Diversity training for National Trust guides

‘Everyday inclusion’ course after lockdown is the same type offered by other organisations, says trust

The National Trust is making volunteers undergo diversity training as they return after lockdown. The “everyday inclusion” training, which is run online alongside fire safety, data protection and safeguarding sessions, aims to help “raise awareness” of “unintended biases”. One former volunteer told The Daily Telegraph that they had quit, along with several colleagues, in part because of the training, which they saw as part of the trust’s “agenda”.

THE National Trust is making volunteers undergo diversity training as they return after lockdown, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

The trust, which has faced increasing criticism from members over its political stance, requires everyone to undergo the sessions, including rangers who are not working directly with members of the public. One former volunteer said that they had resigned, along with several colleagues, in part because of the training, which they had been asked to complete on their return from lockdown and which they saw as part of the trust’s current “agenda”.

The “everyday inclusion” training, which is run online alongside other mandatory courses including fire safety, data protection and safeguarding, aims to help volunteers “raise awareness” of their “unintended biases”.

A trust spokesman said last night that it had been policy for several years that all staff and volunteers undertake the training, and those who have not yet completed it may have been reminded of their obligations as part of the return to work. The only training required before volunteers can start work again is on coronavirus safety measures, they added.

The diversity training, parts of which have been seen by The Telegraph, includes set questions that must be retaken if the participant fails.

The former volunteer said: “One is left to wonder how many potential volunteers will be put off by this policy, [and how many] existing volunteers who will call it a day rather than subject themselves to examinations.”

Another has questioned the trust’s priorities as it offers the training at the same time as making hundreds of staff redundant.

The revelations about the training requirements are the latest in a string of criticisms of the trust for what members have described as its “woke” agenda.

One of the most controversial decisions was the publication of a report linking its properties to colonialism and slavery, which included references to Winston Churchill’s home.

The training includes a section labelled “Unconscious bias: Self awareness” where participants are asked to look at images, including one used by psychologists – which has been interpreted as both a duck and a rabbit – and identify what they see.

They are told that it is “almost impossible to avoid unconscious bias when making initial judgements about people. Greater awareness of our own biases can help us review our behaviours”. Participants are then asked to answer a series of questions, many based on cartoons with multiple-choice responses.

In one statement given after an incorrect answer, the online module tells participants that a job applicant felt she “must leave her true identity at the door to appeal” meaning “she will never be able to bring her whole self to work”.

The former volunteer questioned why all staff have to complete the training even in roles where it is “irrelevant”.

The effectiveness of diversity training has been questioned in recent months and unconscious bias training has been banned across Whitehall after a government review found little evidence that it works.

A spokesman for the trust said last night it was “the same kind of training offered by thousands of other organisations across the country”, adding: “Training on diversity and inclusion issues is important for anyone who will have contact with staff, volunteers, visitors or supporters.”

He said that there were a number of training modules that are mandatory but staff and volunteers have a period of time in which they can complete them.

‘One is left to wonder how many existing volunteers will call it a day rather than subject themselves to exams’

‘Training on diversity is important for anyone that will have contact with staff, volunteers, visitors or supporters’