Throughout this week 450,000 teachers and pupils across England and Wales have been celebrating School Diversity Week. The week was created by the charity Just Like Us, whose aim is to support pupils and students, LGBT+ and straight, to thrive in a diverse world.

Check out some of the amazing cakes on sale @roydsschool this break time! #SDW19 Come down and celebrate School Diversity Week and donate to a great cause! pic.twitter.com/HcLXeNRVct

— lgbtqroyds (@lgbtqroyds) July 5, 2019

Resource Provision celebrates family diversity, and what family means to us. #SDW19 pic.twitter.com/STTYBSLSnE

— OakfieldRB (@Oakfield_RB) July 3, 2019

Research published recently by Just Like Us found that 85% of LGBT+ young people have experienced anxiety (compared with 56% for their non-LGBT+ peers). And that three in four LGBT+ young people have experiences bullying. (Just Like Us, 2019)

This research highlights how tough life can be growing up as an LGBT+ person and the need for School Diversity Week, to promote inclusivity and create a safe environment where every pupil can be themselves without the fear of being bullied.

Promoting an LGBT+ inclusive culture in school is imperative, for both LGBT+ pupils and their non-LGBT+ peers. As echoed by the Education Secretary, who said that in order to prepare children for life in modern Britain, they need to understand the world they are growing up in. Today’s children are tomorrows future, and it is imperative for the progression of equality that children grow up to be tolerant and accepting of a diverse community.

Tootoot was created to give every pupil a voice to speak-up about anything that is making them feel unsafe or unhappy. If you would like to try tootoot for free in your school, sign-up today for our free trial and we can get you set-up and ready to launch in September.

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Check out our advice for Eight Steps for a More LGBT+ Friendly School. ✌️