FAQs

LGBT Inclusive Education includes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, families, and history within learning in Scotland’s schools. It forms part of the wider approach to inclusion, equality, rights, and wellbeing in Scottish education.

Learning can include diverse families, recognising and challenging prejudice and bullying, gender stereotypes, LGBT history, human rights, and relevant LGBT people from the past and present. It is integrated across the wider curriculum rather than taught as a standalone subject or set of “LGBT lessons”.

In Scotland, there is a national approach to LGBT Inclusive Education, which is set out in guidance from the Scottish Government. The guidance states that LGBT inclusive learning should be meaningful, factual, contextually relevant, and differentiated to suit the age and stage of learners. Teachers use their professional judgement to decide how and where learning is most meaningfully included across curriculum areas and subjects.

LGBT Inclusive Education helps all learners understand the diverse society they live in. It also supports schools to proactively address prejudice, discrimination, and bullying, including where a young person is LGBT, is perceived to be LGBT by others, or has LGBT family members.

We have created a short animation that explains LGBT Inclusive Education. You can view it here.

You can view the Scottish Government’s Guidance on LGBT Inclusive Education here.

Homophobic bullying, prejudice, and language continue to affect children and young people in Scotland’s schools. This can affect young people who are LGBT, are perceived to be LGBT by others, or have LGBT family members. It can also affect young people who do not conform to stereotypes about how boys or girls are expected to behave.

LGBT Inclusive Education provides a proactive educational approach to addressing this. Rather than only responding when bullying or prejudice occurs, schools can help learners understand and challenge the stereotypes, stigma, and prejudice that can contribute to harmful behaviour.

This reflects Scotland’s national approach to anti-bullying. Respect for All states that responding to prejudice-based bullying requires schools to address the prejudice that has motivated the behaviour and proactively challenge its root causes. LGBT Inclusive Education supports schools to do this in relation to homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic prejudice.

It is also important that learners encounter a curriculum that reflects the diverse society in which they live. Through age and stage suitable learning, children and young people can encounter different families and people, learn about equality and human rights, explore relevant historical events and figures, and develop their understanding of prejudice and discrimination. This forms part of the wider work schools undertake around inclusion and other forms of prejudice and inequality, including racism, disability discrimination, sexism, and religious prejudice.

Our evaluation demonstrates positive feedback and outcomes from teachers and young people who have worked with us. Visit Our Impact to find out more.

Yes. LGBT Inclusive Education is designed to be suitable for children and young people across Scottish education, with learning differentiated according to their age and stage.

Teachers plan their curriculum in this area around a series of Learning Themes that are designed to connect with existing Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes and Benchmarks. The Scottish Government’s guidance states that learning should be meaningful, factual, contextually relevant, and differentiated to suit the age and stage of learners. This means that what LGBT Inclusive Education looks like in early primary school will be different from learning at secondary school.

For example, in the early primary years, this can include learning about diverse families, including families with same-sex parents. Teachers might use books such as All About Families to help children understand that families can be different from their own, while allowing learners to see their own families and experiences represented. In upper primary school, learners might begin to explore concepts such as prejudice and discrimination. At secondary school, learners can explore relevant topics in greater depth, including LGBT history, human rights, and discrimination.

Teachers use their professional judgement to decide how and where learning is most meaningfully included for their learners. This is consistent with how teachers plan learning across other areas of the curriculum.

The national professional learning supports teachers and schools to develop the knowledge and confidence needed to implement LGBT Inclusive Education in line with national guidance. This professional learning forms part of the Scottish Government’s National Approach to LGBT Inclusive Education, and the national guidance asks all staff in local authority schools to complete it.

For further information, visit our Parents and Carers section.

The national approach to LGBT Inclusive Education is for Scotland’s local authority schools, including denominational and non-denominational schools. The Scottish Government expects schools to implement LGBT Inclusive Education as part of their curriculum.

These expectations followed the recommendations made to the Scottish Government in 2018 by a working group of education stakeholders, including ourselves, Education Scotland, COSLA, teachers’ unions, the Scottish Catholic Education Service, and others. The National Approach was subsequently implemented from 2021 and is now set out in the Scottish Government’s Guidance on LGBT Inclusive Education, published in 2024.

The guidance states that work on implementing LGBT Inclusive Education should already have begun. Where this is not already the case, schools are asked to consider opportunities to include LGBT Inclusive Education within their evaluations and School Improvement Plans.

The Equality Act 2010 places a Public Sector Equality Duty on public bodies, including education authorities. This includes having due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. The Scottish Government’s guidance states that appropriate consideration of protected characteristics, including sexual orientation and gender reassignment, within curriculum development and delivery can help schools to meet these responsibilities.

