Promoting sexualities equalities and challenging homophobia
Legislation, guidance and support
A range of legislation and guidance exists which supports schools in discussing
same-sex relationships and sexual orientation in the classroom. The following is a
brief summary but also indicates where more detail can be found.
The Education and Inspections Act, 2006 places a duty on governing bodies to
promote well-being and community cohesion. Governors and head teachers must
ensure that policies designed to promote good behaviour and discipline are
implemented at school. This includes a duty to prevent and respond to bullying,
including homophobic bullying. Oftsed self-evaluation forms require schools to report
how they ensure that learners feel safe and are protected from homophobic
incidents.
Ofsted self-evaluation forms requires a school to demonstrate how it has
implemented policies and practices to ensure that it does not discriminate unlawfully
against learners, job applicants or staff on the grounds of, gender (including gender
reassignment), race, disability, sexual orientation , religion and belief, marital/civil
partnership status or age.
The Ofsted inspection framework states that where a school is judged to be
inadequate in relation to the quality of the school’s procedures for safeguarding
and/or the extent to which the school promotes equality and tackles discrimination,
inspectors treat these as ‘limiting’ judgements and the school’s overall effectiveness
is also likely to be judged inadequate.
Safe to Learn (Department for Children, Schools and Families) is comprehensive
guidance for schools on how to challenge homophobic bullying. As well as offering
practical strategies and detail on a range of resources and support available to
schools, it also contains specific briefings for governors, heads and school staff and
detail of much of the legislation outlined below.
Stand up for us (Department for Education and Skills/Department of Health,
2004) complements Safe to Learn and offers guidance on developing a whole school
approach to addressing homophobia.
Both these documents stress the importance of commitment from managers and
governors, an inclusive school ethos and curriculum, providing appropriate
professional development for staff, the provision of LGB inclusive curriculum and
resources and involving and supporting young people and their parents.
Safe from Bullying in FE colleges (Department for Children Schools and
Families and Department for Innovation Universities and Skills, 2009)
asserts that ‘the term ‘gay’ as an insult is unacceptable and should always be
challenged’. It refers FE colleges to Safe to Learn for further guidance and support.
Every Child Matters requires that young people ‘feel safe from bullying and
discrimination’ and ‘choose not to bully or discriminate’.
DfES Sex and relationship education guidance (2000) describes how ‘it is up to
schools to make sure that the needs of all pupils are met in their
programmes…whatever their developing sexuality’ and that ‘teachers should be able
to deal honestly and sensitively with sexual orientation’.
Healthy Schools website
Promoting sexualities equalities and challenging homophobia
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The School Admissions Code, prohibits discrimination on the basis of a pupil's or
parent's sexual orientation.
The Education Act, 2002 obliges all schools to safeguard and promote the welfare
of children. Schools need to ensure they provide a safe environment for children and
young people to learn and identify those who are suffering or likely to suffer
significant harm. Schools that do not address bullying, including homophobic
bullying, will be failing in their duty of care.
The Employment equality (sexual orientation) regulations 2003 ban
discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in employment. Research by the
Teacher Support Network shows that over two thirds of LGB and transgender school
and college staff have been harassed by their students – and nearly half of them by
colleagues.
The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, 2007 outlaw discrimination on
the grounds of sexual orientation in the provision of goods and services and means
that, for example a pupil could not be refused entry to a school on the grounds that
they were, or were thought to be, LGB or because they had LGB relatives. Schools
are also not allowed to ‘refuse access to any benefit, facility or service’ to LGB
students or ‘subject him or her to any other detriment’.
The Gender Equality Duty (part of the Equality Act) requires schools to promote
equality for both genders. The Equal Opportunities Commission guidance for schools
highlights the link between gender stereotyping and homophobic bullying pointing out
that children who are seen by their peers to break gender norms are frequently
subject to homophobic bullying.
In particular, young people who do not conform to ‘traditional’ male or female
stereotypes will often be homophobically bullied and, by challenging this kind of
discrimination, schools are also helping to promote gender equality and break down
gender stereotypes. This in turn can help to challenge entrenched attitudes which
discourage boys from working hard in school and ensure that young women are still
more likely to find themselves in low-paid, low-status jobs.
Guidance for schools can be found at www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-andguidance/public-sector-duties/guidance-and-codes-of-practice/sectoral-guidance/
The Duty to Promote Community cohesion (2007) states that ‘discrimination and
prejudice can be experienced by other groups – including the disabled, Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender communities and different age and gender groups.
Schools should therefore design their programmes to recognise where other strands
of the equalities agenda – including gender, sexual orientation, disability and age –
are interconnected with the aspiration to promote community cohesion…’
mark.jennett@btinternet.com
07779 193711
020 7433 3467
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Promoting sexualities equalities and challenging homophobia
Healthy Schools website