TIE Campaign

TIE Campaign launches with a petition to the Scottish Government. Its co-founders, Jordan Daly and Liam Stevenson, call for LGBT Inclusive Education in all Scottish schools. Over 1000 people sign the petition that summer.

TIE Campaign’s first pamphlet is published, called ‘Time for Inclusive Education’. It includes statements from young people who have been affect by homophobia, biphobia and/or transphobia. The campaign sent this pamphlet to all MSPs before speaking to the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee. This was funded by the Unite the Union Petroleum Branch in Grangemouth, with a donation of £500.

The TIE Campaign gives evidence to Holyrood’s Public Petitions Committee. There is full support from the MSPs initially, and they agree to write to the Scottish Government and relevant educational authorities.

The Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee closes the TIE Campaign’s petition. The campaign responds by criticising the move and claiming that it was closed on a technicality. This leads to worldwide media coverage as commentators express their shock at the Committee’s decision.

Unison becomes the first trade union to officially back the TIE Campaign after a motion in support of the campaign and its calls for teacher training is passed unanimously at the union’s Scottish Council. The union provides the campaign with a £1000 donation.

Photograph from the Daily Record

The TIE Campaign launches a small crowd funding appeal to directly fund LGBT inclusive teacher training. Almost £2000 is raised, which is used to train teachers from various schools on LGBT issues.

SNP Youth and SNP Students publicly support the campaign, becoming the first politically affiliated body to do so.

The SNP move a resolution from SNP Youth and SNP Students in support of the TIE Campaign and its calls for LGBT Inclusive Education at their Spring Conference. Youth delegates spoke from a personal perspective, sharing their own experiences of prejudice and bullying and school. As a result, the party committed to improving LGBT inclusivity within the Scottish education system should they form the next Government.

Scotland’s largest ever LGBT+ hustings for Scottish elections is dominated by discussion of the TIE Campaign and its demands. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon publicly supports the TIE Campaign, claiming that the campaign’s work has been “very impressive” and makes a commitment to work alongside the campaign to introduce LGBT Inclusive Education in Scottish schools should she be re-elected. Patrick Harvie publicly supports the TIE Campaign and claims that they have been a “really important new voice in the landscape of people campaigning on these issues”. He states that along with a coalition of MSPs, he will hold the SNP Government to account to ensure that they work with the TIE Campaign and carry out changes in the next Parliament.

Nicola Sturgeon announces proposals to train teachers on “equality issues” in light of the SNP moving a motion to support the TIE Campaign. However, the TIE Campaign criticise the move as not going far enough – as there were no funding commitments for the plan nor was there any mention of ensuring training was LGBT specific.

The STUC unanimously pass a motion in support of the TIE Campaign. The move represents the culmination of efforts to bring trade unions into the campaign. The development means that the TIE Campaign has the official support of Scotland’s teachers’ unions and all STUC affiliated trade unions including Unite – around 630,000 trade unionists.

Following the Orlando hate crime shooting, Patrick Harvie asks Nicola Sturgeon in Holyrood when she will begin working with the TIE Campaign. She does not place a timescale on reform, but reaffirms her commitment to work with the campaigners to ensure LGBT Inclusive Education. Cross party leaders commit to swift action on the issue.

The TIE Campaign leads Glasgow Pride. This marks a significant moment and is commended as a return to the political roots of the city’s Pride March. Liam opens the parade with a call for action on LGBT Inclusive Education. In the speech he first uses the TIE Campaign’s now well-known statement: “The children of tomorrow must grow up without the prejudices of today.”

The TIE Campaign announces that a majority of MSPs now support their campaign, signing their pledge to back training and curricular guidance for teachers and a national strategy on homophobic bullying. This is a majority of MSPs in Holyrood and represents a historic moment as the Scottish Parliament becomes the first in the world to support LGBT Inclusive Education.

The Scottish Government announces the creation of the LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group. It includes major stakeholders in education and in LGBT activism. The TIE Campaign form part of this group, to carry their work forward.

Jordan and Liam travel to Purdue University in Indiana to share their work and campaigning with academics and students from across the United States.

The LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group reports to the Scottish ministers with 33 recommendations for Scottish education. The government accepts all recommendations and commits to advancing LGBT Inclusive Education in Scotland, becoming the first country in the world to do so.

The LGBT Inclusive Education Implementation Group is formed to oversee the implementation of the 33 recommendations. TIE, now incorporated as a charity, was again a core member of this group. TIE leads efforts within the group to deliver on the recommendations, helping to develop training for teachers, create curriculum resources, and shape policy for LGBT Inclusive Education.

Despite its success, TIE faces closure over a lack of funding. The charity’s services and resources were reliant upon the volunteering of its co-founders and the demand it faced made this unsustainable.

TIE launches a ground-breaking report uncovering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on young people’s experience of prejudice and bullying in online spaces. The report shows that homophobia was one of the most common forms of prejudice that young people witnessed and experienced during this period. It shows that both online bullying and prejudice had increased while young people were learning from home.

After a successful application for funding, TIE receives core funding from the Scottish Government for the first time. This allows the charity to begin building a staff team and expanding their service offer for schools.

lgbteducation.scot is launched as the national platform for LGBT Inclusive Education. It hosts the ‘Delivering LGBT Inclusive Education’ professional learning for teachers as well as a host of resources, national guidance, and the LGBT Inclusive Education Implementation and Evaluation Toolkit.