TACKLE HOMOPHOBIA

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Since 2009, Tacade has been working in four areas of the United Kingdom (UK) providing support, guidance, resources and training to primary and secondary schools. The work is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation until September 2011, but will be sustained beyond the lifetime of the project as a result of partnership working. The learning from this project will be shared throughout the UK.

Tacade is currently working with 24 schools in Belfast/L'Derry, Buckinghamshire, Edinburgh and Newport helping them tackle homophobia in partnership with local authority staff and Third Sector organisations such as Inclusion YouthNet, LGBT Youth Scotland, the Rainbow project, Stonewall, Stonewall Scotland and Stonewall Cymru.

The response to the project continues to remain overwhelmingly positive.  The success in firmly establishing the project in all areas during Year 1 has proven to deliver effective responses throughout Year 2.  The main achievements during Year 2 have been:

• All 24 schools have remained within the project and are all working towards establishing a whole school approach, for example by integrating the work into the curriculum and policies
• All 24 schools have received training that has been evaluated as effective in raising awareness and enabling staff to tackle the issues as part of the Equalities and Diversity agenda
• All 4 areas have received centralised training events that have widened the network of schools involved in being aware of how to tackle the issues
• Tacade has met and communicated with all 24 school lead personnel prior to and as a follow up to the training sessions
• Tacade has met and communicated on a regular basis with all 4 local authority leads in each area and held Steering Group meetings to share ideas
• All 24 schools have completed a staff questionnaire.  In addition all secondary schools involved with the project have completed student questionnaires, with young people across the year groups. The questionnaire includes data referring to the effects of homophobia, about truancy and school attendance.  They have been very useful as a marker for use during the training in schools and for the development of future whole school approaches
• Partnership links with both local and national organisations have been strengthened and several have been involved in delivering aspects of the centralised training events.

Paula McIlwaine, the Professional Development Officer, Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) wrote:

"The programme has been hugely beneficial to our schools in supporting them to focus on issues related to homophobia. Integrated schools are particularly interested in making their responses to homophobia truly meaningful and in increasing the confidence of staff to tackle homophobia effectively".

Sue Seager, the Buckinghamshire Anti-bullying Project Officer wrote:

"It has been an excellent platform for ramping up other equality work. Primary school work is going very well and is in many ways the way forward as children are very open and have no problem at all wth age appropriate education and discussion. Secondary school staff in particular have, in some schools, needed to examine their own attitudes and preconceptions in order to move the work forward. There is not a uniform staff response, but a big spectrum from resistance and fear of what to do if a student comes out to feeling totally comfortable working in this area".

Diana Dodd, the Principal Equalities Officer for Edinburgh wrote:

"The project continues to provide enormous amounts of reassurance and knowledge to the great majority of individual staff that they can confidently challenge homophobia as it arises in their daily lives. For many this was not previously the case. This is a fresh and much needed approach".

Matthew Green, Community and Teacher Adviser (Health) for Newport wrote:

"The journey both for schools and LA contacts for the project have travelled since it has started has been outstanding. There's been a significant increase in the knowledge, understanding, awareness and confidence of staff in how to challenge homophobia and incorporate this into curricular based approaches. The level and angle at which the project has been pitched/delivered to schools has been absolutely spot on. We feel extremely fortunate to be involved in the project and tackling a previously untouched subject that has potential to affect so many. We would have found it challenging to attempt to deliver this piece of work without the support of Tacade".