Chair: Abby Crawford, Client Account Manager, Stonewall · Chair: Abby Crawford, Client Account...

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

Chris Mattley c.mattley@williamfarr.lincs.sch.uk

lgbt@williamfarr.lincs.sch.uk

• 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’

Beyond Sexuality and Gender

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?