Agenda item

Schools OUT will present. Information is attached.

5.1  The chair invited Sue Sanders from Schools OUT to present. She explained that she had lived in Southwark for 27 years and has been part of Southwark’s anti homophobic alliance forum for several years.

5.2  Sue Sanders showed a presentation (attached to the minutes), which explained the work of Schools OUT. She outlined their strategy; a key component of this is to increase the visibility of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender(LGBT) community. She explained that there is now a public duty to promote the inclusion of the LGBT community and Schools Out have been setting out what schools can do to meet this duty. Sue signposted members to resources that are available on the following websites: www.schools-out.org.uk and www.the-classroom.org.uk. She explained that schools often desperately want training on tackling bullying.

5.3  Sue said that complaints are a gift to schools. She reported that often schools assume that all parents are heterosexual and she encouraged schools to ask parents about their sexual orientation and the prevalence of LGBT bullying  on forms and in surveys – and to explain why and how the information collected will be used. She explained that support for young LGBT people is vital and social networks can help this. She emphasised that fostering good relationships is very important , and commented  that while there is a legislative framework to support the inclusion of LGBT people the culture is lagging; this can be seen in the hate crime statistics. She noted that the visibility of different ethnicities is high, disability is still low, but LGBT people are hardly seen at all.

5.4  Sue reported that the assumption is  very much of hetro-normality, whereby people are assumed to be white, heterosexual, able bodied, Christian & male. She explained that when teaching she explains the medical model of disability (that disabled people need to be cured) and the alternative social model (whereby society makes reasonable adaptations to include people with different impairments).  She said this model was embraced by teaching leaders. She also explained that the Stephan Lawrence report, which identified ‘Institutional Racism’, was very important and that this is a concept that can be used for other groups who are disadvantaged and discriminated against. Sue reported that the binary notion of gender is still prevalent.

5.5  Sue said that the solutions are: Language, Law, Role Models and Culture. The classroom website has 32 lesson plans that can be used across different subjects. She reported OFSTED are very much pushing this work and a school would not obtain tops marks without demonstrating good practice.

5.6  She drew the committee’s attention to a triangular diagram on the presentation which demonstrated the different levels of discrimination, from name calling, through avoidance and acting on prejudice, up to genocide. She reported that lots of schools have this on their walls and children really like this.

5.7  LGBT history month takes place in February, with a launch in Tate Modern. Sue reported that this initiative received support from the council. The Diversity calendar is an important resource for schools.

5.8  Sue ended her presentation by pointing to the resources available to Southwark schools, such as the Schools OUT website and local expert Shaun Dellenty, who is a Southwark school deputy head and founder of 'Inclusion For All’.She reported that Southwark historian Stephen Bourne has also written a booklet on LGBT history, which needs some extra money to be completed. The chair thanked Sue for her presentation and invited questions.

5.9  A member asked about the prevalence of LGBT bullying in Southwark and Sue responded that had not been able to get a survey done by Southwark to ascertain this. She reported that other boroughs have support groups for young people, but Southwark does not.

5.10  Sue was asked about the high level of homophobic abuse, 74%, that teachers have reported and asked how this usually manifests. Sue explained that this is mainly verbal abuse, and if this is not tackled it will lead to higher levels of exclusion, or possibly violence. A member asked Sue if a young person in a debate said that they were opposed to gay marriage, would that be perceived as homophobic. She responded that no; she would class that as a belief, however, if there was a comment that drew parallels between same sex marriage and  sexual relations between humans and animals , then this would  be abuse.

5.11  A member asked her about the issue of the choice of changing room used by transgender young people and Sue said that the best solution is to allow people to change where they want to change.

5.12  Sue was asked about the best networks that exist for young people and she mentioned Greenwich Metro and a network in Manchester that organises trips, arts activities and which creates a supportive space where young people are able to come out in a safely. She pointed out that if Southwark were to start such a network it would be used by young people from other boroughs, just as Southwark young people go to different parts of London, often because they feel safer outside of their immediate locality. A member asked if children can access information about these networks online at schools and Sue reported that often this was difficult as the software stopped access to the websites that used terms such as ‘lesbian’.

5.13  A member asked about her work in Southwark and she said while she has contributed locally to a booklet and producing a conference, she hardly ever goes to Southwark schools. She reported that she works nationally and feels a little like a prophet who is not welcome in her own country! She added that  local teacher and founder of 'Inclusion For All’, Shaun Dellenty, may be working more locally.

5.14  The chair then invited Elena Noel from Empowering People for Excellence. She explained that her focus is on cohesion and community engagement and she has worked predominantly with young people and families where there is a risk of exclusion. She reported that she often works on identity and has been called in to schools to do training on racist bullying. She explained that her background is as a conflict practitioner, focussing particularly on hate crime.

