School workshops form part of Telford council diversity initiative

Teaching children about the different religions and communities in Telford & Wrekin is seen as key for shaping their future views.

As part of the council’s equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy work 8,740 primary and secondary school children have attended workshops aimed at combatting hate crime.

“If you capture them at a young age then that’s how they will understand things growing up,” said Rajash Mehta, council cabinet member for inclusion, engagement, equalities and civic pride.

“It builds bridges and brings pupils together, otherwise it’s sometimes harder as adults to grasp something or pick something up.

“As a child we’re more intrigued and interested in learning. Capturing them at that young age, it becomes part of life, they understand and process it easier as they’re growing up.”

The council is a year into their four-year plan which was launched following ‘widespread engagement with local community groups’.

The EDI strategy vision states: “An inclusive and open council that works with local residents, organisations, partners and employees to build communities that are great places to live and work – where our leaders are committed to equality, and take positive action to ensure that everyone feels they belong.

“Diversity is celebrated and thrives at all levels of our organisation, and that every community can access the services and support they need.”

This year’s Love Telford event saw more involvement with members from different cultures and communities, with between 4,000 and 5,000 people attending.

One of the key actions to follow in the coming months is the introduction of a diversity calendar.

“The last multicultural event we had in Telford was a huge success in Telford Town Park,” added Councillor Mehta.

“The calendar is being worked on. Whenever there is a specific or mainstream religious event, myself and the leader of the council do a video to congratulate communities, their faiths, the people and their backgrounds on the upcoming importance events.”

In the first year of the EDI strategy the council has adopted the Armed Forces Covenant which places a duty on the council to reduce limit and remove disadvantage to Armed Forces personnel.

At their meeting last month the council adopted a ‘care leaver first’ approach which aims to ensure that they are given the opportunity to apply and be interviewed for apprenticeship vacancies ahead of other applicants.

Talking about the implementation of the EDI strategy last year, Councillor Mehta added: “We wanted to create a more inclusive and diverse community. I’m not saying we weren’t inclusive, but there’s always work to be done,

“Partnership work was a key point in our manifesto anyway, so why not do partnership work more with our diverse communities when we do have such a diverse borough.

“Our partners have been working extremely well with us, and they come back to work with us. We’re in the second year now and even at our full council meetings we have people from different faiths and backgrounds giving prayers or reflection at the start of a meeting.

“We are making it more inclusive than ever.”