Homophobic language in schools – free resources to address and tackle the issue

Homophobic language in schools, including using ‘gay’ as an insult, remains a huge problem in education today. 91% of LGBT+ secondary school pupils have heard anti-LGBT+ language in the past year, our Growing Up LGBT+ report found.

This troubling statistic highlights the urgent need for action within schools to create safer and more inclusive environments for all pupils.

In response, Just Like Us has launched free assemblies for primary and secondary schools, to help you address and tackle homophobic language effectively.

Our resources are free to download and are ready-to-use, so no preparation time required.

Sign up now to download the resources.

Homophobic language in schools impacts all pupils

Homophobic language in schools can have a profoundly negative impact on LGBT+ young people’s mental health, sense of belonging, and overall well-being. When LGBT+ students hear derogatory comments about their identity, it reinforces stigma and exclusion, making them feel isolated and unsafe. These experiences often lead to lower self-esteem, increased anxiety, and even absenteeism, as students may avoid attending school to escape the hostile environment.

Research has shown that even non-LGBT+ pupils’ wellbeing and sense of safety are negatively impacted by damaging language about lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. Adversely, hearing positive messaging about the LGBT+ community in school, results in lowered levels of suicidal thoughts in all young people, regardless of their gender and sexual orientation.

Our Positive Futures report found that young people who grow up in unsupportive school environments go on to experience higher levels of shame and even less self-confidence in their ability to have a successful career after education.

Download free resources on homophobic language in schools

Our resources are free for teachers to download and don’t require any preparation. We have two assemblies available on the topic – one for KS1 and KS2, and another suitable for KS3 and KS4.

Preventing homophobic language: Primary school assembly

This set of assembly slides encourages pupils to consider kindness and being respectful towards their peers. By opening up a conversation about the impact of homophobic language, the assembly encourages children to think about the words they use and be allies.

It includes a video featuring two young people talking about how hearing homophobic language made them feel and why this is important to avoid.

This assembly is great for encouraging allyship and a brilliant way to also support pupils who come from same-sex or LGBT+ families.

You could also create a display on the topic using our free set of posters.

The impact of homophobic language: Secondary school assembly

This assembly for KS3, KS4 and also suitable for KS5 looks at the harmful impact that homophobic language can have.

It includes a video featuring two young LGBT+ people of colour, Zaynab and Rayyan, talking about their personal experiences of hearing ‘eurgh, that’s gay’ used as an insult at school. They reflect on how it made them feel and why pupils should be considerate of the words they use.

We also have a set of posters available on respecting others and LGBT+ allyship.

Sign up to download our free school resources

Teachers can sign up to access these assemblies, and many more of our resources, for free. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll be granted access to our resources portal when you can search, browse and download hundreds of teaching resources.