By Richard McDonald, Assistant Principal, The Education Alliance

One of the achievements of this Pride Month is the Section 28 Justice Coalition’s success in reaching the threshold for a government response to its petition for a public inquiry into the impact of Section 28. Whilst much of the work on Section 28’s impact focuses on the LGBTQ+ community, its enduring legacy in schools and colleges might not be policy but the way it has shaped our profession's approach. The vast majority of today’s school and college leaders either taught or were educated in a system where LGBTQ+ identities were viewed as incompatible with school life.

The repeal of Section 28 has been documented as subtle, with a significant portion of teachers unaware of it in a 2008 study. Despite my being a gay man who was educated under Section 28, I myself was completely unaware of it until several years into my teaching career. Holly Coull, in a chapter of the recent book LGBTQ+ Leadership in Education: Visibility, Vision, and Voice (edited by Alex Baird, Catherine Lee, Charlotte Feather, and Daniel Burman, 2026), echoes this sentiment, describing how she learned about Section 28 as a headteacher. Coull describes the ‘revelation’ she experienced, realising how Section 28 had shaped her experiences as a queer person and queer leader.

Whilst there is evidence to suggest that the effects of Section 28 on LGBTQ+ teachers are fading (with those who came into teaching after 2003 reporting less conflict between their work and their LGBTQ+ identity), a number of studies indicate that the changes in legislation alone have not automatically made it easier for LGBTQ+ educators to be out. Instead, their experiences are impacted more by their local context: the community their school or college serves, the colleagues they work alongside and, crucially, leaders in their setting.

Truly inclusive?
A 2022 survey of LGBTQ+ educators highlighted that whilst most LGBTQ+ educators see it as ‘important’ to be out at school, only 9% are out to most/all people at work. Whilst the choice to come out at work should always be the choice of that individual, especially given that there can be pressures associated with being viewed as a role model or representative for the LGBTQ+ community, we should question whether our schools and colleges are truly inclusive if the pressure to hide comes from within the organisation.

LGBTQ+ individuals are well-documented as being more at risk of poor mental health, which can be compounded by the fear and regret that can be generated by hiding a LGBTQ+ identity at work. Therefore, it is worth leaders questioning which barriers are most impacting this decision, drawing on research that highlights the potential impact on one’s career or job security, lack of support from staff and the fear of bullying from pupils as barriers to being out in the classroom.

Ways of being out at work also need to be considered. Gay and lesbian educators may find it easier to be out if they feel able to talk about their partners openly at work (in the same way that heterosexual colleagues discuss their families openly), but what about people who are bisexual+, asexual, transgender or non-binary? Bisexual educators have highlighted that their bisexuality can be erased when the focus is on their family life, since a partner of another gender means that they are read as gay/lesbian, whilst a partner of the same gender leads people to assume heterosexuality. Those who are transgender or non-binary face a different set of barriers in terms of visibility, belonging and inclusion, highlighting that we cannot view the LGBTQ+ community as a homogenous group.

This is compounded by the current rhetoric around transgender rights and pronoun use that can make public spaces hostile; it is no surprise that national data reflects that these groups are underrepresented in both teaching and leadership roles.

Conflict between personal and professional
Together with the current political climate, Section 28 has held a pivotal role in silencing LGBTQ+ educators through purporting a conflict between being LGBTQ+ and a professional identity in education. Despite its repeal being over two decades ago, the majority of leaders in schools or colleges either taught in or were educated in a system where LGBTQ+ identities were censored. As a result, the concept that LGBTQ+ teachers should hide their identity pervades.

Like Holly Coull, I was unaware of the impact Section 28 had on how I navigated my personal identity and how it impacted my leadership until after I learned about Section 28. If this is the case for those who were directly impacted, how might it be impacting the views and perspectives of cis-hetero teachers and leaders in our schools and colleges?

Academics have been calling, for some time, for this to be addressed in teacher training programmes so that the conflict between personal and professional can be highlighted early on (especially given that ECTs are less likely to be out in schools than more experienced staff). Such a conflict is likely to continue until leaders explore means of demonstrating how being LGBTQ+ can be part of one’s professional identity. Indeed, work by Catherine Lee highlights that being LGBTQ+ can even enhance one’s capacity to be a leader in education.

As we come to the end of Pride Month, it is important for us to reflect on lived LGBTQ+ inclusion and the day-to-day experiences of both the LGBTQ+ children we serve and the LGBTQ+ staff we lead. Areas that we could consider are:

• how LGBTQ+ perspectives are represented in staff culture
• how we might challenge the false notion that being LGBTQ+ is incompatible with working in schools
• how LGBTQ+ staff are supported within career progression

Questioning our own biases and experiences can be a powerful start, leading us to reconsider how to lead inclusively.

Supporting diverse leaders
As part of ASCL’s commitment to making school and college leadership more diverse, support is provided for individual leaders through the ASCL DEIB communities.

Focused on ethnic diversity, LGBTQIA+, neuroinclusive, and women leaders, these communities offer a safe space for members in these groups to support and empower each other, and to raise awareness of issues particularly affecting these groups. All our communities' sessions are underpinned by our values of curiosity, kindness, integrity and courage. Find out more through the links below: 

Ethnic Diversity Community
LGBTQIA+ Leaders' Community
Neuroinclusive Leaders' Community
Women Leaders' Community