Bristol schools making good progress with homophobic bullying

A gay rights charity has recognised the effort made by Bristol schools to tackle homophobia and homophobic bullying in the classroom.

Bristol City Council has been placed in the top ten of the national Education Equality Index, which is published by Stonewall.

The index shows how well each local authority supports schools, with Bristol making seventh place.

Stonewall Chief Executive, Ben Summerskill, said: “Stonewall was delighted to announce that Bristol City Council secured a place in our inaugural Education Equality Index. Their work to tackle homophobia and homophobic bullying demonstrates a firm commitment to promoting a truly safe learning environment for all young people. We look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure that equality in schools in Bristol remains a high priority, and hope their achievement inspires other local authorities to make schools inclusive for all their pupils.”

The 2011 Education Equality Index Top 10 are:

1 Cambridgeshire County Council
2 Brighton & Hove City Council
3 London Borough of Waltham Forest
4 Sheffield City Council
5 Birmingham City Council
6 Hertfordshire County Council
7 Hull City Council
7 Bristol City Council
9 London Borough of Brent
10 Oxfordshire County Council