This year’s LGBT HM is packed to the rafters
with academic discussion, resources for schools
and families and a whole host of celebrities
and other entertainment. As with any other
month, though, such as UK Disability History
Month or Black History Month, we really need
the education on such issues to be a continuous
process, not a one off! By learning about
LGBT people and how they lived their lives,
we can learn from both the challenges they
faced and the triumphs they celebrated. They
continue to inspire us and make us feel proud.
2016 is shaping up to be a good year - we’ve
had the final report of the Transgender
Equality Inquiry from the Women and
Equalities Committee and the prestigious
Brighton College has announced gender
neutral uniforms. Woman’s Hour even went
so far as to declare 2015 the ‘Year of Trans’,
so are we seeing a shift in attitudes and a
greater understanding of trans issues? For
the past few years, I have seen increasing
requests for help from schools and colleges,
where staff want to understand trans issues
and gender more broadly. ATL is delighted
to be working with Gender Identity Research
and Education Society (GIRES) on our Safer
Schools Network website –
.
org.uk - and we often refer education staff
to Mermaids, Schools OUT, and other
organisations. Teachers’ questions range from
changing names by deed poll online to how
to fill in forms that only have a binary male
or female option, to the inevitable pronouns
and changing room issues. What’s important
is to welcome the questions, set them in
context and allow people to ask the questions
they need to rewire their own often long-held
assumptions about gender. For many still, there
It's February so let's hear
it for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender (LGBT) History Month.
ATL is proud to be on the LGBT HM Committee, supporting all the great work
that they do through Schools OUT UK and a host of events. ATL is delighted
to be one of a range of fantastic sponsors. As a trade union, we help and support
education staff in schools and colleges to tackle discrimination in all its forms,
both in the classroom and the staffroom. Education has a vital role to play in
tackling inequalities, challenging discrimination and empowering our young
people and our members. Education staff find themselves being role models for
many young people, and we want to ensure that both the staffroom and the
classroom are LGBT-friendly environments, which is why we do our best to fight
for equality for LGBT staff through campaigning, bargaining and influencing
opinion at the very highest levels.
spring 2015
26
