Let's use LGBT History Month to promote inclusivity and awareness
According to Stonewall nearly half (45%) of lesbian, gay, bi and trans young people have experienced homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying. With LGBT History Month, taking place in February there’s never been a better time to raise awareness of the support that exists for young LGBTQ+ people, or to consider ways of enhancing inclusivity in your learning environment…
Creating inclusive environments
If you’re looking to embed best practice LGBTQ+ inclusivity in your school it’s worth checking out the student-led recommendations to come out of our Me to You LGBTQ+ project. The project saw Allsorts Youth Project – an organisation dedicated to listening, supporting and connecting young LGBTQ+ young people – team up with St Catherine’s College in the Diocese of Chichester, to develop a model of best practice in LGBTQ+ inclusivity in schools.
The innovative programme saw a student led working group carry out a comprehensive review of the school’s environment, curriculum and policies to find ways of ensuring greater LGBTQ+ inclusivity across each with key recommendations including:
- Addressing the lack of visibility of LGBTQ+ issues in school through awareness training for staff and students and the establishment of student led LGBTQ+ working groups
- Reviewing all equality and anti-bullying policies
- Encouraging staff to cover LGBTQ+ themes in their subjects
- Involving the LGBTQ+ allies group in school uniform policy consultations
To find out more about this project and how to embed best practice LGBTQ+ inclusivity in your school click here.
We also have free Unconscious Bias, Conscious Inclusion CPD training sessions available for schools and colleges this year. To book a dedicated training session for your school or college please click here.
Signpost support
And why not use LGBT History Month to signpost all the amazing support services that exist across Sussex for LGBTQ+ young people? If you’re wanting to do this our new Learning4LifeSussex life and learning portal is a great place to start:
https://www.learning4lifesussex.org.uk/living/community-organisations/MG
https://www.learning4lifesussex.org.uk/living/youth-groups
Working together we can make a real difference to the lives and learning experiences of LGBTQ+ young people – ensuring that those who might have previously experienced isolation feel included, heard and valued…