2013-06-20T09:34:55-04:00 Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=shaun-dellenty Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Shaun Dellenty Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3269152 2013-05-13T19:10:43-04:00 2013-05-17T07:09:59-04:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
Around the world a range of events will be held to send a clear message that homophobia and transphobia have no place in our lives.

Friday 17 May also marks a year to the day that my anti-homophobic bullying website went live. Initially suggested by my friend Richard Whent, www.shaundellenty.com was intended to share my own childhood experiences of homophobic bullying, along with some strategies (termed 'Inclusion For All') which I hoped might support other schools in preventing homophobia.

Over the past year, word has spread about my website and associated Facebook and Twitter feeds. This technically illiterate deputy head teacher in his mid-40s has, so I am told, developed a 'social media profile.' The benefit of my new found 'social media savvy' is that I am able to share positive messages of what schools absolutely should be doing to prevent homophobic bullying in the first place.

It has been my privilege this year to address hundreds of teachers, trainee teachers, teacher trainers, police, health workers and students about preventing homophobia. I have heard many personal stories of lives ruined and chances lost, but I have also met many people who have overcome homophobic bullying and many inspirational people who are working passionately to overcome homophobic and transphobic bullying.

I have heard from teachers, students and parents from schools,not just in the UK, but from many different countries who just want to share their own stories of being homophobically bullied or who seek advice and support. It is a tremendous privilege when people take the time to write and it can sometimes make for hard reading, especially when I read of some teachers and school leaders making things harder for the often very vulnerable young people in their care.

Two of the most common issues that are still arising in some schools are:

a) teachers or school leaders telling children that they don't approve of LGBT people themselves

and

b) teachers or school leaders telling pupils that 'gay' is 'not a nice thing to say'.

It really shouldn't matter if a teacher sadly holds a negative personal view of LGBT people; common sense indicates that if a teacher says something like 'I think gay people are wrong and deserve to go to hell' they run the risk of damaging or offending pupils in their care who may be questioning themselves, or who may have LGBT friends or family (as many children now do).

As a gay man of some spirituality (but not aligned to a particular faith) I teach about the six main world religions with enthusiasm and interest. I simply wouldn't dream of expressing a negative opinion about the Christian, Muslim, Catholic or any other faith in class because it could hurt/offend my pupils and that is wholly unacceptable. Teachers teach about many things without being personally invested in them.

A hang-over from the dark days of Section 28 is the provocative word 'promote' which regularly gets thrown about with reference to the same sex marriage teaching and the teaching of LGBT issues in school. Think about it, if I teach six world main religions without promoting one over the other, a teacher who has a personal objection to human beings who are born LGBT should be able to educate and inform about the existence of LGBT people and civil partnerships without making a qualitative or personal judgement. Imagine if I refused to teach one particular faith because it didn't sit comfortably with my own beliefs- I would fully expect to face capability proceedings, as well as many offended members of my school community. Besides this, schools in the UK have a duty under the public sector duty to 'foster good relationships' between people of different 'protected characteristics' (including race, religion and sexual orientation) and Her Majesty's Inspectorate OFSTED are looking to see schools being pro-active in preventing homophobia and transphobia in the first place.

I fail to see how schools can undertake this work meaningfully if members of staff are expressing personally held negative beliefs or opinions about LGBT people or opting out of such teaching.

I also hear regularly from students, teachers and parents concerned that a school leader, a teacher or another member of school staff has told a child that the word gay is 'not a nice thing to say'.

Let's get this right, 'gay' IS a nice word to say, in the right context and used correctly; this is where the teaching many schools do in literacy around multiple word meanings comes into play. After all, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, they are just words, not scary monsters. The word 'gay' can describe something happy, carefree or lovely, or it might just be describing some of the young people sat in your classroom or assembly, or perhaps their parents, or siblings or friends. Do we really think that out of all the staff in a school, no one has LGBT friends or family? How do they feel when they hear a colleague saying 'gay is not a nice thing to say'?

When a trusted teacher tells a child that 'gay' is not a nice thing to say, the negative association is compounded even further. The child may be actually questioning themselves or have LGBT parents, friends or family; being told gay is 'not nice' can damage their self-esteem, hurt their feelings and be downright offensive.

Call me old fashioned but I simply don't remember this part of a teacher's job description.

Staff in schools please stop telling young people that gay is 'not nice'. Schools can invest time in teaching what the varying uses of the word 'gay' are, how they have changed over time and how the word 'gay' can be used correctly and without causing offence. Staff can take the time to look at the intent behind the use of pejorative use of the word gay with children and offer them alternative ways of expressing disapproval and handling disputes.

Staff and pupils can undertake role plays to find positive alternatives to saying 'don't say gay it isn't nice'. In my own school, having looked at the changing use of the word 'gay' with children, we have little to no instances of homophobic bullying and language and children regularly use the word 'gay' in their writing to describe something good or happy because they feel it is appropriate and safe to do so.

Education is the very best weapon we have in the fight against prejudicial, discriminatory and hateful attitudes towards LGBT people, educators must put the safety and well-being of children first, even if that means facing some unpalatable truths about their own practice.

Thank you to those of you who have shared your stories with me this year, I hope the children of the future will have happier stories to tell and that one day, they will talk of homophobia and transphobia as we now talk of slavery and apartheid.

It has been an absolute privilege in particular this year to listen to children from Church of England, Catholic and some predominantly Muslim schools sharing their fantastic work on LGBT history month and LGBT role models. I have real hope that the barriers can come down without compromising our beliefs, if we can all just agree to put the success, safety and well-being of our children first.

When we have, then maybe we will all understand one another a little better.

(Friday 17th May is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia and www.shaundellenty.com will celebrate by morphing into www.inclusionforall.co.uk)]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2796654 2013-03-02T12:34:38-05:00 2013-05-02T05:12:02-04:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
I attended and was privileged to speak at a number of history month events this year, ranging from police events to lectures at teacher training establishments.

Two recurring debates particularly stood out for me.

Firstly were the varying objections to use of the initialism 'LGBT' from a number of people who identify as Queer, Questioning and Intersex who felt sadly precluded. At one event I was speaking at an 'LGBT' history month event, run by an 'LGBTQ' group, yet there were Intersex attendees in the audience who felt rightly ignored.

