Nearly 60% of Scottish secondary schools sign up to LGBT inclusivity scheme

Nearly 60% of secondary schools in Scotland have adopted an LGBT charter to support inclusivity for staff and pupils.

The scheme, set up by LGBT Youth Scotland, provides schools and organisations with training to challenge prejudice and ensure that equality and diversity is at the core of the school.

It has now been accepted by 212 of the country’s 357 secondary schools, with a further 40 primary schools and 21 colleges and universities either awarded charter status or working towards it.

That includes 31 out of 34 secondary schools in Edinburgh and 31 of 38 in Glasgow enrolled in the scheme – but every local authority is represented by a charter school, including Orkney, Shetland, the Western Isles and the Highlands.

The charity has hailed the positive step but hopes to reach 75% of secondary schools over the coming year.

Ali Kerr, head of partnerships at LGBT Youth Scotland, said: “These are formative years for young people and it’s vital that LGBTQ+ individuals are supported and that non-LGBTQ+ people feel equipped and inspired to champion inclusivity at every turn.

“Having such a high proportion of Scottish secondary schools, as well as further education providers, working in partnership with us and participating in our LGBT charter shows that schools are playing a key role in creating safe spaces for young LGBTQ+ people in Scotland.

“With nearly two-thirds of secondary schools participating, this represents a significant commitment from Scottish educators to LGBT inclusion.

“The job isn’t done though, we’d ideally love all of our secondary and further education providers to achieve charter status.”

The scheme offers four LGBT charter awards to each local authority teams on developing inclusionary processes, education providers, teachers and learners.

It takes around 12 to 18 months to gain charter status, with institutions and organisations guided step-by-step by LGBT experts on training, policy, practice and monitoring.