LGBT History Month CEO, Tony Fenwick, Offers 5 Resources For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Trans Issues
February's LGBT History Month may have been and gone, but that doesn't mean these important discussions get swept away for the next year…
Schools OUT UK is a national charity dedicated to LGBT people in all their diversity in education.
Originally the Gay Teachers’ Group in 1974 we have evolved into an organisation that seeks equality for the whole LGBT community that is involved in education at any level and in any capacity.
We are constantly looking for new initiatives to realise these aims. We launched LGBT History Month in 2005, The Classroom in 2011, The ‘What is and How to Do LGBT Academic History Festival in 2013, The OUTing the Past Popular National LGBT history Festival in 2014 and the OUTburst LGBT history Magazine in 2017.
1. Schools OUT UK
Our committee is made up of volunteers who are committed to educating out prejudice, and the aims of our charity are:
• To raise the visibility of LGBT people
• To raise awareness of the issues LGBT people have to face
• To make our schools and all other educational institutions safe spaces for LGBT people
• To promote LGBT wellbeing
2. LGBT History Month
LGBT HM is celebrated in February in the UK but our work to educate out prejudice continues throughout the year. Our interactive calendar is also all-year-round so check it out or add an LGBT related event of your own. We launched in 2005 with funding from the Education Department
This year we will look at Citizenship, PSHE and Law as we mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality in England and Wales.
The Sexual Offences Act, passed on July the 27th, 1967, was the first stepping stone across the Rubicon and, although it only related to men it had an impact on everyone in the LGBT community, nationally and internationally. Here at home it accepted same sex relationships between men for the first time in over 100 years (except in the Merchant Navy, where it will still lead to a discharge).
3. The Classroom
The Classroom is an accessible space for teachers to locate a range of resources to make Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans people visible in education. We believe that to eradicate homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, the lives and contributions of LGBT people need to be visible throughout education. This can be done by delivering a broad and balanced curriculum.
We passionately believe in celebrating diversity. We therefore present a simple but effective method to enable you to be an inclusive practitioner and promoter of equality and diversity.
We now have over 100 lesson plans on our website, covering all key stages and all curriculum areas.
As part of the LGBT Voluntary Consortium and supported by the Government Equalities Office (GEO) and the Department for Education (DfE), we will be providing PSHE lessons to challenge homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HTB) bullying in selected schools. Once approved, taught, tried and tested, these lessons will be on the Classroom website.
4. OUTing the past
There will be an academic festival in Liverpool in March and our popular festivals will be held in York, Preston, Liverpool, Manchester, Coventry, Shrewsbury, Bournemouth, Exeter and 5 locations in London. Newcastle is holding its own.
Check them out on our interactive calendar or click the History Festival link on the left-hand side of the homepage on our website.
lgbthistorymonth.org.uk/national-festival
5. OUTburst
Our national LGBT History Magazine OUTBurst is published annually and there is an online version that is updated throughout the year. Free of porn, poppers and prostitutes, this community magazine can grace any living room, waiting room or office coffee table and be displayed proudly.
OUTBurst is jam-packed with articles from the LGBT community which embrace the diversity of our community and challenge many assumptions about what it is truly like to be LGBT in Britain today