It is not uncommon for me to get queried on own use of 'LGBT' by those abroad who use 'GLBT' or 'LGBTQ' or 'LGBTQI' so I always try to stress that the name of my initiative is 'Inclusion For ALL.'

Reaction to the inclusion of an abbreviation for Transpeople varies as well; the placing of 'T' in 'LGBT' causes offence to some Trans people I have met, as can placing it separately as in 'LGB and T' as it serves to separate Trans people. Of course there remain some LGB groups who prefer not to include Trans at all, which I think is a shame. It is not hard to see why Trans and Intersex people have to strive so hard to fight their corner and be represented and celebrated.

Of course none of these debates about initialisms are new (and the fact that we are still having them makes me wonder if we will ever find consensus) but the fact that they were so focussed on labels really made me think about how I prefer to be represented. Increasingly I am known as 'that gay teacher' rather than Shaun, and this has happened for a reason, but it does not (I hope) define me. I chose to identify as 'gay' because it provides me with a common point of reference to explain to other people that I was born preferring men to women. Yet I have had girlfriends and sexual relationships with women, therefore should really I be labelling myself as bi-sexual? Others have implied that I should. However if my identity is 'Shaun' then why does it matter anyway?

And what of the ladies in my lovely old village back in the Midlands, both widowed after many happy years of marriage and then boasting about their fantastic relationship together in the pub over Sunday lunch. 'We're not lesbians' they would chortle, 'we just know when it feels right and when it is good'.

Ladies I raise my glass to you, I know myself most truthfully as 'Shaun' because it feels right, any labels I stick on myself or have stuck on me are done so for the sake of mass public consumption and a kind of media shorthand.

It happen in schools too often as well, the 'special needs' child, the 'gifted and talented' child, the 'class clown', the 'low aspiration white working class free school meal' children; as practitioners we are forced into using labels every single day of our working life as it enables us to access funding and support and be answerable to OFSTED. So often I find myself saying 'Can we talk about individual children please' to education professionals who look at me as if I am from the planet Zog.

Aside from these debates around initialism and labels, I was also party to a number of high powered debates around the use of word 'phobia' in homophobia, transphobia etc.

Again there are many valid points to be made around what phobias are and what they are not and we could debate that for a very long time without actually changing anything.

Surely what matters, is the appalling fact that young children are being made to feel terrible and unsafe in their schools, communities and homes across the world and surely our energies are better spent striving to prevent this from happening. We can argue about labels, about word use and never reach a point where we agree -in the meantime how many more children have cut themselves or have seen their life chances impaired by fear, ignorance and hate? We all know what it looks like when children are horrible to other children, whatever label we give it we are surely better off spending time trying to prevent it happening in the first place.

So as I move forward into Spring, I find myself increasingly dropping 'LGBT' and 'GLBT' and 'LGBTQI' (all of which I really struggle to say anyway) and instead I look to that most colourful of symbols that many of us in Pride all around the world; the Rainbow.

Rainbow People in our schools should be free to be who they were born to be, without being made to feel bad about it or be damaged for it. If we can truly achieve this (yes it will take some time, but the Equality Act and current OFSTED framework are helping so we need rigorous action now) then maybe in the future our History Month truly will last 365 days.

So thanks for a wonderful month of celebration Rainbow People everywhere.

And before you say it- Rainbow People is merely another label, but I kind of like it anyway.

For whoever we are, and whoever we identify as,we can all stand under a rainbow with a smile and dream there is something truly lovely at the end of it.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2207069 2012-11-28T17:55:50-05:00 2013-01-28T05:12:01-05:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
So many of our early moral messages come from stories, they broaden our perceptions and seep into our dreams, sometimes blurring the line between reality and fantasy.

Last Friday I had one of the most 'blurred' experiences of my life. A few weeks ago an unexpected email popped into my inbox from the Royal Court Theatre. The message explained that the playwright EV Crowe (whose play 'Kin' was shortlisted for the Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2011) had written a new play 'Hero', the subject of which was a gay male primary school teacher. The play was to be directed by Jeremy Herrin at the Jerwood Theatre upstairs at the Royal Court. An online search for gay primary school teachers threw up my name and so EV Crowe, the cast and director were requesting a chat with me, seeing clear parallels between my journey as an 'out' gay primary school teacher and some of the events in the play.

As an ex-actor myself, this was an intriguing proposal, but as everything I do as a school leader is child centred my first thought was 'how can I involve the children in this experience?'

Thus a deal was struck and writer, cast and production team came to our school where I led a session with a group of pupils during which we explored and reflected upon our work around tackling homophobia. I was incredibly proud of the pupils, they were articulate, profound and respectful. They were able to make the point with great clarity that it is not about gay or straight teachers, it is about great teachers.

Following the pupil led session I shared some of my own stories of being a gay man in education over the past 15 years. I recounted stories of staff-rooms where homophobic language was used to label pupils and insult staff and parents. I recounted stories of school leaders I had seen turn away when victims reporting homophobic bullying, I recounted stories of how ashamed I felt when I lied about my male partner of 12 years rather than admit I was gay to school staff and I recounted stories of anxious, confused children who openly expressed their sense of difference, only to be told 'not to be silly'.

After I had shared my stories, the 'Hero' team went away, re-visited the script, blocked out their moves and readied themselves to tell a new and important story of their own.

Part of the privileged position I am in right now, thanks to recent publicity and the Pink List nomination is that people I have never met from all over the world write to me, email me and Tweet me in order to share their stories.

These stories come from a variety of people in a variety of contexts from right across the globe and certain patterns are emerging- I hear from:

-teachers who are frightened to come out who feel their school leaders/parents/governors won't support them
-parents who know there is homophobic bullying going on in the school their children attend and see nothing is being done to curb it
-gay teachers who work in schools and especially faith schools who are frightened to come out
-people who still feel scarred by homophobic bullying or bullying around gender stereotyping who feel that the development and potential of their adult lives has been (and in some cases continues to be) seriously impaired by the bullying they suffered at school and in workplaces

As this living compendium of stories accumulates in my synapses, one thing becomes abundantly clear; homophobic bullying and gender stereotyping has been damaging children in our schools at least since the 1950s, 60s, 70, 80, 90s, 2000s and it is still wrecking young lives even as I type.

Yet we know that many school leaders are afraid or unwilling to tackle these issues head on, for the sake of generations of young people to come, I find this unacceptable. Homophobic bullying, any form of bullying, is a child protection concern. A school leader that fails to tackle homophobic bullying for whatever reason is in my personal opinion, putting children at risk.

