Staff united to stop school gay bashing

STAFF from schools and college throughout Oldham joined forces to receive training to help them fight homophobia in the classroom.

The move came after a survey showed that 85 percent of local teachers witnessed homophobic abuse on a daily basis and 90 percent claimed to have seen specific pupils suffering bullying or discrimination.

The survey, by the Oldham National Union of Teachers, also found that the majority of employees would welcome specific training on how to tackle the problem in local schools.

The NUT has worked closely with Oldham Council who will be following up with a conference of its own in May.

Council leader Howard Sykes and cabinet member for children, young people and families, Councillor Kay Knox, have enthusiastically backed the NUT campaign to combat homophobia.

Tony Harrison, joint secretary of Oldham NUT, said: “This training is the first practical step in ensuring that the evil of homophobia is challenged in Oldham schools.

“Homophobia, along with other forms of bullying, can destroy lives.

“As is often the case, Oldham is leading the way in this work. We have about a dozen schools attending this training and we would encourage all schools to participate in the council’s training in May.

“The NUT in other areas of the North-West has expressed an interest in following Oldham’s example.”

The training sessions will look at how schools can deal with the issue in a practical way with speakers from the North West Anti Bullying Alliance Advisers, the council’s behaviour improvement office and the North-West LGBT.