.  There is detailed information on financial support on the outward-facing webpage and forms for applications on the intranet, and the Academic Office is responsive to student feedback about the way information is set out on these pages. The Academic Office has a dedicated Student Funding & Support Officer whose remit includes supporting students with financial assistance applications as well as bolstering support and improving visibility for the other forms of financial support available.

2. Academic Study Skills Support

We maintained a comprehensive Study Skills Support programme led by four part-time Academic Skills Advisors. All undergraduate students are encouraged to engage with our varied programme of support including sessions on essay writing, time management and revision. This programme was established in Michaelmas 2022 in response to student feedback and increased support needs following pandemic disruption to education. 
 

3. Commitment to Access

As part of Oxford’s regional outreach, Christ Church’s access work focusses on two ‘link regions’: the North East of England and the London borough of Barnet. As well as giving information, advice, and guidance sessions in the regions and welcoming schools to Christ Church, we offer sustained contact programmes in both Barnet and the North East (Christ Church Horizons and Aim for Oxford).  

Barnet

The Christ Church Horizons programme starts in Year 10, when pupils come to Christ Church to explore science or humanities subjects through a series of short academic tasters. The aims in Year 10 are to increase knowledge of the benefits of higher education, to raise awareness of the breadth of university courses and where they lead post-university, and to help pupils make informed future choices. In 2024 we offered four ‘Exploring Humanities’ events and four ‘Exploring Sciences’ events. Nearly 200 state-educated pupils from Barnet came to Christ Church between April and June. 

The Year 12 strand of the programme consists of after-school sessions in Barnet, followed by a graduation day in Christ Church. We aim to support students in exploring beyond the curriculum and in developing key skills required to make competitive applications to university and to Oxford. 50 students who were selected based on academic potential, as well as contextual information, took part in the programme. The participants engaged in after-school discussions with Oxford academics through a series of workshops, as well as taking part in information, advice, and guidance sessions, and celebrated completing the programme with a ‘graduation day’ in Christ Church. 

At the end of Year 12 state school pupils from Barnet who were considering applying to Oxford were invited to attend online workshops on admissions tests (offered in collaboration with Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge) and at the beginning of Year 13 online interview workshops in subject-specific groups.

The North East of England

Aim for Oxford is our programme for sixth-formers in the North East of England. The participants explore subjects with university researchers, experience academic and social life at Oxford University during a summer school, receive advice on how to apply, and are supported throughout the application process. 65 students took part in the programme in 2024. The 2024 cohort met a wide range of widening participation criteria, for example: 68% eligibility for Free School Meals and/or 16-19 Bursary, 74% first-generation students, 14% Young Carers, and 72% from postcodes in ACORN categories 4-6.

Beyond Aim for Oxford

We offered a pre-open day residential for 124 pupils from state schools in the North East of England, in collaboration with St Anne’s, Trinity, and Lincoln College.

We also continued our collaboration with The Brilliant Club on a ‘Scholars’ Programme’ for Key Stage 3 pupils from the North East, who came to Christ Church, St Anne’s College, and Trinity College in the spring. The Brilliant Club Scholars’ Programme offers up to 14 places per school, and at least 55% of the students selected by the school must meet one of their widening participation eligibility criteria. Christ Church hosted three schools from County Durham, totalling 42 students in Years 9 and 10 and 6 teachers.  33% of the 2024 cohort were Pupil Premium eligible, 59% had no parental history of HE, 76% lived in the two most deprived quintiles by postcode according to IDACI, and 88% met one or more of these targeting criteria.

Beyond our link regions

We are keen to support pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and groups that are under-represented at Oxford beyond our link regions, through subject-specific initiatives with a national reach and collaborations with charities and organisations that have similar aims.

In 2024 we celebrated ten years of our ‘Women in PPE’ initiative, and extended the event in Christ Church to include follow-up online admissions test and interview workshops. Our ‘Discover Computer Science’ programme, offered to Black and Mixed Black women in year 11, in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science, was in its third year, and consisted of four online sessions and a ‘graduation day’ in Christ Church for the participants and their supporters.  

Christ Church continues to play a lead role in supporting IntoUniversity Oxford South East, a centre tackling educational disadvantage in our local community. IntoUniversity works with local schools and young people to provide a safe space where pupils feel motivated to learn and inspired to achieve. As well as co-funding the centre in Blackbird Leys together with the University of Oxford, Christ Church hosts IntoUniversity events in College, where pupils find out about university and Oxford from our current students and members of staff.

We are proud supporters of Target Oxbridge, an organisation that supports talented Black African and Caribbean students and students of mixed race with Black African and Caribbean heritage in gaining access to Oxford and Cambridge and were delighted to host their spring residential at Christ Church.

Through the Christ Church 'Access Hub' we are able to offer support to partner organisations: as well as receiving financial support from the College, our Hub partners can make use of our rooms to host events, and benefit from presentations and workshops run by our Access staff. 2024 Access Hub partners included Debate Mate, Thinking Black, and Parallel Histories. 

