Scotland has established a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inclusive education across the school curriculum.
In a world-leading move celebrated by campaign groups, the country has taken the first significant steps to reduce bullying, promote equality and ultimately improve the experiences of LGBTQ+ pupils. Subjects across all age groups will now include LGBTQ+ identities, issues and history.
To reinforce this ground-breaking launch is a dedicated website for school staff, children, parents and carers, filled with information to help support young LGBTQ+ people. Scottish education staff will also be given a basic e-learning awareness course on LGBTQ+ inclusive education and a toolkit of LGBTQ+ inclusive education resources, equipping them with essential knowledge to support their LGBTQ+ pupils. All of these resources have had the crucial input of parents, teachers, young people and LGBTQ+ organisations.
We are delighted that @ScotGovEdu has launched a new platform for teachers to access resources and professional learning, linked to Scotland’s Curriculum, to support the implementation of LGBT Inclusive Education.
In this thread: what’s now available for teachers. pic.twitter.com/CaG1GnADjo
— TIE (@tiecampaign) September 23, 2021
The professional e-learning course was piloted with Primary and Secondary school teachers this year, resulting in 99% having an improved understanding of what LGBTQ+ inclusive education is and 97% knowing how to include relevant learning themes in their future curriculum. One teacher told Time For Inclusive Education (TIE): “It’s exciting, challenging, relevant, inspirational and hopefully do what it is intended to do – educate, dispel myths and create a more just and equal society”.
This historic roll-out has been endorsed by TIE Co-Founder Jordan Daly who said: “This new website, and the supporting resources, which have been co-developed with teachers across Scotland, will support teachers to take a proactive, educational approach to tackling prejudice. Most importantly, this work will empower young people and provide them with an opportunity I didn’t have at school – to feel valued, confident, and proud of who they are.”
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The implementation of LGBTQ+ inclusive education in the Scottish curriculum was first set in motion in 2017 by an LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group who made 33 recommendations to the government to address bullying and discrimination.
Pupils will be encouraged to think critically about LGBTQ+ people, events and themes through a series of lesson plans such as ‘The Story of Poem 49’; a lesbian love poem written in the 16th century, ‘The Story of Sally Ride’; the first American woman and first known gay person to travel to space in 1983, and even ‘The Story of Lady Gaga’ which looks at the role of celebrity in contributing towards awareness for human rights.