College News

QE flies the rainbow flag

Staff and students from QE are celebrating after having secured the next two stages in the Rainbow Flag Award, Inclusive Curriculum and Pastoral Support. The programme, which aims to increase LGBT+ inclusion and visibility in schools and colleges, has six areas to compete and the College has achieved the two most recent sections with ease. Receiving universal praise was the student-led LGBT+ group which, in spite of lockdown, has remained incredibly active through social media. Upon the return to College, they have implemented several positive changes to benefit their peers, including displays, awareness training and a peer-on-peer support group. Staff were also complimented on the pastoral support offered to students wishing to discuss their sexual orientation. Within the curriculum, Physics particularly impressed assessors with staff using the department’s Instagram account to follow others who work towards increasing and celebrating diversity in science with content shared on a regular basis.

Nancy Wall, Student Services Co-ordinator at QE, comments: ‘The assessors were thrilled with how we have been able to incorporate LGBT+ inclusivity into our pastoral programme and the curriculum. The feedback has been fantastic and it’s clear how strong our LGBT+ support is and how much the students appreciate it’.

For more information on the College’s LGBT+ group and other groups within the Student Association, please contact Nancy Wall (nwall@qeliz.ac.uk).