Schools OUT UK (SOUK) is a small teacher led charity, originally formed by a group of Lesbian and Gay teachers in the 1970’s.
The objectives of SOUK are to promote equality and diversity for the benefit of the public by:
a) increasing the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual trans queer, intersex and non-binary (“LGBT+”) people, their history, lives and their experiences in the curriculum and culture of educational and other institutions, and the wider community
b) raising awareness and advancing education on matters affecting the LGBT+ community;
c) working to make educational and other institutions safe spaces for all LGBT+ communities; and
d) promoting the welfare of LGBT+ people, by ensuring that the education system recognises and enables LGBT+ people to achieve their full potential, so they contribute fully to society and lead fulfilled lives, thus benefiting society as a whole.
We are very concerned that Miss A has taken action against the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and that as a consequence they have withdrawn their LGBT+ bullying and hate crime schools pack. Schools OUT UK, along with others, were asked by the CPS to contribute to this work and did so in good faith following our aims. The CPS pack is a collection of classroom activities designed to prevent and deal with anti LGBT+ bullying.
Our intention in working on this pack was to:
1 Enable people to understand the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Duties and educate people on the responsibilities that follow from that legislation.
2 Ensure all advice was totally up to date and corroborated by lawyers at both the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and CPS in the following areas:
- hate crime;
- the use of single sex toilets, and
- gender assignment
3 Educate and enable students to understand and celebrate diversity and educate out prejudice and discrimination.
4 Enable students learning on how to
- respect each other
- to be a member of a diverse yet cohesive group
- explore effective and appropriate ways to deal with conflict and differing views
It is one of our core principles to put the needs of all students at the centre of our work. This is demonstrated by our aims, the longevity of the organisation and the fact we are an organisation that is trusted by government, unions, and other NGO’s to give advice on all educational issues including child welfare.
For further information contact Professor Sue Sanders, Chair of Schools OUT UK on 07960 493544, or Steve Boyce, Chair of Trustees on 07771 553038