5.15  Elena explained that Southwark schools often have a large number of black children, but often a predominantly white staff who often feel unable to tackle racist bullying. She reported that she most often works with older pupils. Elena reported that around 6 years ago cyber bullying emerged as a worrying trend and that recipients can be terrorised through threats, often sent anonymously.

5.16  She spoke about the high status that gang members often have in schools and referred to a boy on an attempted murder charge who was still in school and put on a pedestal by other children. On another occasion she was aware of a 16 year old who was supplying ecstasy and cocaine. She explained that these children are often referred to as ‘generals’ and are often not the disruptive children, but they can be deadly. She reported frequently teachers were not aware of the children with gang affiliations.

5.17  Elena reported that she has been asking schools if they have a gang prevention strategy. These used to be uncommon , but are now being developed by schools. She added that schools will report that children are being hassled for money. She added that gangs will often recruit younger children and some act within wider criminal networks. Gangs will often use vulnerable girls and exploit them, for example by encouraging the selling of sexual favours. She explained that sometimes schools will not be aware of the extent of the problem, or will not want to label the problem. She said one issue is that often the teachers are not local, and so do not have sufficient local understanding and in any way many will leave the area soon.

5.18  She explained that as part of her programme she will go and talk with young people about their behaviour. Often the girls engaged in sexual activity will be as young as eleven or twelve and peer pressure can be an issue. Drugs are also an issue with pupils acting as drug couriers. She said that schools should be questioning absences and seeking to understand the reasons. She advised that young people should be involved in developing the anti bullying / anti gang policy and that it is important that the policy is enacted. She added that work to prevent gangs needs complementary work on developing good safeguarding policy and practice. She noted that formally Goose Green had a poor quality response to bullying; however the situation has now improved.

5.19  Elena explained that when she works in schools she will often ask to meet the parents, who are often not aware of their children’s  involvement, the extent,  or of the gravity of the situation .

5.20  The chair invited members the ask questions and the head teacher representative asked how widespread gang/ bullying activity is and what is her evidence base. Elena said that children she have spoken with report that it is widespread and common. She said that of the around 200 students she had spoken too many of them indicated that they were not reporting incidents because of the fear of consequences and the level of control exhibited by disruptive elements. She explained that she got disclosures because of the way she worked with he young people; however, often there is not the space or time for young people to open up. Elena was asked if she had spoken with school heads and she responded that this is what she is doing now. A member commented that she recognised some of the children’s behaviour in Elena's report, but not that of the teachers or head teachers.

5.21  A member referred to cyber bullying and a news-story  about a video of young people having sex going viral. She asked how prevalent this was and Elena responded that cyber-bullying can be fast moving and unfamiliar to adults; young people often employ a variety of social media channels and use text slang.

5.22  A member referred to her day job teaching and said she recognised many of the scenarios and asked about engagement with parents. Elena commented that many of the parents left school early and are often uncomfortable visiting schools. She recommended encouraging parents to visit in the good times. Elena was asked what was the best way to engage with parents who are unwilling and she responded that parents are often frightened and agitated and a visit to their homes can help.

5.23  A member asked what recommendations she would have about tackling gangs and Elena commented that sometimes serious offending can be a better term. She said that one of her key recommendations would be to encourage professionals to come together to share information. She also advocated training with people who are credible and knowledgeable. She cautioned that some people offering training are still caught up in their  social / criminal networks. Elena said that looking out for trading activity can be a sign. She also said it is important to look out for more vulnerable young people, and young women who may be affiliated, and do follow up work.

5.24  A member mentioned the parental engagement review that the committee undertook and the striking evidence that it is parents, and often fathers, whose positive role most influences their children’s educational performance and behaviour. He asked Elena how many children at risk had a positive male role model and she responded that very few did. She explained that often fathers were not around and often mums did not have the time.  She added that social issues were very prevalent and increasing with austerity. The member commented that he grew up in Peckham and there were gangs, but there were also fathers and parents that we were scared of.

5.25  Elena commented that often young people lack emotional intelligence and that giving time to young people can make a difference, She said that recognising the signs that something is going awry and giving young people home truths is effective. She explained that she worked with young people looking at role play and through this the young people discovered that they did not like being disruptive. She added that young people often need a consistent relationship. A member commented that ownership lies with the parents and that government policy must support their role.

5.26  Elena commented that Southwark commissioned a report on raising ethnic minority achievement which was useful. She said that often parents do care, but they don’t know how to deal with school and deal with problems and so parents may get angry. She recommended induction programmes on how schools can improve their relationships with parents. She also recommended the work of Crown Lane Primary School, in Lambeth, and their very good practice tackling bullying.

5.27  Sue Sanders commented that we need to find a way to encourage teachers to access training; she acknowledged that the council’s powers in this regard are diminishing. A member commented that teachers are often busy and think they do not need it; however schools often do meet in clusters and this can be a good forum. A member asked the head teacher representative if they have received LGBT training in these clusters and she said that they had not yet but could consider it.