da Vision Charter

Motivated by our passion to see lives changed we commit ourselves to serve others by aspiring to the following standards in all our community work.

We will provide an inclusive service to our community by:

	Serving and respecting all people regardless of their gender, marital status, race, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or physical and mental capability.
	Acknowledging the freedom of people of all faiths or none both to hold and to express their beliefs and convictions respectfully and freely, within the limits of UK law.
	Never imposing our belief on others.
	Developing partnerships with other faith groups, voluntary groups, statutory agencies and local government wherever appropriate in order to create an effective, integrated service for our clients avoiding unnecessary duplication of resources.
	Providing and publicising regular consultation and reporting forums to client groups and the wider community regarding the effective development and delivery of our work and our responsiveness to their actual needs.

We will value all individuals in a way that is consistent with our ethos by:

	Creating an environment where clients, volunteers and employees are encouraged and enabled to realise their potential.
	Assisting our clients, volunteers and employees to take responsibility for their own learning and development, both through formal and informal training opportunities and ongoing assessment.
	Developing an organisational culture in which individuals learn from any mistakes made and where excellence and innovation are encouraged and rewarded.
	Promoting the value of a balanced, holistic lifestyle as part of each individual’s overall personal development.
	Abiding by the requirements of employment law in the UK and implementing best employment practices and procedures designed to maintain our distinctive ethos and values.

We will develop a professional approach to management, practice and funding by:

	Implementing a management structure which fosters and encourages participation by staff at all levels in order to facilitate the fulfilment of the project’s goals and visions.
	Setting and reviewing measurable and timed outcomes annually, and regularly to evaluate and monitor our management structure and output, recognising the need for ongoing organisational flexibility, development and good stewardship of resources.
	Doing all we can to ensure that we are not over-dependent on any one source of funding.
	Implementing best practice procedures in terms of Health and Safety and Child Protection in order to protect our staff, volunteers and clients.
	Handling our funding in a transparent and accountable way and to give relevant people from outside our organisation/project reasonable access to our accounts.

A report for the Mayor of London highlighted the fact that it has been clear for some years that Britain’s education system is failing to give black boys the start in life which they, and their parents, are entitled to expect.

How Schools Fail Black Boys

Is it all too easy for politicians and the media to blame gangsta rappers for the fact that young people carry guns and knives? Could it be that the alienated youths that do so have been far more influenced by other factors such as poor education or family breakdown?

Taking the Rap?

da Vision's Inclusion Project aims to work with young people who are at risk of, or have been excluded from, mainstream education and wider society. It will also work with their parents/carers, schools and other organisations involved in their upbringing.

The Inclusion Project