MANY COLOURED SCHOOLS

INTRODUCTION: WHY WE NEED MANY COLOURED SCHOOLS

Ample research from around the world tells us that children and young people who feel that they belong in their school community, feel respected and recognised for who they are, feel safe and welcomed as they move about the school, and who engage with curriculum that is relevant to them and their life experiences will achieve better academic results and have improved social and emotional wellbeing and overall health, compared to those students who feel discriminated against or mistreated, who experience bullying or harassment or who feel that the content of their learning does not take in to account their particular needs.

Too many LGBTIQA+ children and young people experience schooling as negative, dangerous, exploitative or irrelevant, and as such they are more likely to leave school prematurely or to experience academic failure. For others, school plays an important role as a safe haven from violence or prejudice in their family home or in the broader community.

Schools have special responsibilities towards vulnerable children and young people, and LGBTIQA+ children have multiple vulnerabilities.

COMPONENTS OF A MANY COLOURED SCHOOL

Every school community is unique and has unique needs. The Many Coloured School model identifies essential components as follows, but recognises that each school will implement each component in their own way to meet the needs of their own school community.