We live in a very diverse society. In order to prepare our young people to live and work in our society it is important that their education reflects its diversity. It is very difficult to teach young people to treat people of different race, ethnicity, faith, sexuality, gender identity, etc. equally and respectfully if we are not teaching them about the different identities people may have.

A study conducted by Stonewall, which surveyed the experiences of 3,700 LGBTQ+ young people across Britain’s schools, found that nearly half of LGBTQ+ young people are bullied by other students with LGBTQphobic views, and around half of the respondents also reported that they hear homophobic and transphobic language ‘frequently’ or ‘often’ at school. A positive, LGBTQ+ inclusive education can help to proactively tackle discrimination towards LGBTQ+ people and help to foster good relations between those who are LGBTQ+ and those who are not.

For your students who identify as LGBTQ+, it is important that they see themselves reflected in their education. Raising the visibility of LGBTQ+ people, beyond those that can be found in the entertainment industry, could prove to be useful in raising aspirations. LGBTQ+ young people may wish to become mathematicians like Alan Turing, doctors like Rachel Levine, poets like Jackie Kay, politicians like Mhairi Black, astronauts like Sally Ride or athletes like Colin Jackson. As Geena Davis once said about representation (of women), “If she can see it, she can be it.”

You can find resources that will support you in planning and delivering an LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum for primary schools and for secondary schools.

If you would like to discover some LGBTQ+ icons to include in your teaching, you can find some here.

As we have described in the Coming Out section of this website, LGBTQ+ people do not just ‘come out’ once; LGBTQ+ people come out continuously throughout their lives as they meet new people. Most LGBTQ+ people are aware that some people are LGBTQphobic and therefore some LGBTQ+ people choose to come out only when they feel safe to do so. Hiding a part of your identity can feel uncomfortable and like you are hiding a part of yourself or your true self. There is a variety of things you can do to indicate to LGBTQ+ people that you respect LGBTQ+ identities and that the space they have entered is LGBTQ+ positive. You can read more about the things you can do in Making Spaces Inclusive.