Logo: The Rainbow Ripples Report

Good Practice Recommendations - Education and Training

  1. The “guaranteed core curriculum” for young people aged 14+ needs to include sexual orientation in the equality statement.
  2. School curricula should be applied so that the content addresses the needs of a diverse range of children, taking into account developing a positive self-identity for all children, regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, impairment or other factors.
  3. Similarly, bullying policies should address a range of reasons why children may be bullied including ethnicity, impairment and sexual orientation. Bullying of LGB young people, or around LGB issues, should be explicitly mentioned in bullying policies and staff should promote a culture where this is unacceptable.
  4. Schools need to be aware of the importance of friendships to young people; by carrying out activities which promote the development of friendships, especially for young people who may be isolated and by a sensitive approach to individual young people who may feel isolated because of difference.
  5. Further and higher education establishments need to carry out work to address less obvious reasons why disabled people may not apply for courses, such as low levels of self-belief based on previous educational experiences.
  6. Some further and higher education establishments still need to improve access for disabled people – possibly by learning from organisations which have developed good practice, such as the Open University. A key element in improving access is flexibility of provision.
  7. Further and higher education establishments need to speak directly to disabled people to agree plans to remove barriers to access. This may include liaising with other service providers, at the disabled person’s request, such as “social care” or transport providers.
  8. All young people need access to good quality education on sex and relationships, including lesbian and gay issues. In particular, young disabled people need the same access to this as their non-disabled peers.
  9. All young people also need access to education on disability equality and on specific aspects, such as issues around mental distress.
  10. Informal sources of learning, such as the internet should be developed to provide useful information and even interactive learning, for LGB disabled people. A good example of how this can work is the NSPCC’s website for young people which lists some frequently asked questions, but also offers a human contact for them to talk to and to raise issues in confidence and safety.

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