| National charity Children in Scotland has welcomed the announcement made by Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary John Swinney in the Scottish Parliament today (8 November) that the Scottish Government is to accept the recommendations of the LGBTI inclusive working group.
Chief Executive of Children in Scotland Jackie Brock said:
“Children in Scotland is delighted by the news that the Scottish Government has accepted the recommendations of the TIE campaign and their colleagues in the LGBTI inclusive education working group.
“We wholeheartedly support the decision to include the identities, history and prejudice faced by LGBTI people within the Scottish curriculum, and for initial training and continuing professional development for teachers to cover these issues.
“We have come to this view based on the evidence that LGBTI young people continue to face bullying and poor mental health at rates which are simply unacceptable in a society which values equality and wellbeing among children, and in the knowledge that education has a vital role to play in moving forward social attitudes for our future generations.
“18 years on from the repeal of section 28 – long enough for thousands of children in Scotland to have began and ended their journey through the education system – this represents another historic moment in the struggle for children and young people’s rights and LGBTI rights more broadly.
“Call Number 16 in our ongoing '25 Calls' campaign, written by respectme, states that we must ‘Work together to build cultures where every voice is valued, and create a society free from bullying’. Call Number 8, written by young activist Jade, asks that we ‘Reform the Gender Recognition Act and give trans young people the chance to live full, happy lives’.
“We believe that this marks a vital step towards achieving these goals, and we will continue to work with our partners across the children’s sector to make this vision a reality.”
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Notes for editors
Media contact: Caitlin Logan, email clogan@childreninscotland.org.uk
Children in Scotland is a national charity working to improve children’s lives. For more information visit childreninscotland.org.uk |