As school leaders we can invest time in debating theology, have discussions about semantics with reference to the use of the word 'gay' or 'homophobia', or we can simply get on and train our school staff to make things better for all the brilliant young people in our care.

Rachel William's article in The Guardian this week illustrated how difficult it can be for gay teachers to be open about their authentic identity in schools due to lack of support and fear of reprisal. I have often heard said 'why should do gay people want to talk about THAT in school, it is not relevant to your job, its private and you should keep it private'. But some heterosexual colleagues are given flowers in assembly on the eve of their weddings and some quite rightly talk openly about their weekends or holidays with their husband or wives. Some of the children in our schools will have gay family, friends and grow up to be LGBT themselves, they deserve and need a representative diverse range of authentic role models in schools.

The view that being gay is a 'private' matter is most likely based upon the still fairly common misconception that being gay is purely a sexual act; yet when heterosexual teachers talk about their weddings and holidays they presumably do not share intimate details of their wedding night- it would be wholly inappropriate, the sexual part of their lives is merely one facet. It may come as a surprise to some, but LGBT people do really boring stuff too, like pay taxes, watch the telly and work for charities, oh and some make really great teachers!

An effective school leader is one who gets the best people for the job, to allow prejudice of any kind to get in the way of hiring the best teachers results in diminished opportunities and life chances for our children. Our schools need to be full to the brim with inspirational, authentic and excellent teaching role models from a diverse and representative range of backgrounds. In this way children can see all their possible futures living and learning alongside them. If school leaders are not confident in hiring diverse workforces, we need to invest in training and open and honest dialogue in order to get over prejudice, fear and misconception.

In this way we will truly put the children first.

Stories have alway played an important part in my life. Last Friday, upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre, actors Danny Mays, Tim Steed, Susannah Wise and Liam Garragan under the direction of Jeremy Herrin brought EV Crowe's 'Hero' brilliantly to life. I had not been prepared for the intimacy of the production, the intensity of the performances, the complexity of the script and the finely observed dialogue which resonated with countless conversations I have had through my 44 years with friends and colleagues gay, straight and everything in between.

The script had undergone a final polish to reflect the cast's visit to our school and for a few moments in a packed theatre on a Friday night my real life and the stories being told so vibrantly by EV Crowe seem to merge, a surreal and profoundly cathartic experience and one I expect never to be repeated, nor one I will ever forget.

Hero is a courageous, vital and important piece of work, I wish all school leaders, all school governors and all school staff could see the show and talk through their fears and their misconceptions afterwards. For this reason I hope the piece is a huge success, is performed far and wide and perhaps is even filmed for mass teacher training consumption.

I believe there needs to be a greater effort to attract LGBT people into teaching. We need to let LGBT people know they will be welcomed and supported in our wonderful profession and that they can be great role models for pupils. It is a privilege working with these amazing young people who will go on to shape the future; it should not however be a heterosexual privilege to talk openly about your family, or who you love, who you live with and what you did on your holiday.

Authentic teachers are more efficient teachers and more efficient teachers are teachers who raise standards.

EV Crowe captures something in 'Hero' I did not expect, a sense of inertia driving forward genuine change. The stories people continue to share give me real hope that an increasing number of school staff can see the benefits of placing the needs of pupils before endless philosophical and theological debate. The Equality Act, OFSTED, the National College for School Leadership all increasingly recognise the need to tackle homophobia in our schools and communities and the signs are there that there is an increasing number of teachers that can see this too. I remain optimistic, maybe we are on the cusp of lasting change.

After all, it's important for everyone to be themselves, isn't it?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2171102 2012-11-21T12:51:03-05:00 2013-01-21T05:12:01-05:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
Waking up at 3am on a Sunday morning to find a message from an ex-pupil congratulating me on entering the Independent on Sunday Pink List was an unexpected experience, as was reading that I was 'much nominated' and that pupils had voted for me. The Pink List has its detractors I have since found, but there is no doubting it brings a wider audience to my child centred messages. Words are all I have, therefore any help to spread them is much appreciated.

So if you did vote for me, a heartfelt 'thank you'.

A wonderful and life affirming aspect of the press and online attention my work has received over the past few weeks has been the number of ex pupils who have contacted me to offer support, some state they knew they were different way back when we taught them in primary school. This experience resonates with my own and that of many of my LGBT peers, we knew very early on we were different.

On November 15th I led a training day (kindly the delegates evaluated it as 'outstanding' ) entitled 'Tackling Homophobic Bullying and Language' in my own school. Amongst the delegates were primary, secondary, newly qualified and supply teachers, parent governors and two ex pupils. The contributions of all in attendance were self reflective, constructive and positive. After over two years of outreach work leading up to the training, the presence of two ex pupils who cared passionately about tackling gender stereotyping, homophobic bullying and prejudice really was the icing on the cake. The next training date is March 20th and I hope again to see some familiar faces on the delegate list. Several delegates have since emailed me to tell me they are already driving forward positive change in their own contexts- good on them!

With a raised profile comes the likelihood of distractions and inevitably some hate. Already since the Pink List and the recent Guardian Online article about my work 'Homophobia is the Toughest Nut to Crack' I've wasted precious time fending off hate filled online trolls and negotiating requests and emails from people trying to pull me into political debates; debates which have no direct benefit upon the happiness, safety and life chances of all our children and generations of children to come. Note to myself; keep focussed on the job in hand.

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a run through of the new Royal Court production 'Hero' by the EV Crowe. The highly talented cast, writer and director visited our school and observed a lesson led by myself around prejudice and the representation of a diverse range of role models (including gay teachers) in schools. Again I must pay tribute to the children, their mature and compassionate attitudes inspired the Royal Court team and EV Crowe enough to add a few additional moments of authenticity, to what is a highly though provoking and courageous piece of writing. To sit in a rehearsal room and see so many words and situations I have lived through brought to life was a moving and cathartic experience and one I shall never forget. How wonderful to have this experience in Anti-Bullying Week.

Children all over the country this week are celebrating their anti-bullying work and learning about the destructive impact of homophobic bullying and other forms of prejudice related bullying and discrimination. There is some fantastic work going on out there and many individuals, organisations and groups are working very hard to make life better for all our children. They deserve a time of focus and celebration, yet as school leaders we must never forget that an anti-bullying ethos must pervade our school communities every minute of every day.

