We will not discriminate against any student with a protected characteristic including but not limited to age sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, maternity or pregnancy, race, religion or belief.
In accordance with the Equalities Act 2010 we will make any “reasonable adjustment” required by a student to support them to undertake a course or qualification.
This policy details what you can expect from the Chartered Institute and how we will support you to access and achieve your qualification or course if you need any adjustments or special considerations. This document outlines how the Chartered Institute will support you in the following areas: booking onto the course, joining instructions, course development, course delivery and assessment.
We encourage students booking onto one of our qualifications or courses to raise any accessibility issues they might have and advise us of how we can meet these needs. For example, our venues are accessible to wheelchair users, we can produce learner packs in alternative formats, provide a hearing loop, accommodate British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters and carers. We are happy to consider any other reasonable adjustments and you should email academy@ciof.org.uk to arrange a time to confidentially discuss individual requirements with a member of our dedicated Professional Development Team.
We recognise the importance for all students to be properly informed before attending any training or course. To achieve this we endeavour to ensure that all joining instructions are sent out a minimum of two weeks before the start date. The joining instructions include information about course content, venue, timings and tutor.
All of our courses and qualifications are developed to support different learning styles. This means that you can expect a range of formats, including presentations, group discussions, case studies, pair and individual work. The variety of formats is designed to support different cultural approaches to learning as well as different learning styles and preferences.
In addition, all of our courses and qualifications have detailed learning objectives and what will be covered and met during the course. This information is designed to support you to identify if you might have any issues achieving the learning objectives. In this instance students should contact the Professional Development Team via academy@ciof.org.uk
Courses and qualifications are accessible in a range of formats so that you can choose which format suits you the best e.g. if a student feels they might need longer to read and/or absorb information they might choose to select an on line course where they guide their own study. Online qualification courses are available for the Introductory Certificate in Fundraising and the Certificate in Fundraising. With our online learning facility there is the option to increase the text size.
Our approved trainers deliver our face to face courses and are supported by the Chartered Institute to adapt activities and recognise where activities might present barriers to a student and provide information or an activity in an alternative format. Approved trainers are actively encouraged through observation and feedback to ensure that they adapt and personalise the training to be inclusive for all students.
We also have an accessibility fund at the Chartered Institute which means wherever possible we will help cover or contribute towards adjustments, eg a signer.
As with the training content, the Chartered Institute will make all reasonable adjustments on an assessment for a qualification to make sure that you can successfully complete your qualification assignments and exams whilst still being assessed against the same learning objectives as the other students.
Some of the adjustments we regularly make include allowing extra time for students with learning disabilities and allowing students to complete exams using laptops.
The Chartered Institute is keen to ensure that you are clear about the content, study time and assessment processes before you begin your qualification. This is important to ensure that you are realistic about how long it will take you to achieve your qualification and also to provide clarity about how much additional study you will be expected to complete in addition to contact time with your tutor.
However, the Chartered Institute recognises that situations will arise that make completion of your qualification or assignment impossible. The Chartered Institute is committed to supporting students and provide guidance on managing time effectively. Extensions are considered on medical or compassionate grounds.
If you wish to request an extension, you need to complete an ‘Assignment Extension Request Form’ and email it along with appropriate supporting documentation to academy@ciof.org.uk. Further details are provided in the Student Handbook that accompanies each qualification.
If you wish to defer the completion of your qualification, your application for deferment of assessment must meet one of the following criteria:
- Deferral of assessments should be allowed only in the case of immediate, unexpected or unforeseen difficulties. Such difficulties may include: illness, bereavement, impact of disability, sudden and severe change in personal circumstances.
- The impact of such difficulties will be of a significant and unavoidable nature.
- Applications for deferral must be accompanied by relevant documentation (e.g. medical certification).
The term 'assessment' includes all methods by which a course is assessed, including coursework, unseen written examination, practical test etc.
If a deferral is granted the Chartered Institute will establish the next set of dates for your submission.