§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what reports he has received indicating that section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 has prevented teachers from dealing with incidents of bullying in schools. [109369]
§ Jacqui SmithSection 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 has never applied to schools, but it is clear that it has had a significant effect on teachers' perceptions.
In research carried out in over 300 secondary schools by the Health and Education Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London (Playing it Safe, November 1997) some 44 per cent. of the teachers responding said that section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 had made it more difficult for them to address the needs of gay, lesbian and bisexual pupils. The report noted that
teachers often referred to confusion about promoting homosexuality and how this had caused them to be reluctant to touch upon certain issues.More recently, Dr. Debbie Epstein from the Institute of Education, University of London, who has conducted confidential interviews with teachers as part of her 472W research into sex education in schools (Schooling Sexualities, Open University Press 1998), concluded that
Section 28 has created an atmosphere of confusion and fear. Because teachers do not know how to comply with it, they err on the side of caution. As a result, they choose to ignore, wherever possible, homophobic harassment and bullying. This creates a permissive environment in which pupils believe they can, and do, get away with it.