Recently somebody said to me ' You do go on a lot about homophobic bullying don't you?'

'Yes I do' I replied.

Homophobic bullying affects attainment, attendance, mental and physical health and can result in the self harm or suicide of young human beings. It is absolutely clear that homophobic bullying is a child protection issue. I personally believe that any school leader who ignores a child protection issue, because of their own beliefs, their own prejudice, their lack of relevant training, their fear of causing offence or their fear of parental reprisal is laying all of their pupils open to harm.

I know I still have much to learn as a school leader, but I just can't accept that.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1979626 2012-10-18T10:47:44-04:00 2012-12-18T05:12:02-05:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
Recently I delivered a presentation at the excellent Camden Anti-Bullying Conference, the theme of which was overcoming homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools. Over the past few years I have attended a number of such conferences, either as a speaker or as a delegate.

One of the things that pleased me about this particular conference was the number of delegates attending from faith schools or schools with a large faith based communities. Indeed the most moving presentation of the day came from a number of Muslim students, from a school with a 95% Muslim community, who spoke passionately about their faith, before sharing their superb LGBT history month presentation and anti-bullying work.

My work has always been driven by the need to make things better for all children in our schools and communities, and to this end I see no reason to adapt my messages or strategies to schools of faith. But what is interesting is the number of people I come into contact with, (professionals and non professionals) who express a closed view as to the potential for faith schools to want to tackle homophobic bullying.

Several times when talking about my work at teaching conferences, I have been approached by school staff who praise my work and then proceed to say discreetly that they could do nothing in their own school to tackle homophobic bullying for fear of offending pupils, staff, governors or parents of faith.

Similarly, when spending a recent weekend undertaking a mail shot to every school in Southwark to advertise our upcoming anti-homophobic bullying training days at Alfred Salter Primary School, a couple of friends expressed surprised to see me sending flyers to Catholic Schools.

It seems there are some people who assume that faith schools and their staff pupils and parents are all somehow homophobic themselves and would baulk at the very idea of fulfilling their statutory obligation in tackling homophobic bullying.

It would be naive of me to think that such opposition doesn't exist in some quarters and I have encountered it directly from a headteacher of a Catholic school who openly stated that she would not employ LGBT staff; but the polarisation of LGBT people and the varying faith groups that exist seems in some cases based upon assumption rather than experience. Some LGBT people I have met often seem to assume that we are all non believers or are somehow cast out from faith groups.

My work has brought me in contact with many LGBT people of faith and many people of faith who see the need to tackle homophobia and teach about LGBT people and their history. We need to be looking for such champions and building bridges between faith and LGBT communities. Wrongly held assumptions based on stereotype hinder this process and therefore impact upon our ability to make things better for ourselves and for our children.

I often reflect upon my first teaching job in Northampton, where as a man openly living with another man not of faith, I taught all of the Religious Education. I covered the six world religions, knowing at this challenging school RE was the lesson in which most pupils tended to misbehave. It was my job, as teacher to educate and inform in an unbiased manner and with as much relevance, interest and passion that I could. Some of the discussions around faith and the discussions around similarities and differences were so profound I can remember them with clarity fifteen years on.

I have a Catholic colleague in Leicestershire who sees it as the right of all pupils to know that LGBT people exist and that they are vulnerable to bullying. She delivers this information (with the approval of the head-teacher) in the knowledge that regardless of the views of the Catholic or any other faith, some of the children that come through her door will grow up to be LGBT and/or have LGBT family or friends.

The assumption that teaching around homophobia in schools will lead to a negative reaction, negative press or the lynching of the headteacher is simply not true, provided the work is undertaken in a strategic and transparent manner, with rationale, pupil voice data and statutory and moral obligations clearly communicated from the outset.

Of course there may be some parents, perhaps of faith or perhaps not, who may hold prejudice or misconceptions that the school is about to 'turn the kids gay;' or 'be teaching about gay sex'.

It is our job as school leaders to take on this challenge and be clear to the school community about the content and the benefits of this work and the implications for all children that not undertaking it will have on achievement, attendance and the physical and mental health of our children.

As teachers and school leaders we face regular parental challenge over such matters as the content of school lunch-boxes, school reports, pupil punishments and whether or not a child gets a large role in an end of year show.

To accept a role as a school leader means one has to be ready to accept and offer challenge even sometimes to OFSTED, in order to ensure we place the needs of our children first and make things better for all who live and learn within our schools.

This theme of assumptions has become a large part of my work around tackling homophobic bullying. One training session saw me ask teachers to brainstorm every variation on a family grouping that they could think of; these were then written on a what looked like a giant loo roll and was rolled out across the hall floor whilst we all stood around the edge with raised eyebrows.

I think we counted 30 types of family groups.

'My goodness, haven't we been making assumptions about where our children come from?' said a nursery nurse, as staff scurried off to audit the resources and images of family groups around the school to ensure they were representative....

Doing the work I do has made me somehow more attuned to noticing all forms of prejudice and discrimination, it has also allowed me a greater insight into how making assumptions can immediately throw up barriers to a development process.

In the case of work around tackling homophobia in schools, the positive impact upon generations of children yet to come is potentially so great, that schools need to be self aware and reflective in recognising where they may be making assumptions about all stakeholders in their communities, people of faith and LGBT people.

School also need to be empowering children in terms of recognising themselves where they are making assumptions and offering opportunities to challenge them with the whole school community.

One secondary pupil I met recently told me she had been on my website;

'I think it's great what you are doing, do you mind if I ask, did you always know you were gay?'

I replied that I always knew I was different and that I was attracted to men.

'So you never had a girlfriend then?' she asked

'Yes I had a few and then when I was 17 I was going to get engaged to an American girl' I told her.

She looked confused for a moment and asked:

'So are you bisexual then?'

I smiled at her and then said;

'Do you know what, the more I do this work, the more people I talk to, the more I realise what damage labels do to people. So nowadays I just like to think of myself as Shaun.'

I don't know if she knew what I meant, but I think she did. She placed her hand in my arm, gave me a huge smile and said 'keep up the good work' before walking back to her class-mates.

