File Photo The Green Party will launch today a report into the safety of lgbti young people in schools, which will show the Education Review Office "is completely failing to detect gross breaches of legal obligations in both individual schools and as a whole". Rainbow issues spokesman Kevin Hague will present ‘How Safe Are Our Schools?: An analysis of the Current Policy Framework Aimed at Protecting Queer Young People in New Zealand Secondary Schools’ at an event in Auckland this afternoon. “The report looks into what the schools are doing to create a safe environment for young queer people in New Zealand,” Hague says. “Our schools have a legal requirement to keep all students safe, including preventing bullying and teaching about diversity, but this isn’t the reality reported by students or advocates in all schools.” Hague says the study went straight to the source; the schools, the principals and the Education Review Office to fully assess what support is out there. “Queer students are very vulnerable and affected by the environment created in schools, with higher rates of suicide, self-harm and depression. However, not all schools would even cooperate in providing the legally required documents. I think there are some conclusions to be drawn from that,” he says. “This report shows that the Education Review Office is completely failing to detect gross breaches of legal obligations in both individual schools and as a whole. “Our young people deserve better and practices urgently need to be improved. “The Green Party takes the recommendations of this report seriously and we will increase support for schools to protect students from the serious consequences of bullying and exclusion.”Note: Kevin Hague will also be part of the Auckland Uni Election Debate tonight. 7.30PM at HSB1.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 28th August 2014 - 10:03am