What your rights are

When it comes to school you should feel safe and able to make the most of your education, regardless of your sexual orientation. It is important to know your rights and what you can do if they are not respected. 

You have the right to:

• Not be treated differently to anyone else just because of who you are
• Be protected from bullying and harassment
• Enjoy and make as much as possible of your education
• Get support if you are having a hard time



Not be treated differently to anyone else

Most schools have a very diverse community with people from all different backgrounds. Every school community will include people who are lesbian, gay and bisexual, people with gay parents and people who don’t act in ways that stereotypes say they should- for example some boys won’t like sports and some girls will. Schools should treat all these different people fairly and make sure they support the different needs that people might have.

For example, this means that your school should apply their rules in the same way to everyone. So, if your school allows couples to hold hands and kiss in school then they must allow all couples to do this- not just heterosexual ones. If your school allows heterosexual couples to do this but tells you and your same sex partner that you cannot then they are discriminating against you. However, if your school has a rule that no couples are allowed to show affection in school then you will need to respect that like everyone else. If you break it your school has the right to challenge you, like they would any other pupil. The most important thing is everyone is treated the same.

Be protected from bullying and harassment

One of the most important jobs your school has is making sure its pupils are safe. By law, your head teacher, teachers and school governors all have to take steps to reduce bullying at your school. This might include having school rules about it, explaining what bullying is, promoting anti-bullying messages to students and taking any bullying very seriously.

If you are facing homophobic bullying at school for any reason then your school should treat this seriously and support you to make things better.

Make as much as possible of your education

By law teachers have to help pupils feel supported and able to make the most of their time at school. If you are being called names or being bullied in any other way, it’s likely to affect your schoolwork, which isn’t fair.

If you do feel homophobic bullying is affecting your schoolwork speak to someone if you can. Although standing up for yourself can demand a lot of courage, your education is really important and it is worth standing up for.

Get support if you are having a hard time

If any of these rights aren’t being respected then you can get help and find ways to make your time at school better.

Your school should help you. If you find they don’t or that they aren’t doing enough, there are other places that you can go for help. Contact our Info Service for support: info@stonewall.org.uk 08000 502020.