As we begin a new academic year, we’re excited to share our ‘Impact Report’ for the 2023-2024 school year. The report illustrates the amazing impact we’ve had in tackling bullying in classrooms across the UK over the last year. Last year saw us directly reach more young people than ever before with our sessions, empowering them to create more inclusive and accepting school environments.
Reaching New Heights
2023-24 saw Diversity Role Models deliver more student workshops reaching more young people, than ever before. We delivered workshops in 268 schools, impacting over 45,323 students through delivering over 1,389 student workshops.
Our sessions inspired, empowered and impacted a diverse range of young people and the adults around them, including parents/carers, school staff and governors. We supported 268 settings, with 59% of the settings we worked with being new relationships to the charity.
The Power of Storytelling
In primary schools 95% of pupils said they will respect people who are different to them more after the workshop. After our workshops in secondary schools, 68% of students said they’d support a friend who came out, increasing from 59% before the sessions.
The personal stories of our volunteers drives this impact.
100% of staff agreed that the Role Model's story helped pupils celebrate difference and build empathy. One teacher noted:
“The story was a great way to introduce diversity to the children and help them celebrate their differences. They enjoyed participating in the session”
Student Voice
The impact of these workshops is best expressed by the students themselves. One student from the South East shared,
"I feel more comfortable at school now as I know how to show that I'm a part of the community and how people think of it."
Another student from London remarked,
"If I see someone bullying, I’d be an upstander, someone who does something, rather than a bystander."
Pupils also remarked on how our workshops had encouraged them to be braver in standing up for those who might suffer from bullying because of their perceived ‘difference’. A young person from the North East stated:
“The problem is that the majority of us who do not use prejudice language do not call it out when we hear it. We ignore it. I've learned that this is not enough as people could be really suffering while I walk on by. I think I could be a bit braver now.”
These testimonials highlight the deep and lasting effects our programs have on the students, helping them to feel supported and more confident in their own identities.
Securing Long-lasting Change
Focus groups conducted up to seven months after our workshops by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) found they’d had a lasting positive impact, with outcomes for pupils including:
- Increased awareness of the serious impact of bullying.
- Increased familiarity with school rules concerning bullying.
- A new-found confidence to intervene as an upstander, report or respond to bullying
When NCVO resurveyed staff who’d participated in our Embracing Difference, Ending Bullying training sessions up to seven months after, 100% said they had a better understanding of diversity and difference. Of those who had seen positive changes, 93% attributed this to working with Diversity Role Models.
Join Our Mission
We have ambitious plans to reach even more young in 2024-25, but we can’t do this alone. Whether you’re a teacher interested in working with us, an individual interested in becoming volunteer or supporter, or an organisation seeking to impact the lives of young people through funding a partnership, we need you now more than ever.
Our report found that only 26% of secondary students thought their school was a place where someone would feel safe to come out as LGBTQ+. We want to change this but can’t do what we do without you. Together, we can form a wonderful community of teachers, volunteers and supporters working towards inclusion of those who are considered ‘different’ and the ending of LGBTQ+ bullying.
Many schools don't have the budget to pay for our life-changing workshops so we offer places subsidised by generous donors who share our values and see the impact of our work. To support our work as an individual, visit our donate page here. To find out about partnering with us, visit our partnerships page here . To discuss how we can work together contact us directly at relationships@diversityrolemodels.org.
To learn more about how you can get involved and make a difference, visit our volunteer page here, or contact us directly at volunteering@diversityrolemodels.org.
To find out about our education work and to book a session for your school, visit our education page here, or contact us directly at education@diversityrolemodels.org.
Diversity Role Models Team
