Best Practice

Preventing LGBTQ+ bullying in schools: Five evidence-based tips

Anti-Bullying Pupil wellbeing Safeguarding Behaviour Pastoral issues
Almost half of all LGBT pupils still face bullying at school. Teacher Elinor Williams offers five evidence-based tips to help schools be proactive in tackling homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia by creating inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ students
Image: Adobe Stock

“I think it surprised me how homophobic people were.”

These are the words of the fictional Charlie Spring, protagonist of the heart-rending and uplifting queer drama series Heartstopper, but his words speak to the reality of thousands of LGBTQ+ youth in Britain’s schools.

“I thought things were better nowadays,” he goes on to say, his voice shaking with anxiety and shame.

As an LGBTQ+ teacher, this was the line that hit the hardest. It is the line I hear from my LGBTQ+ friends and allies when I speak to them about the ways I have seen queer and trans students treated in schools today.

Let’s not be fatalistic – things have moved on from the time when slurs and bigotry would be casually tossed around a playground, from the time when teachers were not allowed to say that homosexuality was acceptable under law (Lee, 2019).

But when organisations like Stonewall are telling us that almost half of all LGBT pupils still face bullying at school for being LGBT (Bradlow et al, 2017), all education staff need to realise the huge difference they can make by being proactive about LGBTQ+ representation and rights.

From individual teachers to senior leaders, everyone should have a role in safeguarding and supporting LGBTQ+ youth and – plot twist – it doesn’t have to be difficult, time-consuming, or controversial.

So how can we do this? To start to answer this question, here are five evidence-based suggestions to improve LGBTQ+ inclusion in your school.

 

1, Culture is key

The impact of school culture on behaviour is well known. It turns out that, unsurprisingly, culture is also a powerful tool when it comes to tackling homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in schools.

Professor Jonathan Glazzard, principal fellow of the Higher Education Academy and professor of inclusive education in the Carnegie School of Education, has noted that only addressing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in a reactive way is a “sticking plaster” rather than a sustainable solution (Glazzard, 2018).

Research suggests that proactively educating staff and students about respect and prejudice has a greater power to transform attitudes than just responding to high level incidents (Payne & Smith, 2013; Formby, 2015).

While this may seem like an intimidating task, it can start with something as small as a pride badge on your lanyard or a display about influential LGBTQ+ figures in your subject area.

Charities like Just Like Us and Stonewall (see further information) have a wealth of resources to support positive LGBTQ+ messaging, so you don’t have to build this from the ground up.

 

2, Update your safeguarding skills

Teachers and safeguarding staff are often proactive in responding to concerns about bullying and abuse. However, it is easy to forget that sharing a young person’s gender identity or sexuality without knowing if parents or guardians are supportive can put them at extra risk at home.

Research from the Albert Kennedy Trust (2015) shows that around a quarter of young homeless people are LGBTQ+, with more than three-quarters of homeless LGBTQ+ youth surveyed stating that sexual or gender identity was a causal factor in rejection from home.

The NSPCC’s safeguarding guidelines (2023) advise that staff should only share information about a young person’s sexuality or gender identity if they give you permission, or if it is relevant to a child protection concern.

Anecdotally, it is not uncommon for this information to be shared without student consent, or without a valid safeguarding reason for doing so. Undoubtedly, these staff members are acting in what they believe to be the best interests of the child, but sadly these actions can do more harm than good.

 

3, Uncover your allyship

The term “ally” is well-known nowadays. Essentially, if you agree with equality regardless of gender or sexuality then you successfully qualify as an ally. Congratulations!

Visible allies are vital in promoting feelings of belonging and safety. Many schools and other organisations have started to make allyship more visible through providing rainbow lanyards, pride badges, and pronoun pins to staff.

Visible allyship is not just in what you wear, however, but in what you do and say. If you model tolerance, compassion and inclusivity, students will take their lead from you.

Include examples of LGBTQ+ people in your teaching, educate yourself on less well-known identities – such as the asexual and intersex labels – and spend time thinking how you might respond to discrimination in the classroom, both outright and subtle.

This is not about knowing every single new piece of terminology or creating a whole new scheme of work – it is about signalling subtly, repeatedly, and openly that you are supportive and educated so students feel safer in school.

 

4, Get educated about faith

Many world religions teach about the importance of love, tolerance, and respect. Occasionally, religion can become a justification for openly homophobic, biphobic and transphobic attitudes.

When it comes to navigating the intersection of gender or sexual identity and religion, schools often struggle to know how to respond. It is vital that leaders and teachers do not make assumptions about pupils on account of religion or attempt to tell them about their faith from a position of ignorance. However, it is also vital that no protected group is labelled “wrong”, “disgusting” or “diseased” with religion being touted as the excuse.

There are a fantastic array of organisations offering training, information, and support to help schools manage this challenging issue. For example, the Naz and Matt Foundation – set up in the wake of a gay young man’s suicide following his parents’ rejection of him on grounds of faith – lead assemblies and workshops for schools with high numbers of religious students which tackle misinformation and use the power of faith to combat prejudiced attitudes.

There are countless other examples (not least the school resources from Stonewall and Just Like Us) meaning that school staff can educate themselves and navigate any faith-related issues that may arise.

 

5, Don’t stop with students

Many workplaces in the modern world are introducing pronoun policies and updating their dress codes and human resources training to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion.

While many schools have gladly followed suit, it is not uncommon to hear of casual homophobia, biphobic and transphobia in the classroom, or even of staff being encouraged to keep their gender or sexual identity a secret.

Nothing can substitute good equality and diversity training in this area but as an introduction here are a few basic principles to support your LGBTQ+ colleagues:

  • Never share a colleague’s identity without their consent or assume their gender or sexual identity.
  • Listen to colleagues when they speak up about LGBTQ+ issues – just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
  • Don’t speak for them but do offer to speak up with them to address concerns.
  • If you hear casual homophobia or transphobia from colleagues, speak to HR or a union rep. Even if you don’t name any names, you can still make them aware that there is a training need present within the staff body.

 

Final thoughts

Those who have seen or read Heartstopper will be aware of the huge amounts of queer joy that the show demonstrates. For our students, as with the characters, joy can often be found in safe, accepting spaces. It is within our power to transform our schools into these spaces.

Elinor Williams is part of the LGBTQ+ community and an English teacher at an inner-city London academy who also leads LGBTQ+ inclusion in the school.

 

Further information & resources