County is one of the best for supporting young LGBT

And Coun John Peck, chairman of the council’s children’s and young people’s committee. says that the council’s Stonewall ranking shows that its strong commitment to fighting bullying and discrimination is making inroads.

He said: “We are immensely proud of the journey we have made over the last four years regarding our support for LGBT young people.

“More importantly, this accolade shows that we’re starting to make a significant, positive difference to the lives of many LGBT young people, their families and their schools.

“We have set up six new LGBT youth groups with Stonwell in areas of the county that previously had none.

“And Stonewall trained group leaders so that they could better understand the current experiences of LGBT young people.

“We also get schools involved in a variety of innovative ways.

“Working with another Stonewall champion local authority, we have developed a theatre piece for secondary schools about preventing and tackling homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.

“And, more recently, we’ve created a second piece which celebrates difference for infant and primary schools.

“We have also run a number of competitions, including Notts Says No to Prejudice and Dragons Den 7.

“Our Dragons Den work has shown a shift in attitude amongst students who previously expressed homophobic, biphobic and transphobic views.

“There is of course no room for complacency, but we are determined to tackle homophobic, bi-phobic and transphobic bullying and ensure our schools and youth clubs are fully inclusive and safe, nurturing spaces for all our young people.

“We hope to continue to be amongst the very best local authorities in the country in the years ahead, but we are fully aware that we can only do this by working with, and involving, young people in every aspect of our work.”