B&NES Anti-Bullying Training for SMSAs/TAs September 2013 Making Bath & North East Somerset an even better place to live, work and visit

Ice-breaker (as participants arrive) In pairs, discuss a bullying incident and how you dealt with it. No feedback at this stage – further discussion later.

Aims of the training To empower staff to feel confident to deal with bullying incidents effectively. To understand our duty to challenge homophobic attitudes and language. To consider appropriate responses to children and young people.

Have a guess ___ % of boys and ___% of girls (years 8 & 10) said they were afraid to go to school sometimes because of bullying 2027 B&NES SHEU Survey Year 8 and 10 pupils

Have a Guess ____% of pupils said they had been bullied at or near school in the last 12 months _____% of pupils said they thought their school takes bullying seriously SHEU survey 2013

Have a Guess ____% of pupils said they’d received a chat message that had scared or upset them 23 SHEU survey 2013

Have a Guess From Stonewall School Report 2012 (1614 Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) young people 11-19) ____% of young lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils have experienced direct bullying. 55

Have a Guess ____% of LGB pupils have experienced physical abuse ____% of LGB pupils are never taught anything about LGB issues at school Stonewall School Report 2012

Have a Guess ___% of LGB pupils say they’ve changed their future education plans because of bullying they’ve experienced. ___% of LGB pupils deliberately harm themselves Stonewall School Report 2012

Have a Guess ____% of LGB young people have tried to take their own life at some point. 23 Stonewall School Report 2012

Equality Act 2010 Requires public bodies (including schools) to Eliminate discrimination Advance equality of opportunity Foster good relations between different groups of people (with protected characteristics – see next slide).

What are protected characteristics ? Race, religion or belief, disability, age, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, gender,sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership.

Ofsted Framework “ Part B. The focus of school inspections – Behaviour and safety of pupils at the school When evaluating the behaviour and safety of pupils at the school, inspectors consider: pupils’ behaviour towards, and respect for, other young people and adults, including freedom from bullying and harassment that may include cyber-bullying and prejudice-based bullying related to special educational need, sexual orientation, sex, race, religion and belief, gender reassignment or disability.

Ofsted: Guidance for Inspectors With secondary pupils inspectors might explore whether :- there is any homophobic bullying or name calling in school or on social media sites if a gay pupil was ‘out’ in school, that pupil would feel safe from bullying they have learned about homophobic/transphobic bullying and ways to stop it happening in school

OFSTED Guidance they learn in school about different types of families – whether anyone is, or would be, teased about having same-sex parents.

Impact Since the introduction of the new framework over 400 inspection reports have referenced homophobic bullying and language. This compares to 0 before the new framework was introduced.

Bullying Scenario 1 Year 8 pupils Jack calls Ben a “ginger nut” In small groups discuss :-  What would you say, do ?  Would you report / record it ?

Bullying Scenario 2 Year 10 pupils John calls Jane a “slag” In small groups discuss :-  What do you say / do ?  Would you report / record it ?

Whole group discussion Explore whether people feel comfortable dealing with homophobic language (e.g. using the word “gay” as a negative term).

What should we say if a pupil said… “That’s so gay !” I wonder why you’ve used the word “gay” ? What does it mean ? It means two men who care about each other or are having a relationship. We don’t use “gay” as an insult because it makes people think that being gay is something bad. If we mean “rubbish” we should use the word “rubbish”.

A poster you could use …

Group discussion In small groups, each group is given one of the following things a pupil may say. Decide what you would say in response A) Come on Tom, stop being such a girl ! B) Hey, give me that ball you lezzer C) Why are you growing your hair so long, gay boy

What should we say if a pupil said… Come on Tom, stop being such a girl ! Why are you saying Tom’s being a girl ? Boys and girls are all individuals and act in different ways. It’s important that people can be themselves. We are all unique and deserve to be respected/valued/loved by others.

What should we say if a pupil said.. Hey, give me that ball you lezzer Do you know what the word “lezzer” means ? Why are you using it ? If you mean lesbian we don’t use it as an insult as it means two women who care for each other or are having a relationship.

What should we say if a pupil said … Why are you growing your hair so long, gay boy There’s nothing wrong with having long hair whether you’re a boy or a girl. We don’t pick on people because of the way they look. We don’t use the word “gay” as an insult (see earlier example)

General Discussion If there is time have a general discussion about how you might respond to :- What does gay mean, Miss? Are you gay Sir? Being gay is wrong isn’t it? It’s not natural. My mum says gays should be shot. Dad says homos are not welcome in church.

Any questions / comments ?

Further information For further information on the Equalities Act see :- sandprocedures/equalityanddiversity/a /-equality-act sandprocedures/equalityanddiversity/a /-equality-act-2010 For Ofsted guidance see :- -and-information-for-use-during-inspections- of-maintained-schools-and-academies

Further Information A wealth of information including resources is available from Stonewall B&NES School Improvement - Kate Murphy is Chair of the B&NES Challenging Homophobia Group and can support schools with advice, training and signposting to relevant services