Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Leeds Conservatoire

Leeds Conservatoire values social and cultural diversity and aims to ensure that students have a positive experience while studying with us.

Leeds Conservatoire is committed to valuing diversity and promoting equality and inclusion. We seek to maximise the potential of our staff and students, be responsive to new ideas, and equip our students for life in a multicultural and diverse society.

Our Commitment:

Leeds Conservatoire values the rich social and cultural diversity in which it operates and is committed to:

• promoting equality
• promoting social cohesion and building community links
• respecting the dignity of all people who visit, study and work at the conservatoire
• providing conditions which encourage everyone to participate, progress and achieve in their learning
• actively challenging unacceptable actions and behaviours such as harassment or bullying

Commitments to equality will be applied irrespective of:

• age
• disability
• gender and gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• neurodiversity
• pregnancy and maternity /paternity
• race
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

These commitments are championed by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and actively considered when producing or reviewing Leeds Conservatoire policies and procedures.

Initiatives

Digital Accessibility

At Leeds Conservatoire, we want as many people as possible to successfully access our websites, systems and their content. Our Digital Accessibility Working Group are actively working on evolving the accessibility of our digital services. We are continually working on enabling our staff to create and evolve accessible digital content for the benefit of everyone. Want to know more? Check out our digital accessibility statement.

Disability Support

The conservatoire’s Disability Support Team ensure that students receive the right support, adjustments, advice and guidance to help students succeed with their studies. Many students’ support needs are met through adjustments to teaching and learning, for example by having lecture notes and other materials being made available in advance of classes or extensions to assignment deadlines. Find our more about our Student Support.

Elevate

Empowering, promoting and supporting women across Leeds Conservatoire.

Across the music industry, the issue of gender equality is constantly being referred to, questioned, debated and reported on – the fact remains that women are less represented across the music industry and in academic and executive leadership. As a way of counteracting this, Leeds Conservatoire has launched Elevate – a programme of activities and initiatives which look to support, inspire and motivate women across the institution.

The Elevate programme provides platforms for staff to speak together and discuss the various issues that relate to female staff particularly, as well as gain insight from women in leadership roles across the arts and cultural sector. The initiative puts gender firmly on the agenda for the institution, giving female staff visibility within the organisation as well as a network of other women and allies across the conservatoire and beyond.

PRSF Keychange

Leeds Conservatoire is proud to be a PRSF Keychange partner.

Keychange is an initiative developed by the PRS Foundation to encourage festivals and music organisations to achieve a 50:50 gender balance by 2022. Amongst our Keychange pledges is the aim to maintain a 50:50 gender balance for our annual flagship festival, Sounds Like THIS. The festival also has a long-standing partnership with music charity Brighter Sound and each year we host the Leeds leg of their Both Sides Now programme – which supports and champions women in music in the North of England.