Six Quick Things About Inclusion and the LGBTQ+ Experience in Education

Here are Six Quick Things we picked up from listening to Associate Ian Timbrell on the subject of diversity and inclusion from an LGBTQ+ perspective in the education system in the UK:

ONE: It’s so much more than flags and rainbows

Getting diversity and inclusion right when it comes to all things LGBTQ+ is so much more than decorating your school and celebrating Pride. Do them, by all means, but on their own they are not enough.

TWO: Everyone has the right to feel safe, seen and supported

Whoever you are, whatever is going on in your mind, in your body and in your life, you have the same rights - the right to live free from fear, to be valued as a human being and to know you are not alone.

THREE: Your sex is a combination of your chromosomes, your hormones and your genitalia

This is a complex and controversial topic but when you understand the idea of gender fully – and how these three elements are not always aligned – you are better placed to be part of the solution.

FOUR: There are no boys’ toys and girls’ toys – they’re just toys

Yes, of course you can still address a class of children as ‘boys and girls’ but that doesn’t mean you can still define inanimate objects as being better suited to one or the other. Life’s complicated enough without making up rules that aren’t there.

FIVE: A pupil coming out is not a safeguarding issue (but how they’re then treated might be)

A child expressing their sexual identity does not mean they are at risk in and of itself. What happens after that is where the risks lie and teachers and other adults need to be vigilant that the child is safe and happy. Safeguarding is always the number one priority.

SIX: Who can argue with a ‘It’s good to be me day!

Pride started as a protest rather than a celebration and perhaps that is not the message you want to give. It also ‘others’ a part of the community. However, a day where a school celebrates the richness and diversity of every individual is something even the Daily Mail can’t attack.

To explore booking  Ian Timbrell or any of our other Associates helping schools and other organisations address diversity and inclusion, please get in touch for a no-obligation chat. [ITL]