As the mother of a gay son, I was delighted to see Phil Beadle’s article on Homophobic bullying in British schools (Education Guardian 20.1.09). However, I was disappointed to find the article rather naïve. Referring to statistics on homophobic bullying in schools and self-harming and suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teenagers, Mr Beadle talks of us being: ‘…in a national crisis that almost no-one knows about.’ I empathise with Mr Beadle’s sense of outrage, but I am equally shocked that a secondary school teacher like himself is unaware of the decades of work that have been going on for years in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth by organisations like ‘Schools Out’. LGBT History month, supported by the DCSF and on their website, is now celebrated by a number of schools. ‘Jenny lives with Eric and Martin’ is an interesting historical document, but not much use in the library of a secondary school unless it’s in the section on 60s fashion. If you really want your school to do something worthwhile in your school, Mr Beadle, get in touch with School’s Out.