We collect equal opportunities data for the three purposes below. In each case the information is not used in this year's, or any future, selection process.
To see the categories we use in collecting the data you can download a Sample Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (for information only - not for use). If you have any comments on the suitability of these categories please feel free to email us.
We use the information you give to produce national data for all applicants and successful applicants and for all applications and short-listed applications. We also produce data for each course centre for their applicants, their short-listed applicants and their successful applicants. We send each course centre their set of data and the national set of data. All this data is anonymous so no applicant is identified.
We make the national data public on our website for all applicants and successful applicants, so that it is available to applicants and others who may find it useful eg for research. Again, this data is anonymous so no applicant is identified.
We will only include your data if you authorise this. We also group together some categories with small numbers to maintain anonymity.
Course centres are keen to ensure that their selection process does not involve any form of discrimination and that the successful group of applicants is representative of the general population. However, certain groups are currently under-represented in the profession and it is not clear why.
The anonymised data mentioned above allows course centres to check if there is any discrepancy between the backgrounds of people applying and those they take into training. However, this is of limited use if they wish to check that their selection procedures are free from discrimination. Once selection is complete it would be helpful for course centres to have the opportunity to do some research, re-checking their procedures using batches of applications where the equal opportunities information is known to the researchers but not to the people assessing the applications.
We are therefore asking you to allow us to release the information you give about yourself to the course centres you have applied to, if they are doing such research.
You may be worried that if you are unsuccessful and re-apply, course centres will have information about you that they could use. Any research will be separate from selection, not only ensuring that selectors and researchers are different people but also removing identifying information from the data.
If you decide to withhold your information your application will not be affected, after all it is your right not to have your data passed to a third party. However, we hope you will release this information, which will help course centres identify anything they are doing which reduces equitable access to the profession.
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