Attitudes towards LGBTQ+ In Wallsend

Initially, we spoke with primary and secondary school aged pupils, and with a small group of parents, about the subject of LGBTQ+ in Wallsend. Feedback from these focus groups was used to inform a broader piece of research involving pupils, parents and school staff in Wallsend. Parents and school staff completed an online survey, and pupils completed a survey in their classroom or in an assembly setting. All three surveys were conceptually similar, allowing for some degree of comparison across surveys. We had an excellent response from parents (n = 416), school staff (n = 143) and pupils (n = 640).

Main Findings

• Most school staff and parents had positive attitudes towards those who identify as LGBTQ+
• However, attitudes were less positive towards individuals who identify as non-binary. This was especially pronounced in parents
• Men reported less positive attitudes towards those who identify as LGBTQ+ compared with women. This was most pronounced for non-binary, with only 38% of men reporting positive attitudes
• Some beliefs that staff ascribed to parents were different from the beliefs that parents held themselves. For example, school staff underestimated the extent to which parents wanted LGBTQ+ taught in school and the amount of support parents wanted school to provide pupils who were questioning their gender or sexuality
• Most school staff believed that their school’s culture was supportive of LGBTQ+. However, only one-third of pupils said that their school does enough to support LGBTQ+ pupils, and fewer than half of pupils said that those who identify as LGBTQ+ are treated fairly in school
• Although most staff said that their school’s bullying policy was adequate and that their school does enough to prevent LGBTQ+ related bullying, 59% of pupils said that LGBTQ+ pupils were more likely to get bullied in school

See the embedded PDF below for a more complete summary of the findings.

wallsend-lgbtq-report_v3Download

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