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Pack 10: Diversity - How A Volunteer Can Help

Who better than volunteers to ensure that an organisation puts its equal opportunities policy into practice? Volunteers are the front line of organisations so it is crucial that they can demonstrate diversity
Author

Kay Curtis

Resources

Handouts, Activity Sheets & Case Studies

Experience Level Needed

Beginner

Access

Download and Online Access

Duration

3 hours

Price

£
50

What's included?

  • Session Timetable
  • Timed Activities
  • Trainer notes
  • Training material in PPT files 
  • Pre Course questionnaire
  • Training Evaluation form
  • Session extension ideas
  • Activity sheets
  • Case Studies
  • Achievement cards and certificates

Overview

Who better than volunteers to ensure that an organisation puts its equal opportunities policy into practice?

Volunteers are the front line of organisations so it is crucial that they can demonstrate diversity.

This training session will help them identify any diversity issues and confirm that the organisation values their input.

Objective

By the end of the session participants will:

- have information about Equal Opportunities and Diversity legislation
- have considered what groups may generally be excluded from their own and other organisations
- have identified how an organisation could change to be more open to different groups of volunteers and service users
- have discussed the benefits of being more open to different groups

WHY IT MATTERS

Why diversity training matters more for UK volunteer-involving charities in 2026 than ever.

📅 Pack content last reviewed: April 2026
✍️ Authored by Kay Curtis · 30+ years' UK voluntary-sector specialism

Pack 10: Diversity is a complete full-day trainer-led session for UK charity volunteers and coordinators — covering the Equality Act 2010, the nine protected characteristics, recognising bias, reasonable adjustments, and the practical inclusive practice skills volunteers and coordinators need.

Diversity and inclusion in volunteering has moved from optional good practice to operational necessity. NCVO's Time Well Spent research highlights that organisations failing on inclusion are failing on volunteer recruitment overall — losing both diversity and basic capacity. The sector's traditional volunteer base is shrinking. The volunteers organisations need to reach are increasingly from groups the sector has historically struggled to engage well.

Diversity in 2026 also carries clear legal weight. The Equality Act 2010 applies to volunteer recruitment, volunteer management, and service delivery. The nine protected characteristics — age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation — shape what organisations must do and must not do. The Worker Protection Act 2023, in force from October 2024, adds a proactive duty to prevent harassment.

This training pack equips your volunteers and coordinators with the awareness, language, and practical skills to make inclusion a working reality — pairs with the D&I Toolkit for coordinator reference and Workbooks 3 and 6 for self-study reinforcement.
INCLUSION = CAPACITY
Recruitment depends on it
NCVO Time Well Spent shows organisations failing on inclusion are losing both diversity and basic recruitment capacity. The two are no longer separable.
NINE
Protected characteristics under EA 2010
Age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion/belief, sex, sexual orientation.
OCT '24
Worker Protection Act 2023 in force
Proactive duty to prevent harassment — applies to volunteer settings, sits alongside Equality Act duties on equality and inclusion.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Quick answers from buyers like you.

QIs this for volunteers, coordinators, or both?
Both — at different depths. The pack can be delivered to all-volunteer audiences (awareness, language, inclusive practice basics, reporting routes) or to coordinator audiences (the same content plus inclusive recruitment, reasonable adjustments, handling concerns).
QDoes it cover the nine protected characteristics in depth?
Yes. The pack covers each of the nine protected characteristics — age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation — in plain-English form, with practical guidance on what they mean in volunteer settings.
QDoes it cover reasonable adjustments for disabled volunteers?
Yes — both as a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 and as practical day-to-day work. The pack covers what reasonable adjustments are, when they apply, how to ask about needs without making assumptions, and the boundary of 'reasonable' that the law sets. Pack 23 (Volunteers with Extra Support Needs) provides further depth.
QHow does this differ from Pack 23?
Pack 10 covers diversity and inclusion broadly — the principles, the law, and inclusive practice across all nine protected characteristics. Pack 23 focuses specifically on managing volunteers with additional support needs (largely disability and neurodiversity-focused, with reasonable adjustments at the centre). The two work together.
QIs it better to buy this pack or the full library?
Diversity training underpins recruitment, retention, customer care, and supervision. If equality and inclusion is your only training need, the single pack works. For comprehensive training, the £295 licence pays for itself after six packs.
RELATED TRAINING PACKS

Diversity sits inside every other area of volunteer management.

Coordinators typically pair this pack with:

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