Join us to celebrate Pride Month 2022!
This is the time of year where many schools and organisations amplify the voices of LGBTQIA+ pupils, staff, parents and allies in their communities to increase visibility, campaign for acceptance and to embrace the joy of inclusion.
Developing a curriculum that reflects our communities
Often, we see this described as ‘decolonising’, ‘queering’ or ‘diversifying’ the curriculum. In simple terms, good practice is to analyse your own subject area for misinterpretations. Does your choice of resources shape the learning rather than reflecting our communities? After training, a teacher commented, ‘My eyes and ears are now open to new genres, authors, family units and the diversity of our own communities.’
To support you in the classroom, we collate an annual LGBTQIA+ book collection for Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Colleges
A useful strategy is to tap into existing practices, such as Storytime, as it mitigates against inclusion being delivered as a stand-alone lesson or a tick box exercise. Ideally, schools are aiming for gender and sexual orientation to be embedded in an intersectional way throughout all year groups and subject areas.
Here are some lesson ideas for Pride Month and beyond:
Science: Hormones, chromosomes, variations in sex characteristics, different ways of having a family
Music: Trans and non-binary musicians and cultural influences
Geography: The migration of LGBTQ+ people, laws in different countries
D&T: Gender neutral toy packaging
MFL: The changing landscape of gender within languages
Maths: Using LGBTQ+ data for equations, fractions and scatter diagrams
P.E: Mixed sports, all pupils have access to sports. The accessibility of sports for trans, non-binary and intersex athletes
You can download free lesson plans, assembly resources, book collections, songs and posters on the Educate & Celebrate website where you can also join as a member to access many more premium resources.
The results of an inclusive curriculum
‘We’ve found common ground with language; teachers are more aware and feel more confident in entering conversations with young people – it feels like we are now on the journey to getting everyone on the same page whereas before staff were very fearful.’
—Lead Educate & Celebrate Teacher in a secondary school
‘There is better visibility in our school. The PRIDE Youth Network has allowed people to be more open about their identity, people are free to be who they are. Staff are excited about the suggestions we make and try to help with our initiatives.’
—Year 10 pupil
'The students were able to call teachers out about how they dealt with derogatory language. In the classroom, when it was happening, the teachers would behave differently to how they had before. One of my groups wrote a lesson plan to deliver to teachers which included what the effects of hearing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language in the classroom could be, and I think that was very effective'.
—Lead Educate & Celebrate Teacher in a Sixth Form
The more teachers and parents can present resources that incorporate all cultures, experiences, and perspectives, the more we can frame the world as it is for our children, to ensure this generation will go on to build a future of inclusion and social justice.
Go to Educate & Celebrate for guidance, resources, research, posters, book collections and much more to see how you can get involved with leading on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in your school.
Happy Pride Month everyone!
About the author
Educate and Celebrate
Educate & Celebrate believe that by working together we can make society a more welcoming place for everyone. In order to achieve this mission, their team of dedicated, committed and experienced trainers provide coaching, mentoring, knowledge, skills and resources to schools and organisations to help you to confidently achieve Equity, Diversity & Inclusion goals. The team includes Executive Principals, Business Leaders, School Leaders, Practising Teachers, Consultants, Academics plus Early Careers and Trainee Teachers. Their effective strategies are underpinned by their research which is ongoing since 2010. Their successful methods have been adopted by hundreds of schools and organisations both nationally and internationally.
