One of our Learner Performance Tutors (LPT) identified a need for an LGBT group as there has not been one set up within the college previously. She saw this as an excellent way of not only promoting British values and equality within the college, but also as a means to providing an inclusive and supportive group that students could shape to meet their own needs. An aim established early on by the group was to promote equality and diversity; the group does not only focus upon LGBT but also other inequalities within society. Membership is now inclusive to everyone so that people who may not be ‘out’ or do not want to disclose their own identity, or people who simply want to be a part of the group are also welcome to join.
The LPT was keen from the outset that this would be student led, and she would be there in a purely supportive role to attend meetings and events. It was the students who therefore decided that they wanted to increase awareness of the LGBT community in College, but they also wanted a group where they could come together and talk about issues and provide emotional support for each other. It has had a positive impact on the members as they have been able to make new friends, it has reduced their social isolation and helped them address their other additional needs, welfare issues and mental health concerns such as anxiety. It has also had the added positive outcome of improved college attendance of the members.
Having been invited to a ‘Freedom Event’ ran by Klaine at De Montfort University Leicester, it was agreed that this would be good for the students to take part in as it would give them the chance to utilise their creative skills by creating placards whilst celebrating equality. The students engaged in the activities on the day; from a march, to activities focusing on the inequalities people face in society.
As an outcome of this trip, our students wanted to gage the opinions of other learners within the college and they created a survey that has been completed by 137 students. The results have been analysed and will be disseminated, and an action plan will be created ready for the group to continue working on next term. It has highlighted the need to continue addressing mutual respect and tolerance within tutorials as this is a vital part of the college culture and needs to be regularly reflected on and measured. Next academic year, the group intends to continue to grow and will run more college based events. They intend to fine tune and repeat the survey with a larger sample of students so that the results are representative of the whole student body and will inform their plans for the future.
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