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Chair: Abby Crawford, Client Account Manager, Stonewall
@Abby_Crawford_
Setting up LGBT groups for young
people
Setting up young people’s LGBT groups in
schools
Jenny Morgan
Head of CPSHE & RS
Frederick Bremer School, London
Why was the group needed?
• In both schools homophobic language was too commonly used and was less commonly challenged than sexist or racist language
• Students who identified as LGBT had no ‘safe’ place in school to discuss issues, be accepted or meet others
• SLT wanted to promote inclusion and acceptance across the school
• The groups were also intended to support students in developing their advocacy, leadership and presentation skills
How was the group established?
PHS: Posters were displayed around school to advertise the group FBS: A select group of students were initially invited, this has now grown as word has spread It was important to identify the vision of the group and ground rules Vision: A safe place for LGBT young people, a campaigning group to raise LGBT awareness and tackle homophobia, a straight/gay alliance, a place to learn more about LGBT and gender issues…
Essential Ground rules
• Anyone is welcome to join the group so long as they are dedicated to the groups’ vision
• Although we are welcome to share stories from our own experiences if we want to, we will not directly ask anyone about their LGBT status
• Straight allies are essential!!
• Anything discussed in the room stays in the room
• The group is primarily focused on raising awareness
What were (are) the challenges?
• Naming the group – branding matters A LOT for the students, parents and SLT
• An immediate spike in homophobic language / incidents
• Training students in the group about how to respond to difficult situations
• Not all staff recognise the importance of the group
• Deciding how to communicate with parents
• Diversifying the student group
• Ensuring quick wins
What have the outcomes been?
In PHS:
• Achieved Bronze & Silver awards from Stonewall
• Students appeared on Newsnight to discuss the rise in LGBT youth fiction
• LGBT History Month became a yearly event on the school calendar
• Students created a training video for all teaching staff
In FBS:
• Student LGBT group has been established and is regularly attended
• We have recently applied for Bronze award
• We have celebrated our first ever LGBT History Month with a visit from a role model, fundraised for local charities and students group wore Stonewall Tshirts throughout the month
What have been the benefits for the students?
“I feel safer and happier at school”
“I have met new friends in different year groups”
“I feel more confident about who I am”
“I am proud of all our achievements”
“I understand how to campaign and get my message across”
“I am more tolerant of different views”
Top Tips
• Keep in touch with Stonewall – they are great at giving advice
• Convince your SLT (use Ofsted, national awards, campaigning skills)
• Establish a vision for the group and ensure it is what the students want
• Establish ground rules so that the space is safe
• Build in some quick wins
• Use LGBT History month to make your mark
• Create a year plan of activities for the club so it maintains focus & momentum
Training video made for staff at Parliament Hill School
• What is your aim?
• How will it fit within your school
community?
• PSHE / PSME Support
• Strong School Policies
• Not everyone will go
• Welfare
• Panic!
• Support from
Senior Team
• Support from
Chaplin
• Integration
• Make sure the kids are at
the heart of it.
• Have advocates – students
or staff.
• Mixture of LGBT+ and Ally
students if possible
• Launch in conjunction with
an event.
• Follow up
• Let the students name the club
• "LGBT+ Space" - inclusive vs
exclusive
• The full spectrum is tough
• LGBTQQIP2SAA just didn't
really trip off the tongue.
• Display Board
• Assemblies
• Cross group interaction
• Email Support
• Pupil Support – Mentoring
• Termly Themes
• Badges
• Support Events
• Support Others
• Awards
• Infiltration
• LGBT History Month
• Anti-bullying Week
• Pride Month
• Reaction to News Events
• BBC News School Report
• Confidentiality
• Parents
• Attendance
• Other Support
• “I think the great thing about LGBT+ is that there
are no labels, no one questions you about who you
are and what you are…you can just be”
• “It is nice because it never feels forced – no one
makes a big deal out of it”
• “Obviously the cookies and cake help but it is just
nice to be with a range of people and just get on. It
is nice to walk down the corridor and see a Year 7
who goes and you get a smile, you don’t have to
have words.”
Year 7 Student
Year 9 Student
Year 13 Student
• “LGBT+ is Social, everyone is friendly and
gets on”
• “I love reading the board, it’s the reason I
joined, I saw it in the corridor and stopped to
read it and it was interesting and told me a lot,
its fun to see it change and it does change
regularly and when I found out that everyone
here produced it, it was even cooler.”
• “If I was giving some advice it would be to be
sensitive with pro-nouns.”
Year 9 Student
Year 10 Student
Year 12 Student
• “I like the LGBT+ is drop in and out, like no one
takes a register, it makes it less serious, I can go
one week and not another.”
• “It good to see LGBT+ issues in assemblies
regularly. I think it’s really helped get the message
out.”
• “I suppose more than anything for advice I'd give
is to make any LGBT+ Space feel safe and also
feel like no one is pressured to talk, just to have
people around them who know their experiences
or can give any advice from their own experience
on how to deal with issues.”
Year 9 Student
Year 10 Student
Year 13 Student
• Student led INSET
• School Collaboration
• Pride Event
Pride Society
• PGS Pride • Part academic
enquiry, part support network
• Fully supported by SMT
• Supported by the ethos of the school
• Rainbow badges and cake
Trans* Visibility
F
A
I
T
H
AND
S
E
X
U
A
L
I
T
Y
PGS Pride this Friday – 4.12.15
Asif Quraishi aka Asifa Lahore
From Channel 4’s
Muslim Drag Queens 13:10, DRT
Staff and pupils ‘Coming Out’
What else?
• Spreading the word beyond PGS (Sec Ed, Stonewall’s e-bulletin, Solent TV)
• Pupil article
• LGBT History Month
• More inclusive SRE
• School champion and Education for All
• Explicit part of my role
• School blog
• http://nobystanders.org.uk/
• Lectures for trainee teachers at Chichester Uni
• School talks
Impact
December
2013
March
2016
% of pupils who described it as difficult
for a pupil in the school to come out as
gay or lesbian
54% 31%
% of pupils who described it as easy for
a pupil to come out as gay or lesbian
47% 69%
% of pupils who find homophobic
language funny
12% 4%
% of pupils who never use homophobic
language
21% 42%
% of pupils who use homophobic
language all the time
23% 13%
Questions?
