Hello everyone,

As we move into the second year of our five-year strategic plan, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on all the great work happening across the organisation. Understandably, much of the focus so far has been on strengthening our financial sustainability and delivering excellence, as part of our ‘Foundations and Focus’ priority. But today, I want to shine a light on another vital area of our strategy—our ‘People and Promises’ commitment.

At St Christopher’s, we aspire to be an ever more inclusive organisation, where diversity in all its forms is recognised and celebrated, and where discrimination and oppression are actively challenged. Our values drive our behaviours, and our behaviours shape our culture—something we are embedding at the heart of our 2024-2029 Strategy.

We are on a continuous journey of learning and improvement when it comes to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), and we want to ensure that equality is embedded in everything we do. A key part of this is creating a strong sense of belonging—so that we can attract and retain talented people, hear and respond to the needs of our team.

Since launching our EDI strategy in 2022, we have taken important steps to embed inclusivity across the organisation. Our EDI Project Board and Focus Group work together to implement change, ensuring that EDI is a key part of our philosophy of care, team meetings, and policies. New staff are introduced to our EDI commitments during induction, and our Inclusivity Passport helps support colleagues in achieving their best, while prioritising their health and wellbeing.

We have taken proactive steps to review and improve our policies, including those related to race, gender, and wellbeing. An independent race audit has guided our actions, and we continuously analyse gender and ethnicity pay data to ensure fairness and transparency. Anti-racism training is embedded in our manager development, and we continue to expand learning opportunities by working with experts supporting transgender and non-binary young people, as well as those with autism. We also champion inclusivity in practical ways, from adopting the Halo Code to supporting staff through menopause and via paternity leave. As a Disability Confident Committed employer, we are also committed to making further progress in this space.

We know that to truly embed EDI, we need to strengthen our sense of community. That’s why we’re excited to be re-launching our Staff Engagement Forums  April. This will be an opportunity for all staff to share their insights and experiences, helping us shape a workplace where everyone feels valued and heard. We want these forums to be impactful and meaningful, so are actively encouraging our staff to get involved.

Such forums are mirrored already by the regular opportunities we have to hear from the young people we support, whose voices are crucial in helping to define how we run our services and to truly meet their needs.

Together, we are shaping a workplace where inclusion isn’t just an aspiration—it’s a lived reality. I would like to thank our staff and supporters for your ongoing commitment to making St Christopher’s a place where people and promises truly matter.

Thank you