Praised by Ofsted as ‘innovative and visionary’, the national Educate & Celebrate programme promotes inclusion for LGBTQ+ people and supports schools in creating a culture of equality within their communities. Since starting the programme in 2018, our pupils and staff have worked together to raise awareness of diversity and initiate positive change in school.
To achieve the award, our schools have had to accomplish set goals in the following areas of focus:
Training
Dr Elly Barnes, founder of Educate & Celebrate, led a staff INSET session at Trent in September 2018. The purpose of her visit was to educate staff on the importance of diversity and representation within the school community and the benefits it has for both pupil and staff wellbeing.
Policy
A steering group was set up with key members of our staff to ensure that school policies included inclusive terminology and that LGBTQ+ received appropriate representation.
Curriculum
Staff within each school department worked together to evaluate the curriculum in their subject areas and identify opportunities for more diverse representation in their teachings.
Environment
To ensure that pupils and staff of all identities and backgrounds feel welcome in our school community, posters and displays were set up in key areas of school to make sure LGBTQ+ was visible on campus.
Community
How could we engage parents and the wider school community in the programme? Social media played a key role, celebrating the successes of the programme from the Rainbow Pride Bake-Off and LGBTQ+ themed House Shout to other in-school events.
Housemaster of Shuker Boarding House Mr Kelly has worked hard to coordinate work on the Educate & Celebrate programme in school. He said, “It has been the conversations with staff and students, which have been sparked by the work we have done, that have really made me feel that we are an accepting community at Trent College. I could not have asked for a better reception to the work we have been doing.
“We are delighted to have achieved the Educate & Celebrate Silver Award and we are looking forward to working towards our Gold Award over the next academic year.”