‘BEING LGBT IN SCHOOL’

6.4 ADMISSIONS
POLICY & MISSION
STATEMENT
Often the first external communication
with a parent/guardian or a student is
through a school’s mission statement
and/or admissions policy. This offers an
ideal opportunity to transmit a message
that difference and diversity across the
nine grounds of the equality legislation
are welcome.
In particular the admissions policy of a
school is often the first official document
that prospective parents/guardians will
view. Schools are legally permitted to limit
admissions according to certain grounds.
The Education (Admission to Schools) Bill,
(2015) states that the admission policy of
a school shall include a statement that the
school does not discriminate in its admission
of a student to the school on the gender or
sexual orientation ground amongst other
grounds, subject to certain exemptions.
6.5 SOCIAL,
PERSONAL
AND HEALTH
EDUCATION
(SPHE) POLICY
The Department of Education and Skills
specifies that Relationships and Sexuality
Education is taught in the context of SPHE,
and all schools are required to teach all
aspects of the RSE programme, including
the topic of sexual orientation.
The Department also requires all schools
to have an RSE policy, and to implement an
RSE programme at all levels of post-primary
schooling, as an integral component of
SPHE at Junior Cycle and as a programme
in Senior Cycle.
In order to enhance provision for LGBT
students, schools are advised that their
RSE policy should expressly include this
group of students.
Including sexuality and other LGBT
related matters in the RSE curriculum
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The Department of Education and
Skills states that schools are required to
teach all aspects of Relationships and
Sexuality Education, including sexual
orientation and related areas (there
is an option for parents/guardians to
withdraw their child from aspects of
the school RSE programme). It is not
permissible to omit elements of the
programme; however the Department
states that all aspects of the programme
can and should be taught within the
ethos and value system of the school, as
expressed in the RSE policy (Department
of Education and Skills, 2008).
Relationships and Sexuality Education,
and SPHE in general, have an important
role to play in the prevention of bullying.
The Department’s anti-bullying
procedures state that ‘initiatives such
as teaching with the SPHE/RSE resource
Growing Up LGBT, and participating in
LGBT awareness events are just some of
the ways in which a school can address
homophobic and transphobic bullying’
(Department of Education and Skills,
Anti-Bullying Procedures, 2013a; 26).
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‘Being LGBT in School’