Beg gay at school remas difficult for teachers | Teachg | The Guardian

Contents:

• GAY TEACHER LNCH WORK TO HELP BRISH LGBT LLEAGU
• BEG AN OPENLY GAY TEACHER
• BEG GAY AT SCHOOL REMAS DIFFICULT FOR TEACHERS
• QUEER PE TEACHERS REVEAL HOW STUNTS STILL LL THEM F****TS AND GAY BOYS: ‘IT’S THE LAST BASTN OF HOMOPHOBIA’
• GAY TEACHER BIRMGHAM SCHOOL ROW ASKS FOR LGBT ‘TOLERANCE’ STEAD OF ‘CELEBRATN’
• GAY TEACHER RIGNS AFTER PARENTS PLAED THEY DID NOT WANT HIM TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN
• ‘AMAZG’ GAY TEACHER DIED BY SUICI AFTER WEEKS OF HOMOPHOBIC ABE OM TWISTED STALKER
• HEADTEACHER TO E OUT AS GAY TO PUPILS ONLE VIO MSAGE
• GAY TEACHERS SHOULDN’T HAVE TO HI WHO THEY ARE
• 10 GREAT BRISH GAY FILMS

GAY TEACHER LNCH WORK TO HELP BRISH LGBT LLEAGU

To his close iends and fay he was a young gay man a steady relatnship, while at the primary school where he worked his home life was a secret.

It sentially forba schools and lol thori om acknowledgg that gay people existed, and even today high-profile s of gay teachers beg hound by relig groups create a climate of fear. Robson, who had hidn her own sexualy when she started teachg the 1980s, started the Courageo Lears programme bee she believed LGBT teachers were missg out on promotn, as they were aaid to put their heads above the year-long programme volv three days of face-to-face trag, cludg lectur, gut speakers and workshops, wh the aim of stillg learship skills and boostg nfince through sharg experienc and mutual summaris the succs a new book, Courage the Classroom, that clus chapters by lbian, gay and transgenr teachers about overg prejudice and learng to be themselv. “Then we put on thgs such as the big gay bake sale and really took off and attracted girls of all ag and their iends, who me to support them, ” she says.

“The biggt thg for me was the very first five mut of the first day when I found myself a room full of gay teachers for the first time.

BEG AN OPENLY GAY TEACHER

A gay teacher who fought back agast advice to keep his sexualy secret by g out ont of his whole school last year has set up a work to enurage other LGBT teachers to do the Gray will lnch the iative, LGBTed, next weekend at an event where more than 100 teachers, school lears and other tnalists will share advice on beg gay or trans role mols schools. It is beg supported by Nick Gibb, the schools mister, who me out to his fay as gay three years ago havg been a relatnship wh his partner, now hband, for 29 the event, which will ci wh the 30th anniversary of sectn 28, the notor piece of legislatn that banned lol thori om “promotg homosexualy”, teachers will receive trag beg LGBT advot and tacklg homophobia.

When Jonathan beme a teacher, he wanted to be open about his sexualy, but a school where sual e of the word "gay" as a put-down was mon, he wasn't sure if was a good ia.

BEG GAY AT SCHOOL REMAS DIFFICULT FOR TEACHERS

About a year to his time at the school, a group of female pupils asked if he was gay and he said 'y' first thgs were fe, and Jonathan felt he was able to help pupils who were qutng their own sexualy.

QUEER PE TEACHERS REVEAL HOW STUNTS STILL LL THEM F****TS AND GAY BOYS: ‘IT’S THE LAST BASTN OF HOMOPHOBIA’

His experienc echo the fdgs of a rearch report rried out earlier this year by the gay equaly anisatn Stonewall, The School Report, which found that 96% of gay pupils had heard homophobic language such as "poof" or "lezza" at school – behavur that often go unchallenged by teachers.

Acrdg to equaly mpaigners, havg openly homosexual teachers n provi both gay and straight young people wh role mols, but all too often they lack the support they need om senr learship teams and lleagu. Sue Sanrs of Schools Out, a chary that promot equaly for LGBT people tn, timat that as few as 20% of gay teachers are "out" to their pupils.

GAY TEACHER BIRMGHAM SCHOOL ROW ASKS FOR LGBT ‘TOLERANCE’ STEAD OF ‘CELEBRATN’

"The legacy of Sectn 28 – the ntroversial legislatn that banned the "promotn" of homosexualy schools – lgers on, even ne years after s removal, says Streetg, pecially given how many current teachers traed and first tght that Dellenty, the puty head of Aled Salter primary school south-east London, whose succsful anti-homophobic bullyg programme has attracted the attentn of the Department for Edutn, says fear of backlash, and a lack of trag, are the ma reasons behd some school lears' unwillgns to support LGBT teachers and tackle homophobia. Outright prejudice, along wh a ntug misnceptn society that lks gay men workg schools and paedophilia, n also play a part, he says.

GAY TEACHER RIGNS AFTER PARENTS PLAED THEY DID NOT WANT HIM TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN

After some ial "uurgh" nois, they began their own dialogue about what beg gay meant, wh one girl explag to her classmat that simply meant "a man and a man" stead of a man and a woman, rells a few months later, problems began to surface. "Trag has a val role to play, says Dellenty, who has been workg wh the Natnal College for School Learship (NCSL), the profsnal velopment body for heads, cludg liverg a workshop for school lears on overg the issu that prevent them om rpondg to homophobia.

