To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle the bullying of LGBTQ children in schools.

The Government has sent a clear message to schools that bullying, for whatever reason, is unacceptable. It can have a devastating effect on individuals, blight their education and have serious consequences for their mental health.

All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils. They have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies appropriate to their environment but are held to account via Ofsted

In September 2016, we announced a £3 million programme from 2016-2019 to prevent and address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in a sustainable way. This programme focuses on primary and secondary schools in England that currently have no or few effective measures in place.

Six grantees have been funded as part of the programme to deliver interventions in at least 200 schools each. The grantees are Barnardo’s, LGBT Consortium, Metro Charity, National Children’s Bureau, Proud Trust and Stonewall.