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Health and Wellbeing

Coming Out

Respond well when a pupil tells you about their sexual orientation or gender identity, and support them at the pace they choose.

  • 16 minutes
  • 7 modules
  • 0.5 CPD hours
  • Certificate

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What you'll learn

  • Understand coming out as a personal process that may happen many times
  • Respond calmly and supportively when a pupil comes out to you
  • Let the young person decide who knows, when and how
  • Avoid assumptions about a pupil's identity based on appearance or interests

About this course

When a young person comes out to you, what you say in the next minute matters to them. Most staff want to get it right, and many worry about saying the wrong thing.

It helps to see coming out as the young person experiences it. It's their decision, on their timetable, and it's rarely one conversation: they may do it again with each friend group, each club and each part of their family. Anonymous accounts from young people describe what helped them, such as having their feelings taken seriously and their names and pronouns used correctly.

You'll also look at government guidance on not making assumptions about a pupil from how they dress or what they enjoy, so you can support them without getting ahead of them.

  • For early career teachers, governors and 4 other roles. Post-16, primary, secondary and special.

7 modules

Open in order

  1. Coming out as a unique, personal decision

    2 min

  2. Introduction

    1 min

  3. Coming out as one stage in an ongoing, developing exploration of a persons sexual orientation or gender expression

    3 min

  4. Coming out as a process

    3 min

  5. What to do if a student come out to you at school

    5 min

  6. Some (anon.) personal testimonise about coming out, and discussion around these

    5 min

  7. Wrap up

    1 min