In July last year we wrote to parents and carers explaining that WSAPC was working towards achieving The Rainbow Flag Award accrediting the emphasis which we place on being an inclusive organisation for students, staff and families regardless of sexual orientation and preference. We are amazingly proud to announce that we have worked hard on this throughout the academic year and have been awarded The Rainbow Flag at ‘Outstanding’!

The Rainbow Flag Award encouraged a whole school approach to tackling HBT bullying and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans) inclusion, focusing on the following areas:

Red – Skilled Teachers

Orange – Supportive Governors and Parents

Yellow – Effective Policies

Green – Inclusive Curriculum

Blue – Pastoral Support

Violet – Pupil Voice

By achieving Outstanding in all areas, we have met the following:

  • The legal requirement to ensure LGBT inclusion in schools;
  • The Ofsted requirement for us to be effective in tackling HBT bullying;
  • Our moral requirement to meet the needs of LGBT young people, given the wealth of evidence showing that mental health issues and suicide still disproportionally affect LGBT young people.

During the year, we have posted details on the APC web page, which showed some of the opportunities our young people had to learn and respond to the issues raised. We held an LGBT+ Focus Week when all centres engaged in exploring the subject across areas of the curriculum including maths, English, Science, PE and food tech – some very bright and colourful food dishes were created! The students were amazing and opened some very positive conversations with staff and peers.

Looking towards next year, the steering committee, which led the engagement with the award, will take on a new role ensuring that LBGT awareness and inclusion is monitored and developed further.

We would like to thank Reuben Davidson from Allsorts Brighton who has supported and engaged with us throughout and who has delivered outstanding training for staff across all of our centres.

Maggi Bruce, Sarah Green, Cathy Mathias and Clare Anderson (The Rainbow Flag Award Steering Committee)