Less than half of LGBT+ school staff are out to their pupils, research has found.

And 43 per cent of school staff are unsure if colleagues would be comfortable coming out as LGBT+ at their school, according to the research, commissioned by the charity Just Like Us.

The research found that only 40 per cent of LGBT+ primary and secondary staff responding to the survey were out to their pupils, while 31 per cent said their colleagues and school board were “a barrier to doing LGBT+ inclusion” with their pupils.

Meanwhile, LGBT+ pupils are “disproportionately struggling” with mental health, the findings suggest.

Only 58 per cent of LGBT+ pupils surveyed had felt safe at school on a daily basis in the past 12 months, compared with 73 per cent of non-LGBT+ pupils.

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LGBT+ young people responding to the survey were twice as likely to contemplate suicide, while black LGBT+ young people were three times more likely. 

Just Like Us chief executive Dominic Arnall said schools and colleges needed to demonstrate to LGBT+ people that they were “safe and welcome”, and said LGBT+ acceptance went hand-in-hand with positive outcomes for all pupils.

He said: “Our report into the experiences of LGBT+ young people growing up in the UK in 2021 has revealed some horrifying news.

“We are really concerned too by the high number of school staff members who feel they have to hide being LGBT+ in their jobs and it is awful to see that Section 28 continues to have a knock-on effect on school staff in 2021.

“The independent research undoubtedly shows that LGBT+ pupils are disproportionately struggling.”

The independent research - which surveyed 513 primary and secondary school staff as well as 2,934 pupils aged 11-18 across the UK - also found:  

• 43 per cent of school staff are unsure if colleagues would be comfortable coming out as LGBT+ at their school.
• 84 per cent of young people are pro-trans but are less likely to think their teachers are.
• 48 per cent of pupils have had “little to zero” positive messaging about being LGBT+ at school in the last 12 months.
• LGBT+ young people are three times more likely to self-harm (31 per cent have self-harmed compared to 9 per cent of non-LGBT+ young people).
• LGBT+ young people are twice as likely to have depression, anxiety and panic attacks as well as be lonely and worry about their mental health on a daily basis.
• 68 per cent of LGBT+ young people say their mental health has “got worse” since the pandemic, compared to 49 per cent of their non-LGBT+ peers.

Thousands of school and college pupils have already signed up to take part in the annual School Diversity Week, run by Just Like Us, which happens from 21 June this year.

The research, published in a report entitled ‘Growing up LGBT+’,  was carried out independently by market research provider Cibyl.