CYP Now - Letter: Homophobic bullying

It is encouraging to see discussion in Parliament of action to combat homophobic bullying in schools (Children Now, 17-23 May). However, it is most worrying that you report that David Moore, head of pupil behaviour at Ofsted, suggested he would need hard evidence on numbers before action could be taken - when the point being made was that there is hardly any monitoring going on.

Anyway are numbers the point? This is about whether schools act toprotect a minority - no child should suffer persecution on anygrounds.

It is not only gay pupils who are harmed by this type of bullying. Alsoin school are the children of lesbians and gay men, plus any child whofears being called gay, whether they are or not. Action needs to gobeyond addressing bullying to create a culture of positive acceptance.From the early years on, education should be inclusive of those withdifferent sexuality as well as those from different ethnic and culturalgroups.

Sophie Laws, Out for Our Children, London.

- We welcome your views. Please write, including address and phonenumber, to: The editor, Children Now, 174 Hammersmith Road, London W67JP, or email cn.editorial@haynet.com. We reserve the right to editletters for publication.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included