Teachers continue to use their professional judgement when planning how LGBT -nclusive learning is meaningfully included across curriculum areas and subjects. This means that the National Approach does not prescribe a set of compulsory lesson plans or require every teacher to use every available resource.

A national professional learning programme is available to support implementation. The Scottish Government’s guidance asks all staff in local authority schools to complete this professional learning.

Our LGBT Inclusive Education services are also available to independent schools, and we continue to work with schools in the independent sector.

The Scottish Government has published national Guidance on LGBT Inclusive Education for education authorities and schools. The guidance sets out Scotland’s National Approach to LGBT Inclusive Education, including how it should be implemented across the curriculum, how learning should be differentiated according to age and stage, and the professional learning and resources available to support schools.

You can read the Scottish Government’s guidance here.

National guidance, professional learning, teaching resources and implementation support are also available through lgbteducation.scot, the national platform for LGBT Inclusive Education.

A national professional learning programme is available to support teachers and schools in implementing LGBT Inclusive Education.

The programme has two stages. Stage 1 is an online learning module that supports staff to develop their knowledge and understanding of LGBT Inclusive Education. Stage 2 is an in-person professional learning session that supports staff to develop their practice and plan collaboratively for implementation in their setting.

The professional learning is available free of charge to teachers and school staff across Scotland.

For information about professional learning and support available to teachers, visit Teachers.

A range of resources are available to support teachers and schools with LGBT Inclusive Education.

Alongside the national professional learning programme, schools can use the Implementation and Evaluation Toolkit. The Toolkit provides an optional, step-by-step framework to help schools plan, implement and evaluate LGBT Inclusive Education in a way that reflects their learners and individual school context.

Example teaching resources are also publicly available to support teachers with curriculum planning and delivery. These resources are linked to Curriculum for Excellence and provide examples of how LGBT-inclusive learning can be meaningfully integrated across different curriculum areas and stages. Teachers use their professional judgement to select and adapt resources that are suitable for their learners.

For more information and to explore available materials, visit Our Resources.

We also provide learner workshops in schools, delivered by our Education Officers, who are qualified teachers. Visit Primary Workshops and Secondary Workshops to find out more.

LGBT Inclusive Education and Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP) education are distinct, although LGBT inclusive learning may sometimes be relevant within RSHP.

LGBT Inclusive Education is integrated across the wider curriculum. Depending on the age and stage of learners and the curriculum context, this can include learning about diverse families, prejudice and bullying, gender stereotypes, human rights, LGBT history, and relevant people from the past and present.

For example, learners might encounter a family with same-sex parents through Literacy or Health and Wellbeing, learn about Alan Turing through Mathematics or Social Studies, or explore LGBT equality and discrimination through Social Studies. These are examples of LGBT Inclusive Education and are not sexual health education.

We do not create or publish RSHP resources. RSHP ordinarily sits within Health and Wellbeing, with national teaching resources available through rshp.scot, developed in partnership with education and health professionals.

There are no specific terms under which parents or carers can withdraw their child from LGBT Inclusive Education.

The Scottish Government’s Guidance on LGBT Inclusive Education makes clear that LGBT inclusive learning forms part of the broader curriculum and is included across curriculum areas. Where LGBT-related content or themes arise through wider Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes, a withdrawal request cannot be granted on the basis that the learning is LGBT-inclusive. For example, the national guidance refers to a text featuring a gay character during Literacy or learning about rights movements in Social Studies.

As with other areas of the curriculum, parents and carers may hold a range of personal, religious, or philosophical beliefs about subjects or issues that learners encounter at school. Learning may include topics on which different views exist within families and wider society, including aspects of religion, history, equality, or contemporary social and environmental issues. Parental disagreement with a topic or perspective does not, in itself, create a right to withdraw a child from ordinary curriculum learning.

Where specific rights of withdrawal do exist, these are provided for separately. For example, specific arrangements exist for parents and carers to request withdrawal from all or part of a planned sexual health education programme within Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP) education.

Schools are encouraged to share information about learning and resources with parents and carers to support understanding of the purpose of LGBT Inclusive Education and how it forms part of the school’s wider approach to inclusive education.

You can read the Scottish Government’s Guidance on LGBT Inclusive Education and withdrawal here.

Information about each of our services, including how to book and answers to frequently asked booking questions, can be found on the following pages:

Primary Schools

Secondary Schools

Professional Learning for Teachers

Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

All of our education services are delivered free of charge.

Schools should take both proactive (preventative) and reactive (responsive) approaches to prejudice-based bullying. This means responding appropriately when incidents occur, while also taking steps to address the prejudice, stereotypes, and stigma that can contribute to bullying in the first place.

Respect for All, Scotland’s national approach to anti-bullying, states that preventing and responding to prejudice-based bullying requires schools to directly address the prejudice that has motivated the behaviour and proactively challenge its root causes. It also encourages schools to consider patterns of behaviour and take preventative action across the curriculum and wider school environment.

