As a passionate advocate for inclusion in the UK school and education system, LGBTQ+ history month is another opportunity to pause and reflect. Inclusion is an interesting term, one that I find is often used without much in place to back up its use.
Inclusion to me personally, and certainly to my organisation, is about the real-life practicalities of ensuring that regardless of race, gender, sexuality, need, socio-economic factors or any other factor perhaps used to differentiate, life works just the same as it would for anybody else. I'm a firm believer that many of the systems and processes that navigate our "what next" in life, should operate as a framework for individual success to thrive within - regardless of what that success is or looks like, success to me and success to you may be different, but they are both successful and should be celebrated as such.
LGBTQ+ history month specifically resonates with me as I grew up in education in the 90s and even before I knew I was gay, I knew I was different - and so did everybody else, they often made that very clear. My experience of school was a challenging one, one that I find myself still repairing from. Education has moved on a long way since I attended, but it would be naive to assume that the challenges that I and many others faced have been magically fixed, and in some contexts, it wouldn't take much to argue that things have maybe gotten worse or stood still. It's key that we as professionals continue to listen to the experiences of our young people so we can our best to support, educate ourselves and represent the concerns they may be facing.
LGBTQ+ content in education is still a highly controversial topic for some. In recent years we have seen some larger-scale protests, contesting the validity and appropriateness of teaching a curriculum broad enough that individuals from all corners of society feel included, represented and supported. My personal opinion is that it's imperative that young people are shown a world that they can see themselves in, regardless of who they are. We know that when young people don't feel able to have certain conversations with people around them, they may turn to other sources of information - often leading to the digestion of misinformation and dangerous content for audiences who may need support in navigating these life moments.
So, where do we go from here?
There are some great resources available to adults working or caring for young people. I believe it's key that we continue to be present, to be available for difficult conversations, and that we are prepared for such conversations. For those of us working with young people, it's key that we continue to represent and champion any concerns they are brave enough to share with us - for young people who are maybe not quite ready to raise their voices, with their consent, we can raise our voices for them.
We are working on a new short course designed specifically for staff who would like more information, guidance, and support on how to best consider inclusion in their settings and the kind of experience that the young LGBTQ+ people in their settings will have.
If you'd like to know when we release this course, you can sign up for our alert list below.
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Check out the following:
My Family Coach - Podcast - How Can I Talk to My Child About Their Sexuality?
Stonewall - Article - LGBTQ-inclusive education: everything you need to know
Stonewall - Article - Supporting LGBTQ+ children and young people when they move to a new school, college or setting
LGBTQ+ History month runs annually, usually in the month of February.
The views expressed within this article are those of Managing Director'Jack Pattinson. These views are not necessarily shared by the organisations we (Codevelo | Training & Consultancy) are licensed or supported by.