LGBTI campaigners claimed a partial victory this evening as the Scottish Government agreed to work on homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Minister for Higher and Further Education, revealed the establishment of a working group to address the "difficulties" some pupils face over their sexuality or gender identity.
The move follows pressure from the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign, which is lobbying for the introduction of new lessons to tackle classroom prejudice.
Research by the campaign found nine out of ten LGBTI Scots experience homophobia at school, and more than 25 per cent have attempted suicide as a result of harassment.
TIE will have a place on the new working group, as will the Scottish Catholic Education Service and the National Parent Forum Scotland, amongst others.
Jordan Daly, co-founder of the group, called the move "a significant step forward", saying: "For the last two years we have campaigned from a grassroots level for LGBTI-inclusive education in all Scottish schools.
"The launch of this working group marks a significant step forward – not only for this movement, but for all LGBTI young people.
"As such, we welcome this news, and now look forward to working alongside the Scottish Government and other organisations including LGBT Youth Scotland and Stonewall Scotland in order to ensure that the support which exists for our campaign translates into real change at a national level."
At a Holyrood debate, Somerville said: "Our education system must support all Scotland's young people to reach their full potential and we have listened carefully to concerns about the difficulties being faced by some young people in schools.
"While local authorities and schools are best-placed to decide how to deliver the curriculum based on local needs and circumstances, there may be more that can done to improve the education experience for LGBTI young people.
"That is what this working group will consider and we look forward to receiving its recommendations."
On the need for change, Stonewall Scotland director Colin Macfarlane said: "Despite significant progress and excellent work being undertaken by many schools to support their LGBTI pupils, we know that progress has been patchy.
"Many teachers continue to feel ill-equipped to tackle bullying of LGBTI pupils and to talk about LGBTI issues within the classroom."
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