Another successful Schools Out conference
A hundred teachers, young people, policy makers and activists from all across the country braved the weather to attend the Schools Out conference at the Drill Hall theatre in London on Sat 7 Feb.
The keynote speaker was Teresa Clark from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, who outlined ways in which the DCSF is currently getting schools to address LGBT issues. She was clear about the need for positive work beyond tackling bullying and urged participants to engage with the department’s consultation on its Single Equality Scheme, which should create a uniform approach to all equalities issues.
The conference included the official launch of LGBT History Month, and patrons Sir Ian McKellen and Cyril Nri joined us. Both gave moving personal accounts of how things have improved for LGBT people during their lifetimes.
In workshops, participants learned how to make podcasts and how to include LGBT issues in a fun way in the curriculum, and discussed how to make the Schools Out Student Tool Kit more effective and accessible for young people experiencing homophobia and transphobia.
The highlight for most people was the documentary films from the No Outsiders research project, which showed how pioneering primary schools had successfully included LGBT identities into project work. In one school, children wrote and performed an opera about the real-life gay penguins in a New York zoo, who adopted an egg and raised a chick. Parents, governors and even a vicar spoke of the importance of raising the issues positively, before children learnt negative attitudes outside school.
Another powerful presentation was from a group of young people from Gay And Lesbian Youth In Calderdale, who mixed stories and statistics from their recent research with music and humour. A personal account of their friend’s experiences of horrific homophobic violence left hardly a dry eye in the house!
Other speakers included Louise Davies from lesbian mums’ group Out For Our Children, who showed us their two children’s story books; Kate Sicolo, who outlined her successes in working with Cornish schools; and Philip Wragg, who announced the publication of a new schools resource pack from the Terence Higgins Trust.
The Schools Out AGM re-elected Sue Sanders and Tony Fenwick as co chairs and Nigel Tart as media officer, and elected David Watkins as treasurer. Conference paid tribute to the work of outgoing treasurer Tim Lucas and wished him a happy retirement, and thanked Nigel Tart for his eight years as newsletter editor. The officers welcomed several new volunteers and announced plans to seek charity status.
Schools Out has been continuously campaigning for LGBT equality in education since it was established in 1974, as the London Gay Teachers’ Group. We believe this makes us the longest running such group in the world.
In February 2004, we launched LGBT History Month, our first major project since the repeal of Section 28, to reclaim our position in the curriculum and in wider society.
www.schools-out.org.uk
www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk
The keynote speaker was Teresa Clark from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, who outlined ways in which the DCSF is currently getting schools to address LGBT issues. She was clear about the need for positive work beyond tackling bullying and urged participants to engage with the department’s consultation on its Single Equality Scheme, which should create a uniform approach to all equalities issues.
The conference included the official launch of LGBT History Month, and patrons Sir Ian McKellen and Cyril Nri joined us. Both gave moving personal accounts of how things have improved for LGBT people during their lifetimes.
In workshops, participants learned how to make podcasts and how to include LGBT issues in a fun way in the curriculum, and discussed how to make the Schools Out Student Tool Kit more effective and accessible for young people experiencing homophobia and transphobia.
The highlight for most people was the documentary films from the No Outsiders research project, which showed how pioneering primary schools had successfully included LGBT identities into project work. In one school, children wrote and performed an opera about the real-life gay penguins in a New York zoo, who adopted an egg and raised a chick. Parents, governors and even a vicar spoke of the importance of raising the issues positively, before children learnt negative attitudes outside school.
Another powerful presentation was from a group of young people from Gay And Lesbian Youth In Calderdale, who mixed stories and statistics from their recent research with music and humour. A personal account of their friend’s experiences of horrific homophobic violence left hardly a dry eye in the house!
Other speakers included Louise Davies from lesbian mums’ group Out For Our Children, who showed us their two children’s story books; Kate Sicolo, who outlined her successes in working with Cornish schools; and Philip Wragg, who announced the publication of a new schools resource pack from the Terence Higgins Trust.
The Schools Out AGM re-elected Sue Sanders and Tony Fenwick as co chairs and Nigel Tart as media officer, and elected David Watkins as treasurer. Conference paid tribute to the work of outgoing treasurer Tim Lucas and wished him a happy retirement, and thanked Nigel Tart for his eight years as newsletter editor. The officers welcomed several new volunteers and announced plans to seek charity status.
Schools Out has been continuously campaigning for LGBT equality in education since it was established in 1974, as the London Gay Teachers’ Group. We believe this makes us the longest running such group in the world.
In February 2004, we launched LGBT History Month, our first major project since the repeal of Section 28, to reclaim our position in the curriculum and in wider society.
www.schools-out.org.uk
www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk
Labels: conferences
posted by West Sussex Teachers' Association at
3:17 AM
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