4. The Diversifying the Visual Environment Committee

This committee (comprising staff and student members) continued its work. The Women of the House: Portraits of Christ Church project, which was undertaken in the Summer of 2022 and resulted in a catalogue and temporary exhibition in the Chapter House (see coverage by the BBC), continues to have a positive impact and has made an important contribution to diversifying Christ Church's visual environment. The twelve of the thirteen commissioned large-scale photographic portraits of women alumnae and members of staff from across the institution were installed in their permanent positions at the end of 2022 in key locations around Christ Church, including in the Hall and Ante-Hall, Porters' Lodge (two portraits), Library (two portraits), JCR, GCR, Lee Building, SCR, McKenna Room, and Lecture Room 2. For visa reasons, there were delays in taking one last sitter's portrait, but it was finally completed in early 2024 and was then installed as a third portrait in the Library. New projects to further diversify the visual environment of Christ Church will be undertaken in the near future, most likely beginning with the Law Library in 2025, with plans for at least one (and possibly more) new portraits to be commissioned for the Hall in 2025 or 2026.

5. The Four College Equality & Diversity Fund

Christ Church continues to work with a consortium of colleges to maintain a joint fund to which students may apply for grants to host events that promote equality and diversity across the four colleges. In the 2023/4 academic year, the Four College Equality & Diversity fund funded a Disability Inclusion dinner, a Henna & Tea Social, an LGBTQ+ picnic, an LGBTQ+ History Month Panel, a ‘Dragademia’ event, and ‘Unapologetically a BAME!’, an event in which female BAME students from across the colleges shared their experiences of social and academic life in Oxford. 

6. ‘Safe Spaces’ for discussion about race-related issues

In the 2023-24 academic year, the college counsellor launched a new initiative to create "race safe spaces," where students were invited to engage in discussions about race-related issues affecting them. The students shared their experiences at the college and explored strategies for improving their well-being. The college counsellor is willing to run the group again if there is interest in it.

7. The Colonialism Working Group 

Approval was gained from Governing Body for the appointment of a 3-year Postdoctoral Research Fellow (PDRF) to look at the legacies of colonialism . The post-holder joined the College in Michaelmas Term 2024.  

8. Accessible Communications

The Communications team introduced a college Intranet to provide an additional channel for the organisation to communicate with members of the community, as well as aiding peer to peer communication.

9. Accessibility Audit and Building Works

In 2023-24 the installation of a lift and accessible toilet and ancillary facilities in both the Lee Building and Tom 7 (JCR/GCR) were approved.  The Buildings Sub-Committee had consulted with the JCR and GCR presidents about plans to make both the common rooms more accessible and wheelchair friendly. Work has been carried out throughout 2024 with the installation of the lift shafts, with the actual lifts being installed later and these are due for completion by March 2025.

On the access route through Christ Church, following GB approval to seek planning and listed building consent, this was granted by Oxford City Council for the ramp into the North Walk of the cloister. Exploratory lifting of the stone paving is planned with the foundation archaeologist and Clerk of the works.

The Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee, gave consent for the timber ramp into the Chapter House, and this is now being made by the Clerk of Works.

Further archaeological and structural investigation was carried out under the hall staircase, but this revealed that the staircase structure is supported on rubble, and this in turn conceals the foundation of the central stone pier that supports the vaulted ceiling of the staircase enclosure. Given the uncertainty of construction, and the obvious structural sensitivity of this area, an alternative disability route is being considered.  Planning permission still needs to be obtained for the lift under the Hall stairs.

Two accessible bedrooms in Blue Boar Quad have had the doors altered to open in a fully accessible way.

The Access consultant, Jane Toplis, has inspected the following areas as the next phase of the on going ChCh access audit:

• Visitor Centre
• Tom 1
• Tom 2
• Tom 3
• Tom 4
• Addendum to Great Hall, McKenna Room and environs audit to include Kitchens, Staff dining and SCR.

Reports are expected on her immanent return from sabbatical in India”

• Black History Month
• Disability History Month - An Evening with Darren Harris – Don’t Dis-Ability.  This was a talk followed Dinner in Hall and a Q & A session
• Thanksgiving Themed Dinner
• Diwali Themed Dinner
• Children In Need
• Orthodox New Year (Maghit)
• Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year  
• Burns Night – themed dinner with Piper in Hall
• Holocaust Memorial Day
• LGBT+ History Month
• Chinese Lantern Festival
• Valentine’s Day Themed dinner
• Pairinirvana (Buddhism)
• Green Action and Fairtrade Week  
• St David’s Day
• Purim
• International Women’s Day
• Holi (Hindu)
• St Patricks Day – 17/3 (fixed date)
• Ramadan
• Passover
• Vaisakhi
• Eid al-Fitr
• St George’s Day
• Vesak Day
• Mental Health awareness week
• Flags to mark relevant occasions such as Black History Month and Pride Month were flown on the main flagpole.

Christ Church’s latest gender pay gap report can be found here.