Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 2:15 pm on 28 September 2016.
I think it’s 13 years since I first attended a Stonewall Cymru—we used to call it homophobic bullying then, without the additional relevant terms now used. I think you were probably present at it too, 13 years ago. I was recently, however, contacted by the parents of a young man who was suffering homophobic bullying—I won’t name the local authority—but although the local authority and teachers claimed to have awareness to respond, that was not exhibited. It was only after he contacted me, and I referred them to Stonewall Cymru, that they then discovered the access to independent advocacy. What action can you take, all these years later, to ensure that schools and local authorities know that they should be advising such young people of their right to independent advocacy at the beginning of the process?