Three Kerry schools have received the Belong To LGBTQ+ quality mark recognising their work, over an 18-month period, to foster LGBTQ+ wellbeing and inclusion for students.
Killorglin Community College, Coláiste na Sceilge, Caherciveen and Presentation Secondary School Castleisland were presented with their awards at an event in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin which was attended by over 350 staff and student representatives and hosted by social media influencer and TV presenter James Kavanagh.
A total of 44 schools were presented with their LGBTQ+ quality mark, representing 17 counties and 26,000 post primary school students across the country. The accreditation initiative was developed in 2022 after a school climate survey by Columbia University revealed that 76per cent of LGBTQ+ young people in Kerry and Ireland did not feel safe in post-primary schools.
Since the pilot programme, over 100 schools and Youthreach centres have embarked on the quality mark journey to improve the lives and experiences of their LGBTQ+ students.
The initiative draws on national and international best practice to create an environment where students feel safe and welcome, regardless of who they are. This is done through a host of practical, proactive actions such establishing an LGBTQ+ and Allies Club for students, training whole-staff teams on supporting LGBTQ+ students and promoting the representation of LGBTQ+ families and identities in classroom teaching.
The 2022 survey showed that an action as simple as including LGBTQ+ related topics in the curriculum resulted in:
- 22% more likely to feel like they belong at school
- 11% more likely to feel accepted by the student body
- 8% less likely to miss days of school due to feeling unsafe
Moninne Griffith, CEO of Belong To, said homophobia, biphobia and transphobia remain a significant challenge for LGBTQ+ students in Kerry.
“Compared to the general youth population, LGBTQ+ students are four times more likely to suffer verbal harassment and five times more likely to be physically harassed. It’s no surprise then that 76% of LGBTQ+ second-level students feel unsafe at school.,”she said.
“It is in this context that we say how proud we are at Belong To have been working with this brilliant cohort of Kerry schools to make positive change and create safe spaces. Across the board, every principal, coordinator, teacher and staff member has shown a huge level of commitment to fostering a truly inclusive environment in their school and to supporting all students in their care,” Moninne added.
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