Finally, an anti-homophobia school film

Just seven years ago it would have been illegal for local authorities to "promote" homosexuality in schools the way they're currently doing up and down the country. Of course, you can't exactly promote homosexuality. But you can promote respect, understanding and equality. And that's exactly what FIT – Stonewall's anti-homophobia film for schools – is doing. "After watching FIT, we realised it's wrong to use the word gay as a cuss word. You shouldn't outcast your friend if they're gay." Navdeep, a Year 8 pupil at a south London school, gives a typical reaction to the story which uses humour, hip hop dance and sports kit to communicate with young people in a way that makes it easy for them to engage with the issues raised. It's already been compared by reviewers to "a gritty version of E4's Glee " and a Stonewall youth volunteer praised it for being "a kind of gay Sister Act 2 crossed with Channel 4's Skins ". Local authorities are key stakeholders in helping us to promote gay equality through FIT – the first feature film of its kind for schools. Stonewall currently works with a quarter of all local authorities in Britain through our Education Champions Programme . It is aimed at undoing the hangover of hate and confusion that Section 28 had on local authorities – and especially their schools. By the next general election, Stonewall aims to have every local authority in the country engaged as a member of this groundbreaking programme, which provides bespoke support, guidance and resources – like FIT – to each local authority in tackling homophobic bullying in their schools. Recent YouGov research for Stonewall found that nine in ten secondary school teachers said pupils currently experience homophobic bullying in their schools. Yet nine in ten teachers have never received any specific training on how to tackle the problem. One in five secondary school teachers said they wouldn't feel comfortable addressing gay issues in the classroom and one in six said they wouldn't feel confident responding if a pupil were to ask questions regarding gay issues. Through working directly with local authorities, schools and young people themselves, Stonewall provides the support for teachers that has been desperately lacking in the wake of the festering legacy of Section 28. We recently sent FIT on a special interactive DVD to every single secondary school in Britain. It's already having a profound effect on teachers who have waited years for a resource like this to restore their confidence in tackling gay issues in the classroom. Nina, a teacher from Hull, told us this week after using FIT for the first time in her classroom: "When I heard about this film to tackle homophobia, I thought it might be 'okay'. However I was wrong. It's brilliant! The film is spot on. A great, hard-hitting resource.' FIT was shown at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival last weekend and will also feature as part of the festival's nationwide touring programme from May to October this year. But there are some audiences we knew we had to reach urgently. Liverpool – the city where gay teenager Michael Causer was murdered in 2008 and police officer James Parkes was recently savaged and hospitalised in a homophobic hate attack – was clearly a key area. Michael Causer's mother Marie accompanied FIT writer and director Rikki Beadle-Blair when it toured around Liverpool in February to coincide with LGBT History Month. The tour specifically targeted the schools that the perpetrators of these hate crimes recently attended. Marie Causer is a powerful champion of gay equality and keen to support the initiative. She knows only too well that homophobic bullying needs to be tackled early on, to prevent it leading to violence on the streets later on. At Stonewall, we know that young lesbian, gay and bisexual people often don't see the reality of their lives accurately reflected in films. FIT is aimed at everyone. It challenges the bullies. It finally helps the teachers. And it restores the self-esteem that is too often battered out of gay people – on the playground, in the classroom and on Britain's streets.