Why is this topic important for schools?
A safe school is important for being able to learn: a school where you can safely be yourself and safely develop your own identity. Whether you are a boy or a girl, transgender or cisgender, and whether you want to find your own path inside or outside these categories.
In practice, LGBTQ+ students do not always feel safe at school. They are more likely to experience verbal abuse. Trans students are three times more likely to experience depressive feelings than cisgender students (whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth). For them, it is especially important that their school provides a safe space for diversity.
How can you use this toolkit?
The Gender Toolkit for Schools consists of three separate booklets, some aimed more at management and support staff, and others more at teachers.
School & Gender
The first booklet, ‘School & Gender’, is of interest to school staff in general, but especially to management. This booklet focuses on gender-inclusive education and aims to create a safe school climate. The chapter ‘Gender diversity as part of a safety strategy’ explains how gender diversity and social safety are connected, based on the six cogs of social safety identified by the School & Safety Foundation.
Gender Inclusivity in the Classroom
The second booklet, ‘Gender Inclusivity in the Classroom’, is aimed at teachers and other school staff. It provides general tips for all teachers, regardless of the content of their lessons, because it is not only about the content, but also about the teacher’s general use of language and the examples and images they use in a lesson. The booklet also provides specific tips for biology and physical education teachers, as these subjects require extra sensitivity.
Arranging Practical Matters
The third booklet, ‘Arranging Practical Matters’, addresses how to make school facilities gender-inclusive. This includes, for example, gender markers in student administration, as well as the layout of toilets and changing rooms.