Agenda item

Ms Sarah Rose, Senior Account Manager at Stonewall, attended the meeting and introduced a presentation to the Committee regarding biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

The Committee heard that the Government estimates that 6% of the population is lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB), while 1% is trans; these figures would suggest that roughly 5,000 children and young people in Hillingdon were LGB and 500 were trans.

Ms Rose stated that LGBT young people were some of the most vulnerable in Britain, and the results published in Stonewall's School Report in 2017 confirmed this was the case following a survey of over 3,700 LGBT young people. Some of the more significant figures were as follows:

·         45% of LGBT pupils in the UK - including 64% of trans pupils - are bullied for bring LGBT at school; this figure falls to 40% in Greater London.

·         Just 29% of bullied LGBT pupils say that teachers intervened when they were present during bullying.

·         68% of LGBT pupils report that their schools say that homophobic and biphobic bullying is wrong, while that figure falls to 41% with regards to transphobic bullying.

·         40% of pupils are never taught anything about LGBT issues in school.

·         52% of LGBT pupils feel that homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying has had a negative effect on their plans for future education.

·         40% of LGBT pupils have skipped school because of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.

·         61% of LGB young people who aren't trans have self-harmed. The figure rises to 84% among trans young people.

·         22% of LGB young people, who aren't trans, have tried to take their own life, with 70% of them having thought about suicide.

·         45% of trans young people have attempted to take their life, with 92% of them having thought about suicide.

Stonewall's 2014 Teachers' Report included data from a survey of 2,200 teaching staff, and figures published included:

·         89% of secondary school teachers said young people regardless of their sexual orientation experience homophobic bullying.

·         29% of teachers didn't know if they were allowed to teach about LGBT issues.

Ofsted has a strong focus on homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying in its current inspection framework, and Ofsted judgments can be affected if inspectors identify HBT bullying. Many Councils offer schools guidance and systems for schools record prejudice-related incidents in schools by type.

Members were informed of some of the work that Councils were doing to combat HBT bullying, and questioned what could be done if a council believed it was an issue for schools to counter. Ms Rose commented that Councils have a statutory requirement for the health and wellbeing of all children and young people in the Borough, in schools that fall under the council's remit, such as primary education, as well as other schools such as academies. The Committee heard that LGBT issues were taught to pupils in PSHE, as well as in Relationship and Sex Education, which will be now a statutory requirement within schools in 2019. However, Stonewall encourage LGBT-inclusion throughout the curriculum.

Councillors commented on the concerning figures regarding self-harm and suicide, and asked what action was being taken to prevent loneliness among LGBT youths, and whether role models were used to help with these issues. Ms Rose confirmed that Stonewall do use role models who often high performing staff in industries such as the civil service, police, or army, to talk to schools. Furthermore, poster campaigns in schools have led to teachers changing lesson plans or language used in their lessons, and this messaging, alongside visual messaging, has led to improved results in tackling LGBT bullying. Ms Rose commented that it was important to tackle the language that was used in school. She also mentioned that local LGBT youth groups provide essential support for LGBT young people.

Members questioned how HBT language could be tackled among parents, as this could easily be passed onto children. Ms Rose confirmed that Stonewall trains schools to engage with parents, for example through talks at parents’ evenings. Other methods were used in regard to this, but it was also vital to teach children to behave according to school rules, and tackling HBT language within schools is an important focal point of this.

The Committee questioned whether cyberbullying was included in the figures. Ms Rose commented that 40% of LGBT young people have been the target of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic abuse online. Cyberbullying means that children and young people may not be able to escape bullying and could be bullied at any time, including at home alone via the internet or by text message.

Using the statistics provided by Stonewall, Councillors concluded that several thousand young people within the Borough, and that this was an issue worthy of further investigation. Therefore, Members commented that it would be helpful for officers to look into arranging a minor review on the issue of LGBT bullying within schools, and asked if officers could contact the relevant departments to discuss the possibility of this. The Chairman requested that Stonewall also remain involved in any potential review.

RESOLVED: That the report on Homophobic, Biphobic and Transphobic Bullying in Schools was noted, and it was agreed that the issue be investigated further as a topic for a minor review in the future.