Schools cannot solve every challenge an LGBTQ+ young person may face. But they remain one of the greatest influences on whether that young person feels included, safe, accepted and, ultimately, able to achieve their potential.
Long after exam results have faded into memory, people often remember how school made them feel. They remember the teacher who believed in them, the adult who listened when life became difficult and the classroom where they finally felt seen. They also remember when those things were missing.
Changing lives
At The Proud Trust, we support thousands of LGBTQ+ young people every year while working alongside teachers, school leaders and youth professionals across the UK. (Visit theproudtrust.org/schools-and-training to find out more.)
Time and again, we hear how school can transform a young person’s confidence and wellbeing in ways that extend far beyond the classroom.
We also hear how isolating it can feel when a young person believes they have nowhere they can truly be themselves or nobody they can turn to for support.
That is why LGBTQ+ inclusion should never be viewed as an additional responsibility for schools, like it’s just another thing to do. It should be core to the fabric of a school, fundamental to creating an environment where every pupil feels safe enough to learn and supported enough to fulfil their potential.
Individual stories
Following the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, referrals to The Proud Trust increased by 171%. Behind that statistic are thousands of young people looking for reassurance, guidance and somewhere they know they will be understood.
Many were not asking us to explain legal judgments or political debates, they simply wanted to know they were still valued, still supported and still had trusted adults they could rely upon. Schools are often among those trusted adults, and at moments like these their role becomes even more important.
Supporting young people when they need it most
Schools cannot shield young people from everything happening beyond the school gates. National debates, legal decisions and public discourse inevitably shape how many LGBTQ+ young people feel about themselves and their place in the world. We have seen that first-hand through the young people who come to The Proud Trust.
While schools cannot control those wider events, they can control how their own communities respond. They set expectations, challenge discrimination and create environments where every child knows they will be treated with dignity and respect. For a young person who feels the world is becoming increasingly divisive and uncertain, that consistency and trust can make an extraordinary difference.
The wider conversation about LGBTQ+ rights will continue, and schools should never be expected to ignore the realities their pupils are living through. Their responsibility, however, is not to resolve political debates, it is to educate, safeguard and support every child.
Everyday inclusion
Pupils are far more likely to engage with learning when they feel safe, respected and able to focus on the classroom rather than worrying about whether they will be bullied, excluded or judged for who they are, or worse, outed.
Meaningful inclusion is about far more than policies or displays during Pride Month, young people quickly recognise the difference between symbolic gestures and genuine commitment.
They notice whether staff challenge discriminatory language, whether they can see families like theirs reflected positively in the curriculum, and whether there are adults they feel comfortable approaching when they need support. Those everyday experiences shape whether a school feels genuinely welcoming.
Creating an inclusive school rarely requires dramatic change, it is usually the accumulation of small, consistent actions that makes the greatest difference. That might be confidently challenging and recording homophobic or transphobic language, taking the time to listen to a pupil, or ensuring lessons reflect the diversity of the world young people already live in.
None of this is about treating LGBTQ+ pupils differently, it is about ensuring they receive the same sense of safety, encouragement and opportunity as everyone else.
Giving schools the confidence to act
Schools do not have to navigate this work alone. The Proud Trust developed the Rainbow Flag Award, a national quality assurance framework, to help schools, colleges and youth organisations review their practice and embed LGBTQ+ inclusion in a way that reflects the needs of their communities. It is designed to build confidence through considered, sustainable and meaningful change, not prescribe a single approach.
That confidence matters because many teachers tell us they worry about saying the wrong thing. Those concerns are understandable, particularly given the volume of public discussion surrounding gender identity, but uncertainty should never become a barrier to compassion.
The need for CPD
Young people rarely expect teachers to have every answer, but what they value far more is honesty, kindness and a willingness to listen. In the face of any uncertainty, we must not avoid. Rather we must boldly ask “What does this need young person need from me? What is the right thing to do?”.
Research undertaken by The Proud Trust and independently analysed by Manchester Metropolitan University found that 90% of teachers and school staff wanted more training and support to help them support trans pupils.
At the same time, fewer than half of the young people surveyed felt confident their school would respond well if a pupil came out as trans. That gap should concern all of us. Not because schools lack commitment, but because so many staff are asking for the guidance and confidence to support their pupils well.
This uncertainty is compounded by woolly, confusing and often contradictory guidance set out by government departments who seemingly have not sought to include or understand LGBTQ+ young people experiences or voices.
The importance of visibility
Education has always been about preparing young people for the world around them. LGBTQ+ inclusion should be viewed through that same lens because it ensures every young person can see themselves reflected in their education while helping all pupils develop empathy, understanding and respect for others.
The young people we work alongside consistently tell us that visibility matters. Many reached their teenage years having never encountered positive LGBTQ+ representation in school. They struggled to imagine what their future might look like because nobody had shown them that people like them existed beyond stereotypes or stories of discrimination. They seek the information and community they desire in alternative spaces, sometimes with negative consequences.
Across the country, we work with schools whose leaders are determined to create environments where every child feels respected and able to succeed. Their work demonstrates that meaningful change does not happen through grand gestures. It happens because committed professionals make thoughtful decisions every day that place young people’s wellbeing at the heart of school life.
Every LGBTQ+ young person deserves to walk through the school gates knowing they will be treated with dignity, supported when they need help and encouraged to fulfil their potential. Schools have the power to make that expectation a reality, and I believe every young person should be able to rely on it.
Rachel Williams (they/them) is CEO of The Proud Trust, one of the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ youth charities. The charity also delivers the Rainbow Flag Award, the UK’s national quality assurance framework for LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools, colleges and youth organisations.