Like I said earlier, a privilege.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1907251 2012-09-23T11:14:47-04:00 2012-11-23T05:12:02-05:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
'Are you Shaun Dellenty?' she enquired with a slight reddening of the neck.

'Yes I am' I replied with a mouthful of an endangered local authority sandwich.

'I just wanted to say I think the work you are doing on homophobic bullying is really important. My school kids and my teenage sons say the word 'gay' in a bullying way all the time and I don't really know what to do about it. I really admire you for speaking out, but I have to confess I wouldn't feel able to discuss lesbian and gay people in my Year 6 class and I know my head-teacher is homophobic'.

I thanked her for her honesty and spent some time giving suggestions until we were called away to the dreaded after lunch graveyard slot.

But she got me thinking...

A teacher friend of mine, in the pub one night said to me;

'Stonewall, Schools Out, Elly Barnes, Shaun Dellenty......you are all trying to tackle the problems and you are all perceived as LGBT. When schools tackled racism surely it wasn't just black teachers and school leaders that tackled it? How many teachers in a school feel able to tackle racism and yet are too scared or uncomfortable to mention that LGBT people even exist? That's not right surely?'

I replied that over the years I had met school staff who, through lack of training avoided anything 'unpalatable'. Many teachers I have worked with over the years similarly avoid teaching sex education, because no investment in a strategic, consistent, national approach to training has been made, with serious consequences in terms of teenage pregnancy, rates of HIV infection and other STD infections.

Earlier this year I led a teacher training workshop at a conference with another school leader. Both our schools are known for celebrating diversity and adopting a pro-active approach to tackling homophobic bullying in order to raise standards. Over lunch we observed that we both get invited to speak at such events fairly regularly and that we both are openly gay school leaders; we wondered if schools with LGBT staff are more likely to undertake work to represent different families/LGBT people and adopt a zero -tolerance approach to homophobic bullying?

We both know of school staff, LGBT and heterosexual who undertake work around homophobia but we agreed that maybe the obvious 'champions' tend to be people or groups perceived as being LGBT or who are LGBT.

Over the past couple of years it has been my privilege to speak at various Stonewall and anti-bullying events. During this period of time I have gained a wider sense of what is going on in our schools. I have seen some excellent work and an increasing awareness from LGBT and heterosexual professionals that something more needs to be done in our schools to represent all pupils and their families and to ensure that the school community is free from bullying and pupils are prepared for their adult lives; whether they identify as gay, straight, trans, or anything else in between.

After leading such training in my own and other schools, I was surprised in terms of the number of people (staff and parents) who expressed a desire to see LGBT people better represented in our education system ('You never know, my child might grow up to be gay-at least I know if he comes to a school like this he will feel alright' said one parent) and who feel that the perjorative use of the word 'gay' within their own households and schools is damaging and prejudicial.

My experiences lead me to believe that there are many parents and school staff who really want to see these issues addressed for once and for all. Some of them are indeed LGBT, but many of them are not.

As we move into a new school year, I sincerely hope that a real range of parents and school staff will champion this work and see the benefits of it (apart from the fact that it is now a statutory obligation) as I genuinely believe it benefits the whole school community.

To further the message a wide range of school staff, pupils and parents need to stand up, to speak out, share their successes in these areas and to let schools know that they need to represent and celebrate all of their pupils, their families and provide a safe and respectful environment for the pupils in their care.

This year at my own school, Alfred Salter Primary School is especially exciting. Having undertaken for the last eighteen months training to enable schools to tackle homophobic bullying in a variety of educational contexts, we are, on November 15th, holding our first such training day onsite. (http://cpdnet.org/product/tackling-homophobic-bullying-language-in-schools) This makes us one of the few, if not the only primary school in the UK to act as a training centre for educationalists in tackling homophobic bullying as a means to raising standards for all pupils.

I hope that through such training we can inspire school leaders and staff to go on to great success within their own context and then similarly share this success with other education professionals.

I firmly believe that the structures are already in place for every school in this land to adopt a zero tolerance approach to homophobic bullying within five years. A dream? Maybe, but sometimes we need to dare to dream.

To make this dream happen, we need a wide range of educational role models and fully trained and informed people willing to take a stand for their sake of all the pupils in their care.

In short we need school staff across the land who care enough to put the children first.

Here's to a school year in which every child can be free to achieve their full potential and go on to achieve their dreams.

Once it's done, it's done.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1772324 2012-08-13T09:40:11-04:00 2012-10-13T05:12:11-04:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
'Did you see that gay Olympian?' she asked, 'he's quite fit'

'No' her beau replied and after a couple of beats added;

'I don't mind it, but I don't see why they have to make a big deal about it, why can't they just be Olympians like everyone else?'

She thought for a moment;

'I dunno, maybe they have to'

Her beau raised an eyebrow slightly as if to say 'I hadn't thought of that'

And then, as if often the case in these situations, her gaze met mine, she studied me closely for a moment and then gave a slightly awkward, blushing smile before nuzzling her face into his shoulder.

This Jubilee line exchange for me holds a certain resonance.

Many times in my life friends and family have said told me that they don't have a problem with 'it' provided 'it' is a) kept private b) not flaunted c) not made a big deal of.

I still remember with heartbreaking clarity being told by somebody normally very lovely (and who knew I was gay) the day after the Admiral Duncan bombing, that death by nail bomb was to 'be expected' when 'they' flaunt themselves.

I have been a school leader since 2005. My identity as 'Shaun Dellenty who lives with a man' was certainly no secret, but I felt no great need or urge to be 'Shaun Dellenty the openly gay Deputy Headteacher'- but in 2010 I did start to be more openly gay to pupils and parents.

I am reminded again of the Jubilee Line exchange, the 'why do they make a big deal about it?' question. The simple answer to this of course, is that whether it be through religion, criminalisation, discrimination, execution, Holocaust or legislation, some people have already seen fit to make a very big deal out of 'it'. It strikes me as fairly obvious then, that those very same people who are made to feel in some cases unworthy of life itself, should at some point want to stand up and regain a sense of pride through authenticity of identity.

As a result of a combination of press attention and partly as a result of my own attempts to draw attention to the issue of homophobia in schools, I recently seem to have acquired the moniker of 'openly gay deputy head Shaun Dellenty.' I am certain that some people (including some gay people) will be asking 'why is he making such a big deal out of being gay?

