TACKLING PREJUDICE
Lighting fires
“Do not allow yourselves
to be disheartened by any
failure as long as you have
done your best.”
Mother Teresa
“You cannot plough a field
by turning it over in your
mind.”
Anonymous
“You will never find time
for anything. If you want
the time, you must make it.”
Charles Buxton
“Those that fail to learn
from history are doomed to
repeat it.”
Sir Winston Churchill
Teaching
“If you stare into the Abyss
long enough the Abyss
stares back at you.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
respect
“Be who you are and say
what you feel, because
those who mind don’t
matter and those who
matter don’t mind.”
Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr Seuss)
positive about the future, and the role the toolkit can • Jackie Cosh is a freelance education journalist.
play in Scottish schools.
“This is the first such resource in Scotland and we
Further information
aim to cover all bases possible,” Ms O’Loan added. • Toolkit: www.ltscotland.org.uk/homophobic
Headteacher's
“The feedback we have had so far has been really bullyingtoolkit
positive. Certainly nobody has come back and said it is • LGBT Youth Scotland: www.lgbtyouth.org.uk
something we don’t need.” SecEd • Respect: www.respectme.org.uk/
PA of the Year
Case Study: Nicola Masterson
Personal development teacher
Awards 2009
Grangemouth High School, Falkirk
“We were involved in trialling some of the lessons from the toolkit, staff training and
An opportunity to recognise and celebrate the people
general awareness-raising. We have now developed this work as part of the personal
who are at the heart of a successful school
development course and see it as an ongoing whole-school commitment.
We started with a sampling questionnaire, to get a clearer picture of homophobia in
One of the most vital jobs performed in
the school. A real positive for us was that we discovered pupils felt able to talk to staff
any secondary school is that of the PA to
about this issue and knew where to get help if needed.
the headteacher. The PA is invariably the
confidante of the head and a key link with the
Then, with LGBT’s help, we ran several events. In May last year, we ran an event for S3
staffroom, the governors, parents and pupils. Good PAs are
pupils focused on careers, health, enterprise, and core skills, with the LGBT work coming
an invaluable asset and few schools can operate efficiently or
under health. This resulted in really meaningful workshop discussions and was received
effectively without them.
very positively by pupils. Having smaller groups meant that they were more comfortable
to talk and be open about their feelings.
In acknowledgement of this essential and important role,
At an INSET day, we had staff training that helped to boost confidence, allowing them
SecEd is proud to organise for the fourth year running, in
to feel more able to challenge homophobic bullying and inappropriate use of homophobic
association with the DCSF International School Award,
language on a day-to-day basis. The emphasis was on a whole-school approach, not just
which is managed by the British Council, the SecEd
Headteacher's PA of the Year Awards 2009, which will
personal development or a pastoral perspective.
celebrate the achievements and success of the modern
When you talk about these issues, you can get the occasional negative comment from
headteacher's PA.
pupils, such as “that’s horrible” or “yuk”, but it is good to get this viewpoint out and to
be able to challenge these attitudes in a positive way. On the whole, negative reactions Only personal assistants to the headteacher of a
have been minimal. secondary school, state or independent, may be
We now have a lunchtime drop-in session for health, where once a week pupils can
entered. Nominations will only be accepted by the
come and talk to someone about a range of health issues, and where information from
head or deputy head. To enter, a statement
LGBT Youth Scotland is freely available.
of not more than 700 words must be
Teachers have been pleased with the toolkit because it gives them something credible
written, explaining why the
nominated PA deserves
to refer to. It is often difficult to reinvent the wheel, and it is good to know what to cover
the award.
and at what age.
It is too early to evaluate the full impact of the work we have done in this area, but
we do feel confident that we have heightened awareness around homophobia and that
Nominations should be
sent to Pete Henshaw by
pupils are comfortable to raise and discuss these issues.
no later than October 1, 2009.
Staff are more confident and lessons from the toolkit are embedded as part of our For information and guidance for
personal development programme.
nominators is also available.
Our experience of working with LGBT Scotland has been a good one and we are
Email pete.h@markallengroup.com,
pleased to have been part of the pilot. The early signs are encouraging and it is definitely
write to SecEd, MA Education, St. Jude's
Church, Dulwich Road, London, SE24 0PB
a step in the right direction.”
or visit www.sec-ed.co.uk
pa 2009.indd 1 23/3/09 15:49:07
SecEd • May 21 2009 9
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