Non-Normative Gender and Sexual Identities in Schools: - Schools Out

Where the School Report positively differs from previous work, is that it is the first 100%
Government backed research on homophobia in schools and it fed into the production of
the first State endorsed anti-homophobia policy aimed specifically at schools -
Homophobic Bullying. Safe to Learn: Embedding anti-bullying work in schools (DCFS:
2007a) 19 . Safe to Learn translates the School Report into guidance. It takes a whole
school approach and suggests how to ‘create an inclusive environment in your school
where all pupils feel safe and are able to fulfil their potential’ (DCFS, 2007a: 7). The
guidance is unique in that it is an internet based resource which you can dip in and out of,
rather than a policy which you need to read from cover to cover – in fact Ruth Hunt,
Head of Policy at Stonewall, co-author of the School Report and advisor to the DCFS on
Safe to Learn, instructed against this at the policy’s regional launch in Leeds on 06/03/08
(Hunt, 2008).
The guidance is a ‘one stop shop’ for anyone involved in education that has an issue they
do not know how to deal with. It is separated into three sections; advice for governors;
advice for Heads and senior management team; and advice for teachers and schools staff.
Within these sections, the legal framework is set out and recognition, prevention,
responding and monitoring are covered. It includes a number of worksheet style
downloads which can usefully be edited so that schools can tailor them to their specific
needs. A full list of these downloads can be found in Appendix 8. The guidance
demonstrates how to develop inclusive policies and use curriculum opportunities to
enhance social and emotional skills of pupils. It shows how doing these things can
contribute towards attainment of Social and Economic Aspects of Learning (SEAL)
19 Referred to from this point as Safe to Learn.