LGBT pupils research removed 'to keep site up to date'

Paul Givan said he had represented everyone as education minister

The removal of research on the experiences of LGBT pupils from the Department of Education's website was done to ensure information on the site is up to date, the education minister has said.

The department itself commissioned the research, which was published in September 2017.

Paul Givan said about 50 documents covering a range of topics had been removed from the site in recent weeks.

LGBT charity The Rainbow Project has described the removal of the guidance as "strange" particularly following a move by the education minister to withdraw guidance on supporting transgender pupils in Northern Ireland schools.

Givan told the Good Morning Ulster programme that officials from his department regularly review materials on the website.

He said this was done "to ensure the information is up to date".

"This isn't about one particular issue that has been removed, there have been multiple documents removed."

He added: "I have said that these are sensitive issues that require delicate handling and no child should ever be subjected to a form of bullying in schools, they should be welcome in our schools, indeed they are welcome in our schools.

"On this particular issue I have been a minister that has represented every single sector in our education system."

The research into the experiences of LGBT pupils had been commissioned by the department in 2015.

It paid an external consultancy £28,690 to examine issues affecting LGBT pupils in post-primary schools.

The final report was based on the experiences of more than 500 young people aged between 16 and 21.

They responded to a series of questions about their experiences in school, including bullying.

The research into the experiences of LGBT pupils was published in 2017

The research was available on the department's website earlier this year, but has since been removed

When the research was published by the department in 2017, two-thirds of the LGBT young people who took part said they did not feel welcomed or valued in their post-primary school.

Almost half said they had experienced bullying as a result of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The research also suggested a range of other issues including:

• A lack of teaching about LGBT issues on the school curriculum

• Unhelpful sexual health education

• Almost four in 10 pupils saying they had been made to feel uncomfortable by teachers

• Those who reported bullying to staff being left unsatisfied by how their complaint was handled

Although the research had been publicly available on the department's website since 2017, it has now been removed.

Alexa Moore, from The Rainbow Project, said it was "just a little bit strange that the department's only really major piece of research on what LGBT pupils go through in their schools has been removed at roughly the same time as the removal of that guidance on how to support trans young people in school".

"We need to do that research on a regular basis to make sure that we're actually finding out the needs of pupils.

"Yes it might be outdated, it's old, but I think it's important that we have that as a benchmark for what LGBT pupils are going through in school."