Platform Cricket's Approach to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are in our DNA. The charity was established to give children the opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity regardless of their means or background and by working in THE most disadvantaged and diverse areas of one of the world's most multi-cultural cities for over 20 years, our experiences have refined an approach and ethos that permeates the whole of our organisation.

THE RIGHT TO PLAY

We are firmly committed to Article 31 of the UN Rights of the Child:

• Children have the right to rest and leisure
• They have the right to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to their age
• They should have free access to artistic and cultural activities

The application of these principles in a city with huge wealth, health and geographical inequality requires a lot of consideration - particularly when focussing on a sport that can be expensive and that has a complicated historical relationship with social class.

Although we are limited by our resources, in the areas of London that we are able to work in, we are guided by the following commitments:

1. Work with SCHOOLS to provide ALL CHILDREN in a given area with an opportunity to experience cricket
2. REMOVE BARRIERS to community participation so that any child has access to a route to continue participating
3. Ensure our "Pop Up" Club activities REFLECT the DEMOGRAPHICS of the communities they are positioned to serve
4. Create an environment, both at an organisational level and within individual activities, where everyone FEELS WELCOME, CAN THRIVE and BE THEMSELVES

EQUALITY ACT 2010

Naturally, our charity acknowledges and adopts the 2010 Equality Act and all of its principles within our Equality & Diversity Policy, but we have taken great care to consider the principles of anti-discrimination and how they can best be applied to how we use our resources and our working practice.

Although not exhaustive, our approach to some protected characteristics are as follows:

• RACE/ETHNICITY: Cricket has experienced trends of inequality and historic under-representation of some groups. Platform Cricket aims to help redress this imbalance by focussing on geographical areas of London that feature children from these groups, rather than running projects that appear to be exclusive or skewed towards a particular group in any way. 
• AGE: Any sport that involves physical interaction and competitive activities between children will need to restrict the breadth of age ranges participating. Our school activity is always focussed on Year 4 classes (8-9 years old) with our community activities allowing participation from 7-11 year olds. We feel this is the correct balance between INCLUSION and HEALTH & SAFETY.
• DISABILITY: We attempt to make all Platform Cricket activities as accessible as possible but occasionally the public spaces we use can have some restrictions. We assess/manage this on a site by site basis, and will always be able to signpost an appropriate alternative.
• GENDER: All Platform Cricket sessions are mixed gender and we aim for a 50%/50% split.
• RELIGION/BELIEF: In areas where a large proportion of our potential participants have religious/faith commitments that may effect attendance, we may make adjustments to address this where possible.