Lobby group pushes for Safe Schools Coalition; queer arts dominate Bendigo

A group of Bendigo residents is banding together to campaign for their city’s educators to join the Safe Schools Coalition. 

Teacher Nellie Biggs formed the Safes Schools Bendigo Facebook page after learning no schools inside her municipality had joined the federal government’s anti-bullying program. 

The online group now has almost 100 members, some of whom met last week to plan an approach to win over Bendigo schools. 

They determined the first step was educating schools and the community about the benefits of the coalition, without which she said same-sex attracted, sex and gender diverse students were vulnerable. 

“As a professional educator, my feeling is we need to be more outspoken on Safe Schools in Bendigo,” she said. 

“Its all very well and good for schools to say they're supportive and don't have a problem with [LGBTI students], but we don't have one school flying the flag.

“It's too precious and sensitive a topic to just say we don't need it.”

Speaking at La Trobe University Pride Week celebrations, federal Member of Parliament Lisa Chesters shared her support for the coalition. 

Despite acknowledging the work of health and wellbeing teams inside her electorate’s schools, and saying she had not encountered “hostile opposition” among principals towards the program, Ms Chesters urged them to become members. 

“A lot of students in those schools just want to put their hand up and say they’re proud that their school is part of the coalition.”

She is a member of the Safe Schools Bendigo Facebook page, as are representatives from health services VACountry and headspace. 

Headspace program manager Jenny Singe said her organisation would welcome the interest group into its Pall Mall office. The youth mental health service will host staff from Safe Schools Coalition headquarters at a training day next month.  

Ms Singe regularly received requests from the city’s schools for sexual health and wellbeing education, and said those that joined the Safe School Coalition would receive even more resources. 

“It would help them support kids so things didn't get out of hand,” she said.