Lees Brook Academy is very lucky to be a part of the ‘All Inc!’ project.
What is the ‘All Inc!’ project?
‘All Inc!’ promotes inclusive education by bringing together pupils, (trainee) teachers and the wider school community to build LGBT+ friendly schools. ‘All Inc!’ is active in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In each country, a university and secondary school will partner with pupils to co-create visions for LGBT+ friendly schools and supporting ‘tools for schools’. A virtual ‘human library’ will be built to share LGBT+ stories with the wider school community, and with young people across Europe.
How is this project making Lees Brook Academy a more inclusive school?
- Monthly student meetings (after school on the first Friday of each month). This is a safe place for anyone who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community or as an ally (someone who is not part of the LGBTQ+ community but who supports them) to meet and become a community. ANYONE IS WELCOME. We work together to create positive change in the school. This is a time to meet, make friends, and is open to all – no invite necessary. Find us in S13. If you would like to speak to a member of staff about this, email or speak to: Mr Walsh or Miss Kendall.
- Staff training has been provided during INSETs. Staff have been given information to help tackle LGBTQ+ discrimination and become equipped to support students through staff bulletins.
- Making Lees Brook Academy more visibly inclusive. This includes: Pride badges offered to all staff and students to display on their blazers/lanyards. Pride stairs – the Pride flag has been displayed on the main staircase for staff, students, and visitors to see that we are an inclusive school. The school library has a LGBTQ+ section that has books that have this theme as part of the story. Staff are given the opportunity to use non-binary or non-gender specific pronouns or titles on their email signature’s and their high-vis jackets.
- All students have been taught lessons and provided training on the topic of LGBTQ+ to tackle misconceptions and prevent discrimination.
- Students are given the opportunity to communicate with students from other European schools (that are a part of the ‘All Inc!’ project) to see how other cultures and countries experience homophobia and transphobia as well as how they promote inclusivity. This is a time for students (if they feel comfortable) to share their stories, this can be in any form of story-telling: conversation, a story, art, dance, drama, poetry, music, etc.
To take a closer look at what the European project, ‘All Inc!’, is, click here
You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram!
