LGBT+ History Month
LGBT+ History Month takes place every year in February. It celebrates the experiences and contribution of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people - many of whom have spent their life denying their true identity.
It provides schools with opportunities to highlight the importance of equality.
LGBT+ History Month activities
Schools can enrich their LGBT+ history curriculum through study themes and assemblies that reveal, study and celebrate aspects of LGBT+ history.
For example:
- Assemblies that celebrate a life of a famous LGBT+ person.
- Lessons on the development of LGBT+ human rights.
- Lessons on the roles LGBT+ people have played in science.
This work can make a valuable contribution to your school’s efforts to comply with Ofsted requirements on promoting the wellbeing of pupils. It helps schools to implement the Equality Act 2010, by fostering of good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
Resources
Polari
Polari presentation [1.2 MB] [ppt]
This presentation can be used in a LGBT+ history month assembly or classroom-based activity. It introduces students to 'Polari' the gay slang language used when homosexuality was prohibited. The resource promotes discussion about changing attitudes. It was developed by Steve Lochan-Grimer, Claverham Community College.
Anti-homophobia
This presentation can be used in assembly to explain the impact of homophobic bullying. It was developed by Liam Cobley, Claremont Senior School.
Toolkits and resources
Stonewall have produced best practice toolkits and resources to help schools support LGBT+ children and young people.
Promoting equality and challenging homophobic bullying
Promoting messages of equality and celebrating difference helps pupils to develop positive self-identity. This helps to combat stereotypical attitudes about LGBT+ people.
Homophobic bullying can be experienced by:
- boys who work hard
- girls who play sport
- young people perceived as gay
- pupils with gay parents
- any pupil perceived as 'different'
Primary schools are ideally placed to tackle these issues. They can make a significant contribution to young children's values and attitudes.
Stonewall has produced a Primary best practice guide: How primary schools are celebrating difference and tackling homophobia [1.3 MB] [pdf]
LGBT+ figures in history
Consider the key work and lives of these pioneering LGBT figures:
Alan Turing – 20th century British mathematician: Credited with creating the framework and design for the earliest modern computer. Turing also led the British effort to break the secret codes of the German military Enigma machine in WW2. His work was a major contribution to the Allied victory. He committed suicide in the 1950s, after a criminal prosecution and chemical castration. At the time, homosexuality was still illegal in the UK. He was given an official public apology for his treatment in 2009.
Sir Francis Bacon – 17th century English philosopher of science whose work was based on the principles of science as we know it today. He is sometimes called ‘the high priest of modern science’.
Sara Josephine Baker – 20th century physician who organised the first child hygiene department under government control in New York City. This led to the lowest infant death rate in any American or European city during the 1910s.
Arthur C Clarke - British science fiction author and inventor. During WW2, Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar specialist. He was involved in the early warning radar defence system. This contributed to the RAF's success during the Battle of Britain. In 1945, he proposed a satellite communication system that won him the Franklin Institute's Stuart Ballantine Medal.