Interestingly some people I talk to are of the opinion that matters of life, love and happiness are pretty rosy for gay people now, that 'things are much better than they were' (I hate to say it, but sometimes you really can almost hear a silent 'think yourselves lucky, you should be grateful' embedded just under the surface of this statement.)

So let it be said, yes, for many of us in this country, things have got better and of course we are grateful for that, particularly when at our Olympic Ceremony we have governments represented who would happily see a young gay person swinging by the neck from a tree surrounded by people hurling abuse.

But the pernicious legacy of religious prejudice, criminalisation, discrimination, execution, Holocaust and legislation will not go away overnight. In every corner of this land there is a young person questioning their emerging identity who sees and hears negativity associated with being LGBT. The majority of children in this country are hearing homophobic bullying on a daily basis and the majority of school staff either don't want to, or feel untrained to deal with it.

Growing up LGBT is tough, sometimes almost unbearably so. As a child growing up knowing I was gay from an early age, all I could find in the way of openly gay role models were stereotypes, gay people presented as figures of tragedy or exaggerated figures to be laughed at. Somehow back then, these figures made me fear what I knew I was growing up to be to an even greater degree.

How powerful would it have been for me to have an openly gay teacher, or to see openly gay Olympians being celebrated on the television, or to know that one day a man called Harvey Milk once stood up for what he believed in, in the same way that Rosa Parks made her stand against hate?

Children look for role models, they look for people to aspire to, to teach them what's positive and negative about themselves, to show them how dreams can be made real and to offer them hope for a greater variety of life choices than those provided by their family or socio-economic backgrounds.

Schools have a duty to present their pupils with a wide range of authentic role models, people that come from a range of diverse backgrounds and represent the kind of lives the diverse range of pupils sat in front of us in assembly might just grow up to have. Teachers, school leaders, school staff and school speakers can all provide excellent and highly relevant inspirational role models for pupils. Suran Dickson and her 'Diversity Role Models' see the benefit of this and are doing excellent work in placing a range of role models, some LGBT, in front of secondary school pupils. (http://diversityrolemodels.org/)

Many of us will remember teachers that talked about their husbands, wives, holidays, families and their interests; gay school staff (and yes gay Olympians)should have the same entitlement, there is nothing more private about being LGBT than there is about being heterosexual, to think otherwise is prejudicial and displays the misinformed view that being LGBT is purely a sexual act. There are public acts and private acts regardless of who we choose to love; as professionals I would like to think that the majority of school staff in this country are fairly clear on that.

To some people the whole notion of a 'gay child' seems unthinkable, but the truth as many school staff will tell you, is that we regularly see children who don't fit in with established gender stereotypes, or who are clearly questioning their emerging sexual identity.

For these questioning children, a successful and hopefully well liked openly LGBT member of school staff who is accepted, open and authentic at work, just might be the factor they need to reassure themselves that they can fully be accepting, open and happy about who they are. Ensuring ALL pupils can fulfil their potential is surely why we became teachers in the first place?

To the non questioning pupils, the presence of an openly gay member of school staff alongside a colleague of faith, or from a different cultural background, models cohesion and acceptance of difference, traits that surely all schools should be nurturing under the Equality Act 2010- and besides which makes simple common sense.

Mr Jubilee Line was right to question why some of us feel we even have to make being gay an issue, but being gay was made an issue for us; some of us now want to take small steps to try and repair some of the immeasurable damage done along the way. Along the way we lost young LGBT people and sometimes we still do; I may be naive but this fact in itself surely trumps any theological or philosophical debates we choose to have as grown ups? Surely we must place the needs of our kids first, or is that too much to ask?

If by being an openly gay role model in the form of an Olympian, a deputy headteacher, a vet, a shop assistant, a banker or a supportive older sibling you have the potential to inspire and provide the brilliant young people of today with a sense of hope that they can be accepted for whoever they are, then it is a role I recommend wholeheartedly.

And if openly gay role models on the national and global stage can show some government regimes and religious organisations that we deserve our place in humanity just as much as everyone else, then so be it.

Thank you to all of the sporting role models who made the 2012 Olympics such a wonderful experience and thanks to those lovely volunteers who kept London smiling.

I hope we remember this Olympics with Pride.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1737921 2012-08-06T19:00:00-04:00 2012-10-06T05:12:17-04:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
The use of the word gay to describe an object or person as being without worth, for example "those trainers are so gay" (for "so gay", read those trainers are "so shit") continues to be endemic in British society and especially within our schools and youth culture. This fact is once again shockingly illustrated by the latest Stonewall School Report.

Back in the 70s, when I was at primary school, if a pair of trainers were considered below par they were dismissed as being "spazzy" or "spastic." For me these were words genuinely capable of hurt and damage; my reasoning for this was usually made to sit on the side of the hall during PE, his name was Daniel and he was a wheelchair user. Daniel was regularly subjected to the use of these words.

In 1982 in a secondary school PE lesson whilst attempting a forward roll, the PE teacher walked over to me, kicked me in the side with her foot and shouted;

"Do it properly you spastic!"

Sitting up, humiliated I caught the gaze of Gary, a disabled boy in my class whose eyes were brimming with tears on the sidelines - for a brief moment we connected and then he bowed his head.

Later that day after I had caught up with Gary and enquired as to his wellbeing;

"It's ok, it doesn't matter" he said in total resignation; but of course it mattered, and to this day I have never forgotten the look on Gary's or Daniel's faces.

Let me put my cards on the table right here right now, I firmly believe it is no more ok for a person in a wheelchair to be party to use of word "spazza" than it is for a black person to be subjected to racist language or for a gay person to hear the word "gay" being banded about as a replacement for the words "shit" or "crap".

I also firmly believe it is not rocket science to understand why using the word gay in this manner has the potential to cause damage to our kids.

Take one child who is questioning their sexuality, often with low self esteem, maybe fearful of rejection by their teachers, family, society, cultural or faith group. A child who may be aware of the voices in the world who claim they will go to hell, that they are sinful, that they deserve to be hung or to get AIDS and die.

Sound dramatic? This the reality for many young LGBT people, they are in a uniquely vulnerable position, look no further than the Stonewall Gay and Bisexual Men's Health Survey for startling supporting evidence.

Now add to the equation the endemic use in society of the word 'gay' by press, peers and society 'role models' as a replacement for shit/crap and other negative words and phrases.

