UK: £2million drive to get teachers to say 'gay' more in class to fight homophobic bullying in schools

The fear that Gay  Men will treat you the way you treat Women

Teachers should work words like ‘gay’ into their lessons to fight homophobic bullying, an official report suggests.

Schools can make a ‘positive impact’ by incorporating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into the curriculum from reception class up.

The study, commissioned by the Government Equalities Office and supported by the Department for Education, also highlights how staff can improve the ‘visibility’ of LGBT people in schools by discussing topics such as diver Tom Daley ‘coming out’ as gay.

The report’s authors suggest that children as young as four or five should be taught about LGBT issues.

The report was published yesterday as Education Secretary Nicky Morgan unveiled a £2million drive to tackle homophobic bullying.

The cash will pay for charities and volunteer groups to run training projects aimed at stamping out this kind of abuse in schools. 

The DfE press release announcing the scheme admits that ‘reports of homophobic bullying are in decline, but there is still work to do’. 

It promotes the NatCen Social Research study, saying initiatives shown to work include a ‘whole-school approach to homophobic bullying’.

Making lesbian, gay and transgender people ‘more visible’ within school by discussing ‘popular culture events’ helped make such pupils ‘feel less isolated and alone’, the report says, adding: ‘The diver Tom Daley’s “coming out” was given as an example of this, which promoted prolonged and memorable discussions in one secondary school.’

Mrs Morgan said: ‘This funding will help schools take on the challenge of making sure bullies do not stand in the way of our young people achieving their full potential.’

But Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust, said it was a thinly veiled campaign to promote homosexuality. 

She added: ‘Parents will be disturbed to see the education system being used to advance what is a highly politicised agenda and even more alarmed at the prospect of LGBT issues being introduced in all lessons from as early as reception.’ ...DailyMail