Slides from the Promoting Respectful Relationships conference in Cardiff 12th November 2010 - See http://www.respectwales.org.uk

1. Working Together
Robert Goddard
Youth and Education Officer
Stonewall Cymru

2. What this session will cover:
What is homophobia?
Homophobic bullying
What is a whole school approach?
Where do we start?
Who should we include?
Next steps

3. What is homophobia?
The irrational hatred, intolerance and fear of
LGB people or those perceived to be LGB
It exists at all levels of society:
Employment
Service delivery
Culture
Politics
Tackling crime
Education/training

4. Homophobic bullying
Almost two thirds of young LGB people
experience homophobic bullying in schools
75% of young LGB people in faith schools
experience homophobic bullying and are less
likely than pupils in other schools to report it
97% hear phrases such as “dyke” or “poof” used
in school
98% hear “that’s so gay” or “you’re so gay” at
school

5. Homophobic bullying
Only a quarter of schools say that homophobic
bullying is wrong in their school
30% of LGB pupils report that adults are
responsible for homophobic incidents in their
school
Of those who have been bullied, 92% have
experienced verbal homophobic bullying, 41%
physical and 17% have received death threats

6. How schools respond
Almost 3 in 5 LGB pupils who experience
bullying never report it
Half of teachers fail to respond to homophobic
language when they hear it
3 in 5 pupils fail to intervene and become
bystanders to bullying
Just 7% of teachers are reported to respond
every time they hear homophobic language
LGB pupils are three times more likely to feel
that their school is an accepting, tolerant school
if it responds to incidents

7. The consequences
7 out of 10 LGB pupils who experience
homophobic bullying state it has an impact
on their school work
Half of those who have experienced
homophobic bullying have skipped school
at some point because of it
7 in 10 LGB pupils have never been
taught about about LGB people or issues
in class

8. The consequences
Over 60% of young LGB people feel that there is
neither an adult at home nor at school that they
can talk to about being lesbian, gay or bisexual
4 in 5 young LGB people have no access in
school to resources that can help them
Only 15% attend a local LGB(T) youth group
Only 3 in 10 young LGB people know of a
teacher who is openly gay

9. The teachers’ perspective
90% of teachers say pupils in their school are
bullied, harassed or called names for being – or
perceived to be – lesbian, gay or bisexual
Teachers say homophobic bullying is the
second most frequent form of bullying
95% of teachers report hearing “you’re so gay”
or “that’s so gay” in their schools
8 in 10 teachers report hearing other
homophobic remarks such as “poof” or “dyke”

10. The teachers’ perspective
Only 55% of teachers report being aware of
verbal homophobic abuse
Only 8% of teachers report being aware of
physical homophobic bullying
No teachers report being aware of LGB pupils
receiving death threats or being sexually
assaulted
Half of teachers who are aware of homophobic
bullying in their schools say the vast majority of
incidents go unreported

11. The teachers’ perspective
More than 2 in 5 teachers say children
experience homophobic bullying
1 in 5 teachers say children experience verbal
homophobic abuse in their schools
2 in 5 teachers hear children using homophobic
language such as “poof” or “dyke”
Three quarters of teachers hear children using
expressions such as “that’s so gay” or “you’re so
gay”

12. A whole school approach
What is a whole school approach and why
is it important?
How would you implement a whole school
approach in your school?
Who would you include?
Examples of best practice and learning
from using a whole school approach
What other steps would you take?

13. What is a whole school
approach?
A policy will only be effective if everybody
in school has discussed and understood
the problem of bullying, and agreed on
good and bad practice.
Respecting Others: Anti-Bullying Guidance, 2003,
Department for Training and Education
“

14. What is a whole school
approach?
Idea of the ‘school community’
Homophobic behaviour isn’t confined to
the classroom or the playground
Responsibility should not fall soley upon
teaching staff – it’s everyone’s
responsibility

15. What is a whole school
approach?
Mixed and inconsistent messaging makes
it hard to enforce school policy
Leadership from the top ensures staff feel
supported
Makes everyone feel valued and part of
the school community
Sends a positive message to the wider
community

16. Where do we start?
Co-ordinate responsibility
Identify key partners
Review existing guidance
Develop a whole school strategy
Share information and practice with other
schools – and learn from them too

17. Who should we include?
School Governors
School Leaders
Teaching Staff
Support Staff
All other support (including Teaching
Assistants, Break/Lunch Supervisors,
Community Focussed Schools Staff)

18. Who should we include?
Wider community:
Local Authority Anti-Bullying Team / Children’s
Services / Safeguarding Children Board
Local Youth Group(s)
Local Youth Service / Careers Wales
Local transport providers
Local Police
Schools Liaison Officer
Lesbian and Gay Liaison Officer
Local faith leaders
Local (and national) support services

19. Next steps...
Acknowledge and identify the problem of
bullying
Develop policies which recognise the
existence of homophobic bullying
Promote a positive social environment
Address staff training needs
Provide information and support for
pupils

20. Next steps...
Include addressing bullying, including
homophobic bullying, in curriculum
planning
Feel able to use outside expertise
Encourage role models
Do not make assumptions
Celebrate achievements

21. For more information...
Youth and Education Officer
Stonewall Cymru
Transport House
1 Cathedral Road
Cardiff CF11 9SB
Phone: 029 2023 7744
E-mail: education@stonewallcymru.org.uk
Web: www.stonewallcymru.org.uk/youth&education