LGBT+ education professionals, pupils and families are vital members of all nursery, school and college communities and of our union.
Every child is entitled to an education that supports the development of their knowledge and skills as well as their personal development towards a healthy adulthood. However, LGBT+ students still face many challenges in education. Education must be inclusive to reduce the barriers and challenges for LGBT+ children and young people and support them to have a sense of belonging and safety in their school.
There are over 5,500 NEU members who identify as LGBT+ and undoubtedly there are more staff working in education who do not feel safe or supported to come out at work. As well as safety for LGBT+ children, young people and families, LGBT+ inclusive education is essential to creating safe and equal workplaces.
The NEU has produced a range of guidance for LGBT+ inclusion.
The NEU is collating examples of good practice from around the country to evidence the innovative, creative and meaningful work around LGBT+ inclusive education in its Promising Practice Project.
LGBT+ inclusion involves reviewing the curriculum and lesson plans across all subjects to eliminate heteronormative bias, and ensure sexual orientations and gender identities are represented.
It is often the most unpleasant voices that we hear the loudest and whether you are out at work or not, it can be extremely isolating being a lone LGBT+ staff member.
Every school and district should be having a conversation about LGBT+ inclusion.
As a school governor / trustee, you are responsible for ensuring the school’s practices are consistent with its values and ethos, even where these may be different to your own.
Councillors are a bridge between the community and the local authority. The local authority can take a lead in developing a borough/region-wide approach to LGBT+ inclusion in education.
Relationships education and health education should begin in primary school and be developed and delivered according to children’s developmental age and lived experiences.
A key priority of the union, to ensure all members have a voice in the union, the workplace and broader society, and do not face barriers to promotion, representation or participation.
This toolkit is aimed at school representatives, teacher governors and NEU officers to use to promote good policies and practices in schools and colleges.
Building LGBT+ inclusion through reading. Part of the Union’s Breaking the Mould series of resources, for nursery and primary phase teachers to think about books to use in the classroom.
This LGBT+ history month, the NEU is promoting our recent publication Every Child Every Family, supporting educators to promote equality through reading.
Roz Morton, NEU LGBT+ Organising Forum representative, describes how she worked with her local community to organise a successful trans-inclusive education conference.
Black women in the UK are less likely to take part in sport than their white counterparts. Camille Kumar, NEU LGBT+ and race equality policy specialist, looks into why Caster Semenya's case is so important.
Pride season 2020 will kick off with the UK’s first Muslim Pride festival taking place on Saturday 11th April in Newham, London. From then onwards LGBT+ educators will be taking part in Prides around the country throughout the summer term and break.
Last year, NEU members self-organised to have a NEU LGBT+ Educators presence at over 40 Prides around the country. This year we want to take our message of Inclusion not Exclusion to even more communities around the country and you can be part of that.
To get involved in Pride 2020:
Any queries please write to lgbt@neu.org.uk
