Peter Hills Church of England School

LGBTQ+

 

There are no problems here, there are simply people. People are made in the image of God. All of us, without exception, are
loved and called in Christ. ....The way forward needs to be about love, joy and celebration of our humanity; of our creation in the image of God, of our belonging to Christ – all of us, without exception, without exclusion.

Archbishop of Canterbury, 2017



Church of England schools have at their heart a belief that all
children are loved by God, are individually unique and that the school has a mission to help each pupil to fulfil their potential in all aspects of their personhood: physically, academically, socially, morally and spiritually.

Our aim is that all may flourish
and have an abundant life. Schools have a duty to try to remove any factor that might represent a hindrance to a child’s fulfilment. We want all pupils to willingly engage in learning in a safe and welcoming environment. Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, alongside all forms of bullying, is a factor that can inhibit a pupil’s ability to feel safe as well as their foundation for learning. Church of England schools must therefore implement measures to combat it.

Valuing All God's Children, C of E Education Office (2019).

 

We are proud to be a

RAINBOW FLAG SCHOOL

At Peter Hills we know that all children are loved by God. We celebrate that our children come from different families. We know that like many other schools in the UK,  some children have a mum and a dad, some children live with just one parent, some children live with their grandparents and some children have two mums or two dads.

 

An estimated 3.1% of the UK population aged 16 years and over identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) in 2020. Many children will have or know relatives, family friends or neighbours who identify as being LGBTQ+. It is important to us at Peter Hills, that we represent different families in our community as we know that children who see their families reflected in class and around the school will grow up to be confident, respectful and successful citizens.

 

Aside from our moral duty, it is also our statutory duty to teach children about different families and relationships and therefore all primary schools in England are expected to teach Relationships Education. In teaching Relationships Education we ensure that the needs of all pupils are appropriately met, and that all pupils understand the importance of equality and respect. We ensure that all of our teaching is sensitive and age appropriate in approach and content.

 

In order to prepare children for the diverse society they live in and to prevent bullying and discrimination, it is important to talk about difference in general and different families in particular. At Peter Hills, the children learn about and celebrate different family structures primarily through our PSHE scheme of work, science scheme of work and during our celebration of LGBT+ History Month. In addition, our school library and class book corners are stocked with books that represent different family structures and some of the texts we use within our English lessons feature LGBT characters. All children are encouraged to talk positively about their own and each other’s families and the school does not tolerate any homophobic, biophobic or transphobic language.

 

In Key Stage Two, we use resources from Stonewall, Southwark Council and Diversity Role Models to explore identity, including same-sex relationships and gender.

 

Below are some useful links if you would like to find out more, including some recommended books:

Stonewall Website

Diversity Role Models Website

PopnOlly

LGBTQ+ books for kids 

Click to read


Click to read