TACKLE HOMOPHOBIA

A resource to help change attitudes and behaviours within the school community. Developed in Northern Ireland by Save the Children, The Rainbow Project and Youthnet’s ‘Shout’ project the resource encourages Boards of Governors, principals, teachers, support staff and pupils to take collective responsibility for much needed changes in attitudes and behaviours within the school community. Published by Save the Children November 2008.

This resource looks at whole school ethos, policies and approaches to preventing and dealing with homophobic incidents. It was written by LGBT Youth Scotland and published by Learning and Teaching Scotland 2008.

Learning and Teaching Scotland have also produced a series of lesson plans to support the toolkit. The lesson plans provide suggestions and examples that teachers might draw on to address homophobia and homophobic bullying in the context of the values, purposes and principles of Curriculum for Excellence. The plans could meet aspects of a range of curriculum areas, including a number of experiences and outcomes grouped under ‘Health and Wellbeing’. The lesson plans are not intended to be prescriptive but to support teachers to challenge and deal with the issue of homophobia confidently and sensitively and contribute to the development of the four capacities in young people

Published by Terrence Higgins Trust 2009, this resource provides teachers with ideas on how to talk about sexual orientation and challenge homophobia in schools. The pack has been written by teachers for teachers. The FREE pack contains ideas that can be used across the curriculum including: Assembly, Geography, Modern Languages, Religious Education, PSHE, English, Drama

Amnesty International (2006) produced a FREE resource for use with young people aged 14+. Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: ‘Human rights belong to everybody, regardless of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.’ This resource helps students to understand that, around the world, people are fighting oppression because of their sexual orientation. It is designed to enable students to explore the rights of LGBT people and engage in informed debate.

Adapted from the Waltham Forest Anti-Homophobic Bullying Guidance (2008) this resource provides ideas on how to include the lives and experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in a variety of subjects including: Arts, English, Geography, History, Maths, ICT, Modern Foreign Languages, Citizenship

Taken from Tacade’s Citizenship resource (2004), this lesson is designed to help students increase their understanding about volunteering. It includes several case studies exploring people’s experience of volunteering. The case studies include lesbian and gay people.

Taken from Tacade’s Citizenship resource (2004), this lesson provides an opportunity for students to work individually and in small groups to increase their knowledge and understanding of the effects of crime and the criminal justice system and to use their imagination to consider other people’s experiences. The lesson includes a case study focusing on homophobic abuse.