Wiltshire joins the top three councils fighting homophobic bullying in schools

Wiltshire has been named third best council in Great Britain for its work to increase equality and prevent and tackle homophobic bullying in schools and communities in the county.

The council’s “highly innovative” methods have been recognised by leading national charity Stonewall, which has placed Wiltshire third out of 42 authorities for its work in this area.

So far more than 10,000 students have signed a wristband pledge as part of the county’s Zee Tee  campaign for zero tolerance on the issue.

Wes Streeting, Stonewall’s education head, told Marlborough News Online: “Wiltshire Council deserves enormous congratulations on securing a top 10 place in Stonewall’s education equality index.

Homophobic bullying has a detrimental impact on the attendance, achievement and life chances of young people, so it’s fantastic to see the work of Wiltshire Council highlighted through the Index to inspire others to take action to make schools a safe and supportive place to help all young people to achieve their potential.”

Stonewall reports that Wiltshire has taken “great strides forward” in addressing the issues of homophobia.  As well as having a “strong foundation” of inclusive policies and practices, Stonewall highlighted Wiltshire’s successful Zee Tee campaign for zero tolerance of homophobic language in schools as evidence of the good work.

For the third year, Stonewall has produced an education equality index which grades the best performing local authorities at celebrating difference and looking at homophobic bullying in Britain’s schools.

Wiltshire’s Zee Tee campaign was led by young people and was fully supported by Stonewall.  The campaign delivers an all-school assembly and invites students to sign the Zee Tee Pledge and receive a wristband to show their support for respecting difference.

Laura Mayes, Wiltshire’s cabinet member for children services, said: “This is excellent news for our hardworking Voice and Influence team who have taken the message to the schools and carried out inspiring work with them to make all pupils think twice about homophobic language and bullying.  The Zee Tee Campaign has had a real impact and this recognition from Stonewall underlines this.  It’s also a great way to evaluate what we have done and consider how we can carry on moving forward in the future.”