Place yourself for a moment in the mindset of the vulnerable young LGBT person as they hear and read the word gay used in a pejorative way.

On top of everything they have felt, heard and fear about being LGBT they now very clearly are being sent a message that gay = rubbish.

I repeat, it is not rocket science to see how this might damage our kids and young adults. In exactly the same way, wheel-chair bound Gary and Daniel's hearts must have broken a little more every time they heard the word "spazza".

"I don't mean to be homophobic when I say the word gay to describe something rubbish" is a common defence and yet this is no defence at all. We must all take responsibility for the words we use, and the word gay used pejoratively hurts and damages children and yes, even some adults who have struggled on through prejudice, rejection and discrimination for much of their lives.

The bottom line is this; do we care more about word choice than the mental and physical well being of young people?

Whether one intends to be homophobic or not, the potential is there for uniquely vulnerable kids to be damaged by some people in our society that apparently think it is ok to use the word gay in this manner.

Pupil questionnaires undertaken by Key Stage 2 pupils in my own primary school clearly matched the damning statistics in the Stonewall School Report by showing that 75% of pupils in my school were hearing the pejorative use of the word gay on a daily basis. As a school leader it was my statutory and moral obligation to proactively tackle all forms of bullying in school, therefore it was a no brainer that as a school we needed to sort this issue out, but to do this ALL our staff needed training first.

I led the assembled staff through a whole day training, asking them to consider their own use of the word gay, their own experiences of hearing derogatory language aimed at gay people and laying my own experiences on the line as a common point of reference.

What followed was an unforgettably cathartic experience for everyone in the room, and in a respectful and highly structured manner we shared our differing viewpoints and experiences and reflected as to why we hold the beliefs we do. We celebrated difference and we found joy in commonality, and that commonality was our ability to put the children first.

When evaluated afterwards every single staff member agreed that together we needed to act to ensure that no child in our school would be party to homophobic bullying or language and that in doing this we need not compromise any deeply held beliefs. Some staff suggested that they would rethink their use of the word gay in their private lives and some stated that they would adopt a zero tolerance to the use of the word gay in a pejorative way with their teenage children and their friends, in the same way they tackle the use of racist language.

After training the staff in my school, with all their diverse backgrounds and beliefs, were confident and consistent in developing with pupils a zero tolerance approach to the use of homophobic language such as 'you're so gay/your pencil case is so gay'.

Recently a visitor to the school asked a Year 4 child about saying something like, "your shoes are so gay."

"We don't do that here, because it could hurt other people, especially gay people" came the reply.

Within a year, through training and developing empathy with our staff and pupils, incidences of homophobic bullying and language are down from 75% of pupils hearing it on a daily basis to no recorded incidents as of July 2012.

I am happy to say we now have pupils informing newly admitted pupils that we don't say the word "gay in a negative way" in the playground now.

I am happy to say that we have children who have no issue with using the word gay to describe a sunny day freely again in their writing, because we have taken the time to explore the ways in which the word can be used, positively and negatively and set clear expectations.

I am happy to say that several parents have informed me that they have stopped themselves from using the word gay in a negative way and that they have challenged teenagers and in some cases other schools over their continued normalisation of "that's so gay."

On more than one occasion people have said to me:

"It's so sad, gay used to mean bright and happy".

Well here's a thing, it still does, if you let it.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1628876 2012-06-26T17:45:24-04:00 2012-08-26T05:12:05-04:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
Up to now there has been no strategic national approach to staff development around homophobia; but how effective can a school senior leadership team hope to be in taking a strategic lead in this complex area without any prior training? Added to this, the very real possibility that in some schools there exists prejudice, either against employing openly gay staff or against teaching about homophobia and one begins to get a sense of why so little work has been undertaken in many schools.

At the recent National School for School Leadership conference 'Seizing Success' in Birmingham, school leaders were asked to discuss the barriers to this work. It became apparent that colleagues were coming to the same conclusion that I had reached when I first spoke to colleagues who felt ill equipped to tackle homophobia. Their conclusion was also consistent with emails I receive from teachers and parents in schools where homophobia goes unchallenged.

Some headteachers and governors are actually frightened of undertaking this work.

What factors make some school leaders so fearful that they continue to condone a school ethos in which bullying, negative messages and pejorative language go unchallenged?

The messages I hear when leading training are that some school leaders:

a) Fear complaints from parents of faith
b) Fear the misconception that tackling homophobia means the 'promotion of a gay lifestyle choice'
c) Fear negative media attention

I must confess to holding some of these same fears prior to undertaking work in my own school. Press attention has indeed come our way, but this has been a positive experience for us.
A school leader who remains frozen into inaction by fear runs the risk of maintaining a status quo wherein children continue to be damaged.

A child feels fear when experiencing or witnessing homophobic bullying. School staff may be fearful of tackling homophobia and be led by a leadership team and governing body that are fearful of reactions from parents. The parents may in turn be fearful due to misconceptions as to the perceived nature of teaching and learning around homophobia.

School leadership requires courage, strength and determination; any school that firmly places the needs of pupils above all else will, from time to time, face challenges from parents and must accept this as part of their role. The reality is that once a school commits to undertake work around homophobia, provided it makes clear exactly what is being taught (not promoted, there is a clear difference) and is transparent, the majority of parents take no issue.

Schools must justify their position by making explicit statutory obligations and by referencing statistical data. Pupil voice data in my own primary school showed that 75% of pupils were hearing homophobic language on a daily basis, clearly a problem, which clearly needed sorting out for the sake of all pupils. In order to achieve this outcome training needed to be done with all staff and misconceptions addressed with staff, parents and governors in order to overcome the fear. The presence of a living breathing gay person was undoubtedly useful in this process.

There is sometimes an assumption amongst some school staff that parents or staff of faith will always be fearful of this work. Many professionals who hold religious affiliations are of course able to deliver quality teaching around the six main world religions without bias or making qualitative judgements. Religious teaching can provide a rich and exciting opportunity to reflect the culture and beliefs of a school community. T

To my knowledge however, no child has ever swapped their religious convictions due to an outstanding RE lesson. Logically teachers can educate as to the existence and achievements of LGBT people and the existence of homophobia without compromising their core beliefs. When teaching about the Buddhist Faith the fact that I am a non-Buddhist has no detrimental effect upon my ability to lead a successful lesson. We do not always have to believe in something to teach it well; in this way we put the needs of all children to be represented and fully informed first.

