Section 28: Back to school

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Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
ViewsAugust 23rd, 2013

Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 stated that a local authority “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”

It has been 11 years since the Welsh Assembly Government published its Sex and Relationship Guidance (2002) that effectively repealed Section 28, a full year before Westminster. If you need reminding of the fevered pitch of its original introduction, you can listen here to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s challenge to the “schools teaching children they have an inalienable right to be gay.”

Much concern has been raised following the claims that 40 or so schools across Britain have policies that ban the discussion of homosexuality. Parents and campaigners rightly questioned if this was part of a bigger trend to bring back Section 28 school by school. Since then it has emerged that confusion has been the biggest enemy of progress as many of the schools blame outdated policies, based on old guidance. My colleagues in Stonewall GB have called the Department for Education in Whitehall to review the outdated Sex and Relationship Guidance. It seems that too many schools have cut and pasted poor policies without reading them.

It’s important that we differentiate the issues for schools across both England and Wales.

Unlike in England, the Welsh Government’s Sex and Relationship Education guidance is up to date and clear that there should be objective discussion of homosexuality in the classroom and that schools have measures in place to deal with homophobic bullying.  Both schools highlighted for Section 28 policies in Wales have committed to rectify the problem in line with this guidance. The Welsh Government announced an immediate investigation into the reports and the Education Minister tweeted extensively on the reasons that Section 28 or anything like it would not be accepted in any Welsh school.

So is all fine in Wales?

Well, no – there’s still work to do. Our School Report with the University of Cambridge confirms what many of us suspected – that Section 28’s death was not the end of its influence. Only one in three lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils who are taught about or discuss gay issues in school say this is done in a way they find is positive overall. Four in five are never taught about where to go for help and advice about same-sex relationships.

In the recent edition of the General Teaching Council for Wales’ journal Teaching Wales, I made the case for working alongside schools in tackling homophobic bullying through our School Champions programme. The response from the article has been unanimously positive with teachers across Wales asking how they can access training to make them better informed educators. We will be writing to all schools in Wales to remind them of their responsibilities and to once again offer our assistance in setting school policies and in creating inclusive classroom environments where pupils can perform better, because they are free to be true to themselves.

When the dust is settled and outdated policies on wonky websites have been deleted, our challenge will be to end the bullying that is holding the children of Wales back. Our legacy will be far more positive, free from the shadow of Section 28.

Luke Young is the Education Officer at Stonewall Cymru and tweets at @LukeYoung

One Response

  1. Maxine says:

    Perhaps schools should be given greater autonomy over what they can teach children based on the interests of the parents, teachers, and student body?

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