Schools and workplaces are communities. Staff need to be able to bring their whole selves to work and we must ensure that professionalism is not confused with invisibility.
For LGBT+ staff, the decision to come out at work can be deeply personal. It can also be practical, emotional and shaped by context: by role, by setting, by colleagues, by the values from your leadership team and the local culture.
That is why this union advice is built around the principle of choice. Coming out should never be treated as an obligation, a test of courage or a requirement to prove belonging. Equally, no member of staff should ever be told, explicitly or implicitly, that they cannot come out, or that being open about who they are is ‘inappropriate’, ‘political’ or incompatible with working in education. Those messages harm individuals, create a ‘chill effect’ and perpetuate inequality.
Whether you are out, not out, out to some people but not others, or still figuring things out, you deserve dignity, respect and the freedom to choose what is right for you. You belong in education. You belong in your school community. You belong in the NEU.