Teaching and learning around homophobia needs to be a key element of the school ethos, it is not something to embed solely in Personal Health and Social Education or Sex and Relationships Education. Schools do not tackle racism in one subject area, effective schools develop an ethos where everyone is represented, celebrated, and real life is reflected in the form of authentic adults and a range of real life diverse role models. Teaching about LGBT issues is most certainly not about teaching about gay sex, that is pure myth.

Two other 'fear factors' were raised by my NCSL colleagues, the first being the misconception that LGBT people, especially men, who work in schools, must be pedophiles. The fear of the gay as a pedophile still does exist in some quarters; it has been said directly to me during training. From experience, training with school staff that debunks this myth can result in a staff far more cohesive and at ease with itself, as old misconceptions and prejudices are assuaged. The bottom line is that schools have child protection procedures and guidelines to ensure that ALL pupils remain protected; it is no more a gay issue than it is a straight issue.

The second, was that by teaching pupils that LGBT people exist and contribute to our world and our economies, we will somehow encourage children to 'choose' a gay lifestyle. I knew I liked men at the age of four. To me this suggests that I was born gay and to me the notion that people choose a gay 'lifestyle' is to me frankly absurd. Describing myself as a four year old child attracted to men can sometimes make colleagues uncomfortable, but this is down to the tendency for adults to sexualise. I was not thinking about sex at the age of four, nor did have a concept of what being gay was, but the truth, however unpalatable it may be to some people, is that I knew at primary school that I was more attracted to men than to women. As a gay person moving through life one often gets asked 'when did you know you were gay?' Ask yourself (if you are heterosexual) 'when did you know you were heterosexual?' I am sure there will be many varied answers to this question, but the fact is that children have an emerging sense of self and identify, many from a very early age.

To move things forward for the sake of all our children, school leaders must overcome the myths, the fearful misconceptions and the downright lies that sometimes surround the tackling of homophobia in our schools, both for themselves and for their staff. No one is advocating teaching four years olds about gay sex; but some of the four year olds in our schools may have two mums or two dads, they may have gay friends or brothers or sisters and this may well leave them open to bullying and negativity from the outset.

OFSTED judges and praises schools for tackling homophobic bullying; what better justification (apart from the fact that children are being hurt) do school leaders need in getting training and overcoming any fear they may hold for once and for all?

As courageous school leaders it is time for us to conquer the fear for once and for all; every single unique and brilliant individual that comes through our doors must be able to head out into the big wide world knowing that they and their families have been accepted, represented and celebrated and that they have been empowered through our education system in order to fulfil their potential and hopefully to have a wonderful time on planet Earth.

The fear that a child who is singled out for homophobic bullying feels has the potential to damage them for life. However fearful school leaders may be, the needs of the pupils in our care must take precedence over our own doubts, fears and beliefs.

Surely this is why we became school leaders in the first place?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1606270 2012-06-20T19:00:00-04:00 2012-08-20T05:12:05-04:00

Shaun Dellenty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shaun-dellenty/
Last week I co-presented a workshop at the National College for School Leaders annual conference. To be asked was a fantastic privilege, made all the more important because no previous NCSL conference has addressed homophobic bullying, an issue which is now clearly on the educational and political agendas via the Equality Act and the current OFSTED framework.

Around 40 school leaders attended the workshop which went well; Head Teacher Liam Nolan gave an inspiring speech that left no one in any doubt that tackling homophobia in school has been a key element in turning Perry Beeches School in Birmingham into the years "most improved school." I then spoke before giving attendees the chance to ask questions; and ask they did, thoughtful and supportive questions that showed they understood the moral and statutory obligations behind the work. Feedback was good and everyone survived the dreaded graveyard slot, and yet I was left with a slight sense of unease, of a job only partly done, and of it only being a very small step.

As is documented on my website, I was homophobically bullied at school, and a surprising number of gay and straight people now approach me to tell me how they were homophobically bullied at school, some quite recently and some many years ago.

Some of these people were bullied for actually being gay, but most because they just did not fit in with what was considered 'cool' or with established gender stereotypes. Often the schools failed to act, either because they did not want to, or because they did not know how to. Perhaps these schools were scared of adverse reaction from parents or people of faith? Whatever the case, a school that does nothing to pro-actively tackle homophobic bullying is failing staff, pupils and parents.

The people who contact me report these problems have been around in our schools for an unacceptably long time. What happens when the current media interest in homophobic bullying wanes? What happens when OFSTED change their framework again? There is massive change in our education system at present and this could conspire to push the emerging issue of homophobic bullying aside.

This key juncture in tackling homophobia in our schools could be lost in the current climate; add to this the existing, considerable barriers to even talking about homophobia and LGBT issues which currently exist in our schools (especially faith schools where the problem is statistically worse) and we as school leaders could be leaving the door open to yet more generations of the children in our care being bullied. Yet these children are being expected to succeed every day in many schools that are either unable or unwilling to help, acknowledge their family group or to provide a fully representative range of positive role models.

School leadership is a complex, challenging role and heads have their own agendas and strategies to address; but tackling homophobic bullying has been affecting generations of children and adults, gay and straight for too much too long; we must seize the moment, be brave and put our fears and in some cases our personal beliefs as school leaders aside for the needs of our children who surely must always come first.

It was indeed a privilege to speak at the NCSL conference and thanks to those who came, listened and supported; but perhaps more of the core audience could be reached by a whole conference presentation along the lines of 'How adopting a zero tolerance approach to homophobic bullying and language can aid productivity and raise standards'? The people who need to act on these messages are often the very same school leaders that will avoid a workshop with the word 'homophobic' in the title- these key messages must be delivered to as wide an audience as possible. The time for barriers built upon personal belief or fear is over; we have firm evidence, children are being hurt, lives are being damaged, and I fail to comprehend how anyone in education could not want to address that.

To NCSL and OFSTED I say thank you for putting homophobic bullying on the agenda, now let us all be courageous, make a difference and change the lives of countless children (and also of many teachers and parents) for the better. Let our schools lead the world on this vital issue. Schools that fully include and represent all pupils see standards rise - what better driver could we need?

Surely in 2012 it shouldn't require the UK equivalent of a Matthew Shepherd to convince for once and for all some of our school leaders that swift and robust action is vital for the sake of all our children.]]>