On the morning after a terrorist attack in a gay night club in Orlando, pupils and teachers across Scotland spared a moment to grieve for the 49 people shot and killed, whether through anger, a tweet or a silent prayer.

As a progressive nation, we flew rainbow colours on the country’s buildings in solidarity – it was only fitting, as our diverse parliament stood in silence for those affected.

But this passionate and stoic defence of LGBT issues has yet to filter down into the Scottish education system as a whole, according to campaigners.

In fact, activists claim there is a resounding silence in some schools on issues such as LGBT history, struggles with sexuality or gender identity. Moreover, LGBT teachers have expressed concerns over offensive language used by colleagues within school hours, amid atmospheres of “discomfort” over their own orientations.

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Meanwhile, pupils in the throes of confusion over their own sexuality and identity have spoken about bullying, isolation and attempted suicide to the newly established TIE campaign (Time for Inclusive Education), a movement gathering momentum in Scotland.

Section 28 was repealed on June 21, 2000 in Scotland, one of the first acts of the new parliament – but are we any better off 16 years later?

John Naples-Campbell, a supporter of the TIE organisation and an openly gay teacher, currently works in a non-denominational high school in Glasgow.

Stonewall posters are visible across the campus, as are the ‘no bystander’ declarations signed by all S2 students.

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John wrote the Personal and Social Education curriculum for pupils S1-S4, which encompasses the equality act of 2010, stories from openly gay students and staff, celebrity stories to spark discussion, hate crime and transgender issues.

While his current students debate how they can make their school more inclusive, his past experiences have not always been so positive.

John said: “In my first school a staff room debate erupted about Elton John having a civil partnership and language like “poof” and “that’s not what God wanted” could be heard.

“I reported it but nothing was done. I was later having classroom management issues with a certain class – it was one of the worst schools in Scotland – and when it was discussed with management after I sought advice, as a new teacher, I was told the issue could be because I was gay.

“It was at that point I decided to resign from that post.”

It’s now ten years later and John says that language remains a problem among colleagues, many of whom are advocates for silence when it comes to teachers’ own sexual orientations.

But whether or not it is deemed appropriate for teachers to discuss personal issues outwith earshot of pupils, John argues that all staff have a duty to promote health and wellbeing.

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He said: “Staff are not sure what is acceptable and what is not. The nature of secondary education is that we are teachers of subjects so sometimes discussing issues like LGBT can be difficult for some staff who may not have the confidence to do so or the skills and knowledge at hand, therefore it is a post code lottery of how LGBT issues are being addressed in schools and in what subject areas.

“Respect is the key here – teachers have to focus on the young people in front of them, not their own beliefs or opinions.”

Scotland has 370 state-funded faith schools – 366 Catholic, one Jewish and three Episcopalian.

On issues of morality, teachers follow the Called To Love programme, materials that provide a” Christian vision of love and relationships” based on Church teachings.

“Called To Love does acknowledge that homosexuality exists but goes on to explain that according to the Catholic faith, homosexuality an abhorrence,” one openly gay teacher in a Catholic school told STV News.

The teacher, who would prefer to remain anonymous, says the requirement to teach according to the Catholic faith has fostered an atmosphere of “fear” among teachers when it comes to LGBT issues.

They said: “There are a lot of people that still go by Section 28’s founding principles – that you are not allowed to ‘promote’ homosexuality or anything other than this heteronormative idea.

“I think that it’s not done maliciously. There are homophobic teachers but I think some people do it out of fear. In the faith schools I’ve taught in people are very worried about standing on the toes of the Catholic church.

“Teachers don’t really know what they can and can’t say if a child is coming to talk to you about their sexuality. In Catholic schools it’s really not addressed and almost ignored to a total extent.”

Having been asked about their sexuality by pupils, the teacher said “it was never a problem”, but colleagues did not like to discuss it and were “very careful about what conversations they have within earshot of me” – although one colleague caused offence when they referred to a pupil as a “gay boy” during a private conversation with the teacher.

While language may be a reoccurring problem for faith and non-faith educators, the teacher feels the church having less influence over education would be beneficial for pupil welfare overall.

They said: “Education is for the benefit of the child and the benefit of society – it should be a secular issue. Education isn’t about telling pupils what to think, it’s about teaching them how to think and to my mind the church is stuck in a time where we no longer live.”

In a recent statement, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Catholic Church said: “The Church is working with the Catholic Head Teacher association to ensure that all teachers have adequate knowledge, understanding, and training and feel confident in addressing all aspects of relationships education, including LGBTI matters, in an appropriate and sensitive way.”

The provision of LGBT education lies at the discretion of each local authority – while there are plenty of materials on LGBT issues available through Education Scotland, there is no requirement to use them.

The TIE campaign, founded by Jordan Daly and Liam Stevenson, are working to cultivate a proactive approach to LGBT education, working with organisations and trade unions such as the Educational Institue of Scotland (EIS) to support pupils and offering teacher training to any school who wants to request it.

Jordan Daly said: “We believe that the contributions of the LGBTI community and the issues affecting LGBTI young people should be recognised and taught in all schools.

“Ultimately, our goal is for LGBTI inclusion within each school’s curricula and pastoral care resources, but initial focus has to be directed at the educators themselves.

“This is why we are urging the Scottish Government to prioritise teacher training as a first step towards building an LGBTI inclusive education system.

“We are asking for a new strategy here – the comfortable method of allocating more money to specialised organisations without any change from above is not working.”