This year, the NASUWT is holding joint Equalities Weekends for Black, LGBTI, women and young members.

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The LGBTI Teachers’ Consultation Conference offers a safe space to explore key issues and challenges you face in your career, share experiences with other LGTBI members and contribute ideas for the future of your Union.

These events are FREE to eligible members and provide you with the opportunity to take part in seminars and workshops.

Tap/click on the image(s) below to find more details of upcoming events, including what you can expect from the event and how to book.

NASUWT conferences and events are strictly for adults only due to the nature of the content shared and no children will be permitted into any areas of the conference.

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LGBTI Teachers’ Consultation Conference 2023

Our 2023 LGBTI Teachers’ Consultation Conference took place online in February.

Twenty years on since Section 28 was repealed, the reality for our LGBTI members is that they still face prejudice, discrimination, exclusion and hate.

While the ban on the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ may have gone, our LGBTI members face daily discrimination, harassment, abuse and exclusion - young LGBTI people are bullied in school or harassed and victimised on the streets, teachers are threatened with being ‘outed’ or are at the mercy of false and malicious allegations, and employers refuse employment or promotion to teachers on the ground of their sexual orientation.

In his keynote address, Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said, ‘Every day, our members are breaking down those barriers, resisting those attacks.

‘As a Union, we are proud to stand with you, proud to be with you at the forefront of the fight for equal rights and inclusion, because LGBTI students and teachers deserve better.

‘Because no-one is safe unless we all are safe. We never give up; and we will never give in to hatred, prejudice and or abuse at work.

‘We are leading by example, fighting for our members on workload, behaviour, pensions and job protection, and by ensuring that our commitment to LGBTI rights is represented at every level of our Union in our policies and campaigning, our bargaining with employers, and in our organising.’

‘We are stronger when we are organised, but we are strongest when we secure inclusive workplaces and a diverse and inclusive union.’

Dr Roach said that the Government’s political choices had undermined the right to education for all by defunding schools and colleges, decimating children’s services and family support, and cutting local authority services by more than 40% in real terms.

He added, ‘All this impacts on jobs, workload, and support for pupils, which has meant longer working hours and depressed pay for teachers.

‘A rising tide of bullying employer practices, abuse and micro-aggressions are the everyday reality for many as the result of a Government that has allowed a hostile environment to flourish.’

Dr Roach said we continue to see the prevalence of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic behaviour in schools and colleges, a lack of training on LGBTI equality and employers not taking reports of discriminatory behaviour against LGBTI staff seriously.

Dr Roach told members, ‘Politicians have got to stop playing politics with teachers. They have to recognise the scale of the crisis they have created. And they need to deliver genuine improvements to your pay and working conditions or deal with the consequences.

‘Colleagues, we will continue to demand better for our members, not by agreeing to shoddy deals, but, by demanding a Better Deal, and if that means we move to escalate our dispute with individual employers or with the Government, we will do so.

‘We know that workload remains a major concerns for members, so we will be pressing for action on workload too, including an enforceable limit on teachers’ working time and strengthening of teachers’ rights to flexible working.’

Dr Roach rounded up by pointing to the importance of our LGBTI members stepping up into activism as Workplace Reps, Equality Officers, Health and Safety Reps, Local Secretaries and on our National Executive.

LGBTI members’ survey

Jennifer Moses, NASUWT National Official (Equality and Training), presented the results of a pre-Conference survey of LGBTI members.

She revealed that 52% had seen no improvement in the levels of abuse in the last three years and 27% said it had got worse.

The poll found that more than half of LGBTI teachers (52%) experience discrimination and abuse from pupils and parents.
  
The survey also highlighted the need for schools and colleges to take greater initiative in addressing homophobia, biphobia and transphobia:

• just 14% of LGBTI members say their school provides training on LGBTI equalities to senior management, falling to just seven per cent for the school governing body;

• only 33 % reported that their school has a zero-tolerance approach to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.

Other sessions throughout the day

• Seminar - Becoming an LGBT+ welcoming and inclusive primary school: six-step guide, presented by Jack Lynch from Pop’n’Olly.

• Seminar - Navigating and supporting LGBT+ children and young people: how do we create inclusive education environments? presented by Adam Barkes from Stonewall.

• Panel session - Protecting LGBTI Rights and Defending Human Rights, where members heard from:

  • Maggie Chapman MSP representing the Scottish Green Party;

  • Adam Barkes, Stonewall;

  • Jack Lynch, Pop‘n’Olly;

  • Laurent Compère from Education and Science Union GEW, Germany.

• Consultation session - What does it mean to be LGBTI and active in the NASUWT and beyond?

  • Jennifer Moses, National Official (Equality and Training) presented the results from the online LGBTI survey and members were able to take part in live polling and a Q&A session about how to be more involved in the Union structures.

• Wellbeing at Work - Creating Calm, presented by Dave Read, UK and International Teacher.

Next steps

We are stepping up our demands for:

• all schools and colleges to publish their LGBTI equality action plans;

• mandatory equality training for school and college leaders;

• the introduction of a mandatory requirement for equality pay gap monitoring;

• the removal of discriminatory performance related pay systems; 

• action to eradicate discriminatory absence management procedures and to equality-proof all HR policies and procedures; and

• inspection systems that challenge employers on their record in advancing equality for LGBTI staff and students.

The NASUWT also commits to:

• campaigning against the UK Bill of Rights and any dilution or removal of rights currently afforded under the European Court of Human Rights;

• fighting for LGBTI rights at all levels of the Union;

• providing safe spaces within the Union to discuss experiences and find solutions to addressing LGBTI inequalities; 

• supporting the promotion of a greater profile of LGBTI issues at local level; and

• providing dedicated training for LGBTI members on becoming active in the Union.

Don’t miss out

If you’re not yet a member but want to attend our LGBTI Teachers’ Consultation Conferences, and get access to other exclusive member benefits, why not join today?

You can find out more about why you should join us or go straight to our Online Joining site to take full advantage of our wider programme of events, training and discount scheme.

Want more influence?

The NASUWT is a member-led Union, which means you getting actively involved in your Union to support your colleagues and fellow teachers at work.

Getting active in the Union can take a variety of forms and will mean you get access to FREE training, support, and personal and professional development: you can be proud in the knowledge that you are undertaking a role that helps teachers in their workplaces.

Find out more

 

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