"You have a much easier relatnship wh stunts when they feel you have a human si, and if you don't tell them you're gay 's really difficult to talk about your life, bee you n't jt talk about your hband or wife, " he the ndns need to be right, says Suran Dickson, whose anisatn, Diversy Role Mols, works wh schools to unter negative stereotyp.

‘AMAZG’ GAY TEACHER DIED BY SUICI AFTER WEEKS OF HOMOPHOBIC ABE OM TWISTED STALKER

"Tips for school lears Lead om the top, and go back to basics: have clear and promoted polici on the issue Enforce the le that all stanc of homophobic language – cludg g "gay" as a pejorative term – mt be challenged, and ensure pupils and teachers unrstand why 's wrong Don't tolerate homophobia by staff, who should be provid wh trag on how to al wh homophobia and support LGBT pupils Make clear to LGBT staff that they have your support if they want to be open about their sexualy, and that any negative reactns will be alt wh swiftly and clearly Involve pupils the velopment and sign of anti-bullyg policiW Streetg, head of tn at Stonewall. Queer PE teachers have tailed the discrimatn they’ve faced at work, scribg the subject as the “last bastn of homophobia” schools. “Every school should already be makg a stand agast homophobia, monstratg that will not be tolerated society and certaly not wh our schools.

They said that tacklg homophobia wh the ntext of PE down to a sire to change, and that sire uld be hred by the stereotyp male PE teachers are expected to abi by. Gay teacher who wr books challengg homophobia has rigned after parents plaed they did not want him to teach their children Dispute at Chilwell Croft Amy maly volved Mlim parentsAndrew Moffat rigned om the Birmgham primary school December He said some Christian parents also plaed about him Challengg Homophobia Primary Schools has been ed lsons Published: 19:57 BST, 6 April 2014 | Updated: 10:53 BST, 7 April 2014 Andrew Moffat rigned om the primary school December and will leave his post this month A gay assistant head teacher has been forced to rign after Mlim parents plaed that they did not want their children learng that ’s OK to be dispute at Birmgham’s Chilwell Croft Amy, which maly volved Mlim parents, is the latt ntroversy surroundg a secular state school the Moffat, who rigned om the primary school December and will leave his post this month, said some Christian parents had also plaed. But fellow teachers are ncerned that the rpected teacher may have been the victim of an alleged plot by Mlim extremists to force non-Mlim teachers out and replace them wh month a letter was circulated referrg to a ‘Trojan Horse’ plot for Mlim extremists to take over the nng of schools thenticy of the letter is unclear but s very existence led to a flood of allegatns om parents and staff at several schools least 12 schools are unr now vtigatn by the Department for Edutn (DfE) followg allegatns that strict Islamic practic have been troduced Moffat has wrten several articl and books on homophobia schools, which he mak remendatns of how to teach children how to be book, entled Challengg Homophobia Primary Schools, has been ed leracy lsons for 10 and 11-year-olds, cludg those at Chilwell suggted lson plan scrib a piic at which gay fai are guts.

HEADTEACHER TO E OUT AS GAY TO PUPILS ONLE VIO MSAGE

Pupils are enuraged to treat all the piic guts Moffat, who worked at the school for five years, also traed teachers on how to prevent homophobic bullyg. A gay assistant headteacher has been forced to rign om Birmgham¿s Chilwell Croft Amy One book, entled Challengg Homophobia Primary Schools, has been ed leracy lsons ‘Some Christian and some Mlim parents have told me they don’t want their children learng that ’s OK to be gay.

’ The Department of Health's publitn lled Stand up for : Challengg homophobia schoolsMr Moffat has now accepted another teachg posn outsi Nolan, the high- profile gay head teacher at Perry Beech Amy Birmgham, told the Sunday Tim he had been ‘credibly shocked that an assistant head teacher who was dog credible work around relatnship tn had been timidated by a small group of what are beg seen as extremists the cy’ add: ‘The Mlim muny is beg allowed to fluence ernment legislatn around equaly. ‘If parents are g om a particular relig group, whether is Islamic or Christian, and they have a ncern at what they might nsir the promotn of homosexualy, the school’s posn should be ma clear to them. On 6 June last year Cremen end his life after beg subjected to vile and staed harassment which clud homophobic threats and verbal abe om Darren Capers.

GAY TEACHERS SHOULDN’T HAVE TO HI WHO THEY ARE

A headteacher om a leadg private school is about to make tn history by g out as gay to pupils an onle Hewlett, om St Dunstan's College Catford, south London, is thought to be the first head the UK to open up about his sexualy this way.

10 GREAT BRISH GAY FILMS

He will liver a pre-rerd vio msage to over 700 stunts on Monday, tailg how he is "happily married and gay" 41-year-old married his hband a civil ceremony 2014. "Here I am, a happily married gay man, and alright some stunts might know this, but the vast majory probably don't, why wouldn't I share wh them, why wouldn't I be open about that? Sue Sanrs, chair of Schools Out UK, me out as gay back the 1960s as a drama said she felt at the time was "ccial" and says is really important that teachers feel safe to open up to stunts this way.

Most famoly the UK, this harmful rhetoric was prent Sectn 28 the 1988 Lol Government Act which stated, ‘a lol thory shall not … promote the teachg any mataed school of the acceptabily of homosexualy’ (Department of Edutn and Science.