LGBT Inclusive Education supports schools to take this proactive approach in relation to homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic prejudice. Through meaningful learning, schools can challenge harmful stereotypes, stigma, negative perceptions, and prejudice-based behaviour or language before these develop or become normalised within the school environment. The Scottish Government’s Guidance on LGBT Inclusive Education specifically identifies this as part of the National Approach.

You can read Respect for All and the Scottish Government’s Guidance on LGBT Inclusive Education for further information.

We are an education charity focused on curriculum, anti-prejudice pedagogy, professional learning, and supporting teachers and schools. Our work with schools is educational, and we do not provide individual pastoral, counselling, mental health, or family support services.

If you are looking for help or advice about a specific child or young person, including in relation to bullying, wellbeing, or identity, the organisations below may be able to provide appropriate support or guidance.

Maybe! There are many useful educational resources available online, but we cannot guarantee the quality, accuracy, or suitability of resources produced by other organisations.

Resources available through Our Resources and the national platform, lgbteducation.scot, have been developed to support implementation of the National Approach to LGBT Inclusive Education. Teachers should use their professional judgement to select and adapt resources according to the age and stage of their learners, curriculum context, and intended learning.

If you are considering resources from other sources, we recommend completing Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the national professional learning. This supports teachers to develop the knowledge and professional judgement needed to assess resources and plan LGBT-inclusive learning that is meaningful, factual, contextually relevant, and suitable for their learners.

The Scottish Government’s National Approach is curriculum-based. Its guidance states that LGBT-inclusive learning should be integrated across curriculum areas and subjects, from broad general education through to the Senior Phase. Learning should be meaningful, factual, contextually relevant, and differentiated according to the age and stage of learners.

The National Approach is structured around seven Learning Themes, including diverse families, prejudice and discrimination, gender stereotypes, human rights, LGBT history, and relevant people from the past and present. The national guidance identifies comprehensive inclusion of these Learning Themes across learning and teaching as a key marker of a school’s progress in implementing LGBT Inclusive Education.

In practice, LGBT Inclusive Education should not be limited to particular days or months of the year. Pupil groups can provide valuable pastoral opportunities for LGBT young people and their peers, but LGBT Inclusive Education is intended for all learners as part of the curriculum.

Schools should therefore consider how LGBT-inclusive learning is meaningfully integrated across their curriculum and across ages and stages, rather than relying primarily on one-off activities or events.

Completing Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the national professional learning supports staff to understand and implement the National Approach to LGBT Inclusive Education.

Schools can also use the LGBT Inclusive Education Implementation and Evaluation Toolkit to support a planned, whole-school approach to implementation.

For further information and our recommended pathways for schools, visit Primary Overview or Secondary Overview.

You may have previously completed LGBT-related training or professional learning, however, the national Delivering LGBT Inclusive Education professional learning has been specifically developed to support the implementation of Scotland’s National Approach to LGBT Inclusive Education.

It supports staff to understand the National Approach, standards and principles for effective practice, and how LGBT-inclusive learning can be meaningfully integrated across the curriculum. Stage 2 also supports staff to plan collaboratively for implementation within their own setting.

For this reason, previous LGBT-related training does not replace the national professional learning. The Scottish Government’s guidance asks all staff in local authority-run schools in Scotland to complete the course.

You can find out more about Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the national professional learning.

Schools can engage parents and carers about LGBT Inclusive Education through their usual channels for sharing information about curriculum and learning.

LGBT Inclusive Education is integrated across the wider curriculum. Schools should feel confident explaining what this means in practice, including the purpose of the learning, how it connects with Curriculum for Excellence, and how learning is differentiated according to the age and stage of learners.

Where parents and carers have questions, schools should be prepared to provide information about the learning taking place and, where appropriate, share relevant curriculum content and resources. This can help parents and carers understand the purpose of LGBT Inclusive Education and how it forms part of the school’s wider approach to equality, inclusion, and anti-bullying.

Parentzone provides information about LGBT Inclusive Education that schools can share with families.

Our example teaching resources are also publicly available and can be viewed on the Our Resources page.

Yes. Parents and carers have an important role in their child’s education and are encouraged to engage with their child’s learning and wider school community.

In relation to LGBT Inclusive Education, you may find it helpful to understand the purpose of the National Approach, the kinds of learning that may take place at different ages and stages, and how LGBT-inclusive learning is integrated across the wider curriculum alongside learning on equality and rights more broadly.

Our Information for Parents and Carers page provides more information about LGBT Inclusive Education and answers common questions. Additionally, Parentzone provides information about LGBT Inclusive Education specifically for parents and carers.

If you would like to support LGBT Inclusive Education in your school or wider community, our Get Involved page provides further information.