LGBTQ+ competency training for UK schools and colleges
Give every member of staff the knowledge, language and confidence to support LGBTQ+ young people safely in your setting.
LGBTQ+ young people in the UK experience disproportionate levels of discrimination, exclusion, and mental health challenges, and nowhere is this more evident than when they are in school.
The School Report, published by Stonewall in 2021, found that only 29% of bullied LGBT pupils said that teachers responded when they were present during homophobic, transphobic or biphobic bullying.
Give your staff the training to support LGBTQ+ young people safely
A young person will not always choose the designated or trained person for support. They will choose an adult they trust.
Whole-setting training means anyone supporting students, from the lunchtime supervisor and cover staff to the teaching assistant, governor and headteacher – is working from the same professional baseline.
Rainbow Wise also gives your leadership team evidence of staff completion and current professional development.
Miss Hannah Matthews
TEACHER OF MATHEMATICS
“LGBTQ+ young people are more than 4 times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers. However, if a young LGBTQ+ person has a single supportive adult, they are 40% less likely to attempt suicide.”(The Trevor Project, 2021.)
Why schools and colleges need something different
Most LGBTQ+ training for education settings is delivered as a one-off session.
But real-life situations do not only happen on training days.
They happen months later, in corridors, classrooms, pastoral conversations, sports sessions and unexpected moments.
Rainbow Wise gives staff clear, current guidance they can return to exactly when they need it.
It is licensed, online and self-paced, with training that can be completed in manageable sections and updated as law and guidance changes. A 12-month licence also gives staff 24/7 online access.
Rainbow Wise Provides:
- A clear, interactive e-learning course with bite-sized modules that can be completed in small chunks or in one sitting
- Access from any device, at any time
- A shared baseline across your whole staff team
- Progress tracking so you can monitor completion
- Downloadable and printable resource documents and reference sheets
- An annual licence with 12 months’ access, 24/7, so staff can revisit the training whenever they need it
- Updates when relevant law or statutory guidance change
- Impact assessments to evidence improvements in staff knowledge and confidence
- Downloadable reports on whole-school or whole-college engagement for your records
- Licence options for schools, colleges, trusts and local authorities
- The Rainbow Wise Award, once 90% of your staff team has completed the training
Built for the whole school community
Rainbow Wise is designed for the adults young people rely on across the school or college day. That includes:
- Headteachers and principals
- SLTs
- DSLs
- Teachers and lecturers
- SEN specialists
- Teaching assistants
- Pastoral teams
- Business staff
- Technical staff
- Lunchtime supervisors
- Maintenance staff
- Cover staff
- Peripatetic staff
- Governors
- Sports coaches and activity leads
- Chaplains
The aim is to give every member of staff enough knowledge, language and confidence to respond safely and appropriately when it matters.
Course objectives
Participants will gain a clear understanding of:
- The lived experiences of LGBTQ+ young people in UK schools and colleges
- Current legal obligations, statutory guidance and best practice
- Appropriate and inclusive use of language and terminology
- What to say, what to avoid, and why language matters
- How to respond to incidents of homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying
- How to support students who are LGBTQ+ or questioning their identity
- How to manage challenging situations calmly and professionally
- How to contribute to a respectful, informed school or college community
Delivery format
Rainbow Wise is designed to fit around real school and college life.
The training is:
- Fully online and accessible on demand
- CPD accredited, with certification upon completion
- Flexible enough for INSET, twilight sessions or individual study
- Approximately an hour in total
- Divided into bite-sized modules, all under three minutes long
- 12 months’ access, 24/7
- Available to revisit throughout the annual licence
- Updated when relevant guidance changes
Staff can complete it in one sitting, work through it over time, or return to specific sections when they need a refresher.
“Dignity is one of our core values at West Felton CofE Primary School, and this work is about ensuring every child, family, member of staff and visitor feels truly seen and valued. We are not making major changes to our practice; we are strengthening it by equipping staff with the knowledge, understanding and language needed to uphold dignity in every interaction.
Our hope is that children see tolerance, kindness and inclusion lived out around them each day, and that they are positively shaped by it. Our staff have really welcomed the training, which is clear, concise and evidence-based.”
Helen Hughes
Headteacher, West Felton CofE Primary School
Make LGBTQ+ capability training part of your school or college professional development
Give your whole staff team clear, practical, CPD-accredited training they can rely on when it really matters.
Book a call with our team and talk through your options in more detail.
“This training highlighted nuances that would not have previously occurred to me. It has equipped me with useful phrases to tackle bullying, clarified terminology and highlighted the extent of the challenges young people from the LGBTQ+ community may face. An informative and accessible training platform which addresses many of the worries we, as educationalists, may have around inclusivity for all. A clear, non-threatening, low-stakes, high-reward training package.”
S Richards
TEACHER, YEARS 5 & 6
“The training is great and covers everything that we needed. It’s really user friendly and I love the way its chunked into small sections so that it doesn’t need to be completed in one sitting.
A fabulous resource for anybody who works with the general public but especially young people.
I would highly recommend the Rainbow Wise training.”
Lisa Butcher
PSHE/RE LEAD AND TEACHER OF MUSIC