This allows parents to reinforce and embed the values we teach through our school ethos, at home. With regards to LGBT+ education, the majority of parents are supportive but we also know that a minority of parents have concerns about this teaching.
In order to most effectively engage with parents we need to understand more about the root of some of these concerns. In our experience at Pop’n’Olly with thousands of schools and parents, the most common concern we hear from parents is a lack of accurate information about what LGBT+ education actually looks like at primary level and how schools decide what is age-appropriate.
Sadly, at this time, there is widespread misinformation about LGBT+ people and sensationalisation of LGBT+ education in the mainstream media which implies that children are being exposed to ‘inappropriate’ information. Alongside this is the fact that many primary school parents were taught under Section 28, which deprived them of LGBT+ education whilst they were in school.
Section 28, which effectively banned the teaching of LGBT+ identities, left many people unfamiliar with discussions appropriate for school-age children. With this in mind, when initiating accurate and effective discussions with parents it may be necessary to explain and educate our parent community in ways that we don’t with other subjects. That means it may be necessary to be transparent with teaching materials, provide resources to help parents understand more about LGBT+ identities and explain how lessons differ for younger children and older children.
When engaging with parents, it is vital that schools do not present LGBT+ education as separate from your school's values and ethos and instead show that it is very much a part of a school’s teaching about respect, kindness, compassion and empathy. Consider how you already teach these values with work on other protected characteristics such as race, religion, disability, etc; to show that we are all different and that this is something to be celebrated.
You may also wish to discuss how LGBT+ education fits within the school's ethos of valuing children’s mental health and how this work benefits the mental wellbeing of all children, whether LGBT+ or not.
Consider what children in your school already know about LGBT+ lives as well as whether you have children, families or staff that are LGBT+ in your school community. This may help emphasise how LGBT+ inclusion is already a part of school life and how this education is preparing all children for life in modern Britain.
Lastly, and returning to the need to potentially educate parents about LGBT+ education, consider what resources your school might provide for helping parents talk with their children about LGBT+ lives. So to help create a fully cohesive message about LGBT+ education, providing resources for parents can be key.
In short, engaging with parents about LGBT+ education is incredibly important to strengthen the impact and effectiveness of LGBT+ inclusion in your school. Your school values and ethos supports diversity in many forms and LGBT+ is just a part of that. When conversing with parents, always link back to how this is an integral part of the values and ethos the school already teaches. Note how your school supports the mental health of all children and be transparent with what LGBT+ education actually looks like, to quell any fears arising from a lack of accurate information.
When parents are informed and educated too, the whole school community benefits and all children and families feel welcome in school.
For more information on topics to consider when talking to parents including the legal framework for LGBT+ education and mental health statistics, you can download a free copy of Pop’n’Olly’s ‘LGBT+ Education: Discussions with Parents’ resource.
Mel Lane (she/her) is head of education at Pop’n’Olly, UK’s leading LGBT+ educational resource provider for primary aged children, parents, carers and teachers. She has been a primary school teacher and teacher trainer for nearly 30 years and worked in schools on LGBT+ inclusion policies with thousands of children and school staff.
