Including gay, lesbian and transgender students

We know that gay, lesbian, bisexual andlesbian and transgender young people can face a challenging environment at school, including bullying.

It’s important all students feel accepted and valued at school for them to be fully participating and learning.

State and state-integrated schools are required to provide a safe physical and emotional environment for students.

We work with schools in a number of ways to create environments to reduce bullying and to develop a school culture that is inclusive for all students.

Schools that want to strengthen their inclusiveness of gay, lesbian, bisexual andlesbian and transgender students can get support in the following ways:

• A bullying prevention guide which includes information for schools on the experiences of young people who are lesbian, gay or transgender – Go to the bullying prevention guide . The guide is now also available on the thebullyingfree websitewww.bullyingfree.nzwebsite launched this week.
• Access to the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) Programme , which helps schools develop a positive culture that is more accepting of diversity.
• We provide tools so schools can run a check on how inclusive they are – Go to Wellbeing at School .
• Our sexuality education guidelines encourage schools to be inclusive and value diversity, including of gay, lesbian and transgender students – Go to the Sexuality education guidelines .
• We help any school that wants to offer self-contained individual bathrooms that can be used as unisex toilets. These are one of our standard designs and are increasingly popular with schools because they are versatile.