The charities working hard to make education equal for all

24 Jun 2020 04:09 PM

This pride season, we wanted to highlight the work of fellow charities who are doing amazing things in the sector to make education inclusive for students, teachers, tutors, parents and carers. We believe that education is for everyone and the more diverse we can make this space, the more we can learn and the richer our experiences will be for it.

Stonewall: acceptance without exception

Stonewall was set up in 1989 to oppose Section 28 – a piece of legislation which was brought in to ‘prohibit the promotion of homosexuality’ by local authorities. The hugely controversial policy is said to have led to bullying and alienation for LGBT young people who felt unrepresented, targeted and excluded.

Now a registered charity, Stonewall is committed to putting ‘the case for equality on the mainstream political agenda’ and provides a wealth of resources on its website for schools, colleges and parents including how to ensure your provision supports LGBT+-inclusive education and LGBT+ young people.

Find out more about Stonewall

Schools OUT UK: creating safe spaces

Schools OUT UK is an education charity which is committed to ensuring that our educational institutions are safe spaces for teachers, tutors, students, parents, carers, support staff and all those who access education in any kind of capacity.

Schools Out UK works to make LGBT+ people safe and visible in all their diversities and provide numerous free resources to do just that. They founded LGBT+ History Month which is every February which has a different theme every year. The Classroom has over 80 lessons plans for all ages across the curriculum that usualises LGBT+ issues. OUTing the Past is an annual national and international festival that celebrates LGBT+ history using presentations and original theatre. Voice and Visibility is an interactive website enabling people to discover more about LGBT+ history in the UK.

Find out more about Schools OUT UK

Educate& Celebrate: Building a future of inclusion and social justice

Educate & Celebrate equips communities with the knowledge, skills and confidence to embed gender, gender identity and sexual orientation into the fabric of your organisation by focussing on Training, Policy, Curriculum, Environment and Community.

Alongside other partners, they have produced extensive research about LGBT+ inclusion, which supports to raise awareness by providing guidance for schools. They also deliver staff training, CPD and engage pupils in activism through the PRIDE Youth Network training alongside creating free resources and reviewing organisations to achieve their ‘PRIDE in Diversity and Inclusion Award’. Take a look at Educate & Celebrate’s video which shows their work with 80 County Durham schools as they worked towards, and achieved, their awards.

Find out more about Educate & Celebrate

Mermaids UK: supporting gender diversity

Mermaids UK is a charity that supports gender diversity and helps to empower young people to feel understood, included, represented and supported. They do this by hosting community groups, helpline services, events and residential weekends, and providing online resources.

Mermaids also supports teachers, GPs, CAMHS, Social Services and other professionals on gender diversity with CPD certified trans-inclusive diversity training.

Their aim is to ensure that transgender and gender-variant children have the freedom and confidence to explore their gender identity wherever their journey takes them, free from fear, isolation and discrimination.

Find out more about Mermaids UK

Support from NCFE

We believe in the power of education to support students, teachers and parents to understand and celebrate the wonderful world of differences we live in.

To support schools during their PSHE lessons, we have a number of resources and qualifications to explore which directly support inclusionary education including Relationships, Sex and Health Education and qualifications in Equality and Diversity which may be eligible for funding.