Equality

Equality and Diversity (LBGT+) in the Curriculum

Making a nursery and school LGBT+ friendly is a legal requirement. The specific duties enshrined in the Equality Act 2010 require public bodies to publish relevant, proportionate information showing compliance with the Equality Duty, and to set equality objectives. Schools are therefore required by law to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different people when carrying out their activities. LGBT+ friendly refers to establishing an environment that embraces all sexual orientations and gender identities so there is no fear of discrimination based on these grounds.

Aim

Our aim is to empower pupils to question the world around them, provide social justice and give confidence, skills and resources that enable staff to effectively implement a whole school approach to LGBT+ inclusion.

Background Information

Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying is widespread in primary schools. In addition, primary school children come from a variety of backgrounds and families. Celebrating different families and tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying is crucial to making all children feel welcome, and enabling them to learn to accept others for who they are.

Stonewall's 2014 research, The Teachers' Report, revealed that:
Half of primary school teachers who are aware of homophobic bullying in their schools say boys who ‘behave or act like girls’ are bullied and a third say boys who are not into sports are bullied.

More than one in ten say that pupils whose parents or carers are gay are bullied, and one in five say that pupils who are perceived to be lesbian, gay or bisexual are bullied.

Seven in ten primary school teachers hear children say phrases like ‘that’s so gay’ or ‘you’re so gay’ in school. A third of primary school teachers hear children making homophobic remarks like ‘poof’, ‘dyke’, ‘queer’ and ‘faggot’.

It's not only about bullying. It's important that all children feel included and that they are able to talk freely about their families. Stonewall's Different Families report found that when children with lesbian, gay or bisexual family members realise that their family isn't ever mentioned in class, and other children use the word ‘gay’ to mean 'rubbish', they feel excluded and stop talking about their family.

Exclusion can lead to children feeling they can't be themselves and may lead to lower aspirations and attainment out of fear of being bullied. If not addressed, this can lead to further problems and bullying at the secondary level.

OFSTED: taking LGBT+ equality seriously

OFSTED guidance requires inspectors to ensure that questions are age appropriate and asked in the right context. For examples, they might ask primary aged pupils whether they ever hear anyone use the word ‘gay’ when describing something, or whether they have been told by teachers that using the word ‘gay’ to mean something is rubbish, wrong, scary or unpleasant is unacceptable. They might try to find out whether children are picked on by other children for not behaving like a ‘typical girl’ or ‘typical boy’, or if they have had any lessons about different types of families.

Inspectors are also asked to look for documentary evidence that senior staff and governors are aware of any instances of homophobic or transphobic language in school, whether this is recorded and how it is acted upon. They would potentially look at support for staff and students subjected to homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying, and whether training has been provided for staff in how to tackle this kind of bullying.

Longroyde Primary School’s PSHE Curriculum

The aim is to make LGBT+ part of existing PSHE lessons and assemblies, therefore part of the fabric of our school. It is about what teachers are saying in their existing lessons, rather than teaching a specific LGBT+ lesson.

Developing the overarching concepts of:
· Relationships (including different types and in different settings)
· Diversity and equality (in all its forms)
· Power (how it is used and encountered in a variety of contexts including bullying.
· A healthy (including physically, emotionally and socially) balanced lifestyle (including within relationships and work-life)
· Rights, responsibility and consent

Pupils should be taught through the themes of:

Relationships

• How to develop and maintain a variety of healthy relationships, within a range of social/cultural contexts
• How to recognise and manage emotions within a range of relationships
• How to recognise risky or negative relationships including all forms of bullying and abuse
• How to respond to risky or negative relationships and ask for help
• How to respect equality and diversity in relationships

Living in the Wider World

• About respect for self and others and the importance of responsible behaviours and actions
• The rights and responsibilities as members of different groups
• To respect equality and be a productive member of a diverse community

Pupils are to learn about the following themes in a spiral programme of knowledge, skills and development:

All year groups - Issues surrounding bullying and anti-social behaviour.
Y6 also cover SRE, (Sexual Relationship Education).

Autumn Term

Year 1

Autumn 1:
Feelings and emotions: Recognising and managing different feelings

Autumn 2:
Healthy relationships:
Differences and similarities between people, different types of teasing and bullying

Year 2

Autumn 1:
Feelings and emotions: how to manage a wide range of feelings, being sensitive to the feelings of others

Autumn 2: 
Healthy relationships:
Listening to others and finding ways to resolve disagreements, respecting similarities and differences between people, ways to resist teasing and bullying and coping strategies

Year 3

Autumn 1:
Rights and Responsibilities: about the ways in which rules and laws keep us safe, that everyone has human rights, different rights and responsibilities
Feelings and emotions: different kinds of feelings
Growing and Changing: good and not-so good feelings and how to manage them

Autumn 2:
Healthy relationships:
How to develop and maintain healthy relationships, how our actions can affect others
Rights and Responsibilities: the consequences of anti-social behaviour
Valuing difference: the nature and consequences of hurtful behaviour and bullying

