The EIS is excited to announce a new two-year project which aims to grow the leadership and improve the representation of BAME, LGBT, disabled, neurodivergent and young members within their own workplaces, and within the Union.
Since 2020, the EIS has worked on expanding our equality strategy, including growing informal equality networks for groups who are underrepresented in the union and in education; namely LGBT, disabled and BAME workers, and the Union is now in the process of setting up a new network for young members also. The increased activity in these networks has identified many new activists who are becoming more involved in the Union and in their own workplaces.
This project will create a cohort of members from across our equality networks, who will undergo a programme of leadership learning in the first year, before having the opportunity to put their skills into practice in the second year.
The leadership course will be delivered through 5 sessions, some online workshops, some in person, and one module of asynchronous online learning. The course is organised across three themes:
- Fair Work: Improving access to and use of fair work as a tool to improve the working conditions of disabled, BAME, LGBT and young EIS members.
- Leadership: Growing the leadership skills of members of the EIS Equality Networks, which will support the Stand Up for Quality Education campaign.
- Equality: Mobilising intersectional and joint activism for the equality agenda.
The course is free, costs associated with in person attendance will be covered by the EIS, and accessibility adjustments will be made where possible.
The first session will be on the 9th November, in person with hybrid option where necessary.
The power of LGBT inclusive education
In 2021, the Scottish Government began rolling out activities to support the new national expectation that all schools in Scotland will deliver LGBT Inclusive Education.
LGBT Inclusive Education is an approach that embeds themes related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in ordinary teaching and learning. The approach is a proactive way to prevent LGBT related discrimination, bullying and prejudice in the educational environment.
The EIS is committed to the highest standards of education, rooted in rights, equality and inclusivity. The EIS’s overarching position is that pupils and students have the right to learn, and teachers and lecturers have the right to work, in an educational environment that is free from discrimination, where the rights of all are equally upheld.
The official platform for teachers delivering LGBT inclusive education, where you can find free teaching and learning resources, and CLPL, is https://lgbteducation.scot/
The EIS is delighted to launch “Taking Pride in Teaching: The power of LGBT+ inclusive education”, which seeks to complement the resources on the official platform and offers guidance for EIS members on how we can play our part by helping to create safe, supportive, and inclusive educational settings, which allow everyone to thrive.
“It is of crucial, vital, often life-saving importance that we collectively take responsibility for supporting all LGBT+ people in our educational communities.”
David Dick, EIS LGBT Sub-Committee Co-Chair