#BeeWell conducted a survey in Greater Manchester in 2021, focused on the wellbeing of young people in Manchester. The survey found that “transgender young people report significantly higher levels of stress and negative affect, and lower levels of life satisfaction and psychological wellbeing, than their cis counterparts.” and that “consistent evidence of pronounced wellbeing inequalities that were routinely large enough to warrant significant concern.”

Put simply – trans students have a harder time in school, just because they’re trans.

Our own research and our work with trans and non-binary young people backs this up. We have heard countless stories from the young people we work with about the challenges they face at school, from being bullied, to paperwork hassles when changing their names, to being unable to enjoy sport.

Staff and students in every school have the power to make this better – but it has to start with awareness. If people aren’t aware of a problem, they can’t fix it!

The Proud Trust’s Trans Inclusion Toolkit for Greater Manchester Schools is an in-depth and practical how-to guide for teachers and school staff, giving them all the information and tools they need to best support the trans and non-binary young people in their school.

Within the toolkit, you’ll find lots of helpful advice, including an introduction to trans identities, a guide to the legal context and detailed tips on creating a whole-school approach to trans inclusion.

Transgender (or Trans) Awareness Week is celebrated from 13th-19th November every year. It is a week when we shine the spotlight on the incredible achievements and contributions of trans people all over the world. This week culminates with Trans Day of Remembrance, which is a day to remember all of those we have lost to transphobic violence.

In schools it is important to balance talking about the real impacts of transphobia with positive stories of trans joy and achievement. Whilst it is important that all young people learn they can recognise and tackle transphobia, the trans students in every school especially need to be shown that they have a chance at a bright and brilliant future.

With that in mind, we recommend using Trans Awareness Week as an opportunity to weave positive trans narratives into any lesson, as well as running fun and creative activities to celebrate trans people. For example:

• Talk about Trans Awareness Week in assembly or form time. You can use our free powerpoint download to help!
• In a maths lesson, look at the statistics around how common it is to be trans. What other things are equally common or uncommon? How are these statistics researched?
• In a French lesson, learn some useful vocabulary and use it to talk about French trans pop star, Rahim Redcar.
• In an English lesson, talk about how pronouns are used in language. Students can take this as an opportunity to practise asking the person next to them what pronouns they use.
• Choose a board in the hallway of your school to create a display of famous trans people to be inspired by. You can use the People Like Me section of our website to find some ideas.

LGBT+ young people really benefit from having a group in school where they feel supported to be themselves and express their pride. LGBT+ clubs can be a great place to make friends, celebrate diversity, learn from each other, and discuss topical issues in a safe and welcoming environment. These groups can also develop confidence and leadership skills as members can raise awareness of issues that are important to them and advocate for equality in their environments.

Loads of school and college staff are working hard to provide a meaningful group space in their school or college for LGBT+ students and allies, but we know how busy school and college staff are! If you want a helping hand setting up and running a group, why not join our LGBT+ Groups in Schools Alliance?

Do you think your school would benefit from a little bit of expert help in understanding trans inclusion? The Proud Trust offers expert trans inclusion training which is interactive and discussion based. This means that whatever your starting point, we are confident that you will take away practical and achievable LGBT+ inclusion ideas and actions that are appropriate for your staff, your communities, and of course, your children and young people.

We listen to the experiences of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people that access our LGBT+ youth groups and use this information to directly inform our training courses. An interactive 90 minute session on trans awareness will:

• Cover some of the popular and appropriate terminology used to describe different gender identities.
• Consider the visibility of different kinds of identities, and the impact of this.
• Explore the common myths and misconceptions about gender and trans identities.
• Begin to identify the ways in which you can make your practice more inclusive.
• Offer you signposting to useful resources and services.

You could also choose a half day (3 hour) course with a focus on trans inclusion. It combines our ‘Introduction to Trans Awareness’ session with our ‘Supporting Trans (Including Non-Binary) Young People’ session, providing an introduction to trans identities and the surrounding terminology, and encouraging participants to explore what trans inclusion might look like in their setting.

To help you get started in planning a productive, supportive and exciting Trans Awareness Week in your school, we’re sharing a free trans awareness resource. This free PowerPoint download is designed to be delivered as a session in your LGBT+ group – it’s the kind of thing you’ll get every single week when you join our LGBT+ Groups in Schools Alliance. It can also be used in assemblies or form time, to help spread awareness throughout the whole school. If you enjoy this resource, think about joining the LGBT+ Groups in Schools Alliance.