Year 4

Autumn 2:
Healthy Relationships How actions affect ourselves and others, solving disputes and conflicts
Valuing difference: the nature and consequences of hurtful behaviour and bullying/ways in which people can be discriminated against

Year 5

Autumn 1:
Rights and Responsibilities: about rules and laws, human rights take precedence over national laws and family and community practices
Feelings and emotions: appropriate responses to a wider range of feelings
Growing and Changing: words that describe the range and intensity of feelings, puberty/adolescence and body changes

Autumn 2:
Healthy relationships: what constitutes a healthy relationship, how our actions affect ourselves and others, different types of relationship
Valuing difference: difference/similarities between people, discrimination, teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviour their effects on others

Year 6

Autumn 1:
Feelings and emotions: appropriate responses to a wider range of feelings in others
Growing and Changing: how emotions may be conflicting, the need to listen to emotions or overcome them, puberty and body image in the media, human reproduction, how pregnancy can be prevented and roles and responsibilities of parents/carers

Autumn 2:
Healthy relationships: the consequences of actions on ourselves/others
Valuing difference: how to challenge stereotypes, discrimination and how to respond to it

Spring Term

Year 1

Spring 1:
Healthy lifestyles: things that keep our bodies healthy, different feelings and managing these
Growing and changing: Growing young to old, naming body parts and differences between boys and girls, what makes them unique and setting simple goals

Spring 2:
Feelings and emotions different types of behaviour and how it affects others, how people’s bodies and feelings can be hurt

Year 2

Spring 1:
Healthy Lifestyles: different feelings and managing these, informed choices, influences of our choices and how these affect the way we look and feel.

Spring 2:
Feelings and emotions: how different things affect our behaviour, what fair/unfair. kind. unkind, right/wrong mean
Growing and Changing:
Learning from experience, setting goals, celebrating strengths

Year 3

Spring 1:
Rights and Responsibilities: how to discuss and debate issues concerning health and wellbeing

Year 4

Spring 1:
Rights and Responsibilities: how to discuss and debate issues concerning health and wellbeing (media and peer pressure), how the media present information

Spring 2:
Growing and Changing: ways to celebrate their achievements/personal strengths and how to develop them
Valuing difference: working collaboratively towards shared goals, recognising and caring for others’ feelings, respecting views of others

Year 5

Spring 1:
Healthy lifestyles: the choices that can be made about health and wellbeing, and what influences these

Spring 2:
Rights and Responsibilities: the consequences of anti-social behaviours

Year 6

Spring 1:
Rights and Responsibilities: topical issues concerning health and wellbeing(stress/worries/emotional wellbeing),how to research
Healthy Lifestyles: the positive and negative influences on health and wellbeing, how media can affect choices (food, fashion, body image related to self-perception)

Summer Term

Year 1

Summer 1:
Keeping safe: likes/dislikes and consequences of choices, about change and loss, and associated feelings
Healthy relationships the difference between a secret and a surprise, appropriate and inappropriate touch

Year 2

Summer 1:
Healthy Lifestyles: how constructive support and feedback can help them and others

Year 3

Summer 1:
Healthy relationships: how to recognise and manage dares, Concepts of confidential and secret, whether to keep a secret or not
Keeping safe: asking for help. resisting peer pressure, different types of negative pressure, who they can trust to take care of their bodies, the right to protect their bodies from unwanted contact, consent

Year 4

Summer 1:
Healthy relationships: how to recognise and manage dares
Keeping safe: risk, danger and hazard, techniques to resist peer pressure, how pressure is exerted, questioning someone’s beliefs if it feels to be wrong

Year 5

Summer 1:
Feelings and emotions: managing dares, keeping things confidential or secret, when they should/should not agree to a secret, acceptable/unacceptable physical contact and how to respond
Keeping safe: independence and increased responsibility, risk in familiar situations and how to manage it, unhelpful pressure/influences on behaviour, taking care of body/consent/how to get support

Year 6

Summer 1:
Rights and Responsibilities: resolving differences, making decisions and explaining choices.

Longroyde Primary School’s English Curriculum

Developing the overarching concepts of:
· Relationships (including different types and in different settings)
· Diversity and equality (in all its forms)

Each year group has a book that has been selected to raise awareness and open up discussions on diversity and equality (LGBT). Teachers are provided with lesson plans to accompany the resources.

Recommended books for EYFS –KS2
Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Mommy, Mama and Me by Leslea Newman
The Family Book by Todd Parr
King and King by Linda De Haan and ‎ Stern Nijland
It’s Ok to be Different by Todd Parr

Curriculum Events

Our assemblies are free of stereotyping; they incorporate British Values and our School Values, in order to prepare children to live, respecting others.
If an incident arises eg, a staff member reports homophobic name calling, then teachers will go off timetable to discuss this with the children in their class or cohort immediately- they do not wait until the timetabling of the lessons (see plans above).