Head teacher claims teachers face backlash for celebrating Pride Month in schools
Teachers have reported Pride Month events in schools being toned down and LGBT lessons being cancelled
A Scottish head teacher has claimed staff are too afraid of backlash to celebrate Pride Month in schools.
John Summers-Campbell heads a Highland secondary and also performs as drag queen Miss Lossie Mouth.
The LGBT rights advocate shared his concerns that this year’s Pride events, which ran over June, were more muted due to the “personal and professional cost” of speaking up.
He said teachers were “tired” and “worried” while having to “choose their battles carefully”.
Mr Summers-Campbell, head teacher at a school in Sutherland, told The Scotsman that a school in his local authority area had faced serious online abuse related to Pride commemorations.
Another teacher told of having a lesson plan on LGBT rights and Pride Month cancelled by senior management in her primary school.
In a message to other teachers, Mr Summers-Campbell said: “Pride Month feels quieter in schools this year.
“It feels quieter because many educators are tired. Some are worried. Some are choosing their battles carefully. And some are wondering whether speaking up is worth the personal and professional cost.
“Across education, the loudest voices are often not those advocating for inclusion, dignity and human rights. Instead, they can be the voices seeking to intimidate, discredit or silence those who believe every young person deserves to feel safe, seen and valued.”
The head teacher previously caused controversy by hosting drag queen storytelling event in Moray Library attended by local children.
He was also the first teacher to be given professional recognition by the General Teaching Council for Scotland for his work in LGBT education.
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“For LGBTQ+ educators, these can feel like particularly difficult times,” he added.
“Challenging homophobia or transphobia can result in being labelled as ‘difficult’, ‘political’ or ‘trouble’.
“Raising concerns about prejudice can sometimes attract more scrutiny than the prejudice itself.”
In a group for primary school teachers, one Lanarkshire teacher said her lessons about Pride had been cancelled.
She said she was “heartbroken” by the development.
The EIS teaching union recently recognised the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) group with Honorary Fellowships for its directors Jordan Daly and Liam Stevenson.
Founded in 2015, the education charity has worked with schools to embed LGBT inclusive education in the curriculum.
A spokesman said schools across Scotland are supported by a national approach and policy framework.
“Teachers should be supported to exercise their professional judgement in delivering this learning,” he said.
“Where this is not the case, we would encourage teachers to contact their trade union.”
The spokesman said Pride Month may seem less visible in some schools due to a number of factors including social media harassment.
He said: “Some staff may feel less confident engaging publicly on equalities issues due to social media harassment and disinformation aimed at schools and individual educators.
“This undermines the professional judgement and expertise of teachers and can affect the visibility of this work.”
However, he added that the weaving of LGBT inclusive education throughout the curriculum means other schools have moved beyond one-off awareness events.
“Based on our engagement with schools across Scotland, we are not seeing a wider retreat from LGBT Inclusive Education,” he said.
“We would encourage all teachers and senior leaders to engage with the national professional learning on LGBT Inclusive Education and draw on the Scottish Government’s guidance to support this work.”
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