Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) is a charity addressing prejudice with education in Scotland’s schools. It delivers services for teachers and pupils, including education initiatives designed to address and prevent homophobic bullying, and to counter the effect of disinformation and online hate in schools. The charity is overseen by a Board, employs teachers, and works in schools across Scotland. Their advocacy and campaigning led to Scotland becoming the first country in the world to introduce LGBT-inclusive teaching in schools to reduce prejudice and bullying. Its patron is Scottish comedian Susie McCabe. Its work has been internationally recognised, and commended by the Council of Europe and the United Nations. In 2025, the charity partnered with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in Germany to develop bespoke educational responses to online hate, disinformation, and far-right extremism through its Digital Discourse Initiative project.
Beginning as a campaign, TIE initially put their case to the public petitions committee of the Scottish Parliament, however, despite finding some support their petition was rejected in January 2016. They were successful in achieving their aims in 2018 when The Scottish Government announced its intention to introduce LGBT-inclusive education in all state schools.
TIE have received the backing of leading Scottish political figures, including Nicola Sturgeon, Patrick Harvie, Kezia Dugdale and Mhairi Black. At their 2016 Spring conference, the Scottish National Party moved a resolution to support the campaign and, during the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, all major parties adopted the group's calls for improved teacher training in their election manifestoes. TIE has the support of the Scottish Parliament, after a majority of MSPs signed the group's campaign pledge and committed to supporting their strategic proposals to advance LGBT inclusive education. In 2017, the Scottish Government formed an LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group with TIE to consider policy recommendations to address the issues the campaign had raised, leading to the adoption of LGBT-inclusive education. TIE was shortlisted for Public Campaign of the Year at the 2016 Scottish Politician of the Year awards, won Charity of the Year at the 2017 Icon Awards and 2019 Shelia McKechnie Foundation Awards, won Public Service Award at the Proud Scotland Awards in 2020, and was a finalist for Community Organisation of the Year at the National Diversity Awards in 2021.
TIE succeeded in achieving its campaign aims in November 2018, when The Scottish Government announced that the recommendations of its LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group had been accepted in full, and that LGBT themes would be embedded into the national curriculum in all public schools. The charity's education work is currently ongoing, with its founders expressing that their work will not be over "until we live in a society where we are no longer required".
In 2025, TIE partnered with the global think tank Institute for Strategic Dialogue in Germany to launch the Digital Discourse Initiative project, providing schools in Scotland with strategies to challenge the effects of online hate and disinformation on young people.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), NASUWT and Scottish Trades Union Congress have affiliated to the charity.
In 2026, Jordan and Liam were awarded Honorary Fellowships of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the highest honour conferred by Scotland’s largest education union.
History Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) was co-founded by Scottish campaigners Jordan Daly and Liam Stevenson, after the pair met following the Scottish independence referendum. It was launched on 28 June 2015, the 46th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, with assistance from Jimmy Reid Foundation project Common Weal.
On 5 August 2015, Daly submitted an online petition to the Scottish Parliament on behalf of TIE, calling for the statutory inclusion of LGBTQ issues within all school curricula. On 27 October 2015, campaigners appeared before the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee to give evidence to MSPs. TIE proposed that every school have a teacher trained in how to teach LGBT issues. The committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government and relevant educational institutions, including the Educational Institute of Scotland and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. The committee showed interest towards the proposals.
In September 2016 TIE launched an online pledge, calling on members of the public and MSPs to sign their support for a five-point national strategy towards achieving LGBT inclusivity in schools. Among the proposals were calls for new legislation for LGBT inclusive education in all schools, teacher training and the recording of all incidents of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying by Scottish local authorities. Many parliamentarians immediately signed the pledge, and this led to an increased focus on the topic.
In November 2016, Daly represented TIE and gave evidence during a scoping session into bullying in schools for the Scottish Parliament's Equalities and Human Rights Committee. He argued that the human rights of LGBT young people are being breached in Scottish schools and that under the Equality Act 2010's Public Sector Duties, all publicly funded bodies are required to be proactive in eliminating prejudice and discrimination against protected characteristics, and so schools should be doing more to address homophobic bullying. He concluded by urging the Committee's MSPs to move the group's proposals forward in order to advance the human rights of LGBT school pupils.
In December 2016, human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar – a vocal supporter of TIE – urged the Scottish Government to implement the group's proposals in order to "save lives", stating that "as long as young Scots continue to take their own lives because of their sexuality, then equality will remain a soundbite and sexual apartheid the reality." He also addressed the debate as to whether LGBT education should be implemented in Scotland's faith schools, expressing concerns that faith schools having the option to opt-out of delivering LGBT guidance was a political decision. He stated that if TIE's proposals were to be adopted then they "must include religious schools, as there can be no opt out - no matter how politically inconvenient it may be."
As of February 2017, sixty-seven MSPs had signed TIE's campaign pledge to commit their support to the group's strategic proposals to achieve LGBT inclusive education. This marked a cross-party parliamentary majority in support of the campaign, placing the Scottish Parliament as the first in Europe to express majority support for the teaching of LGBT issues in schools.
A second motion in support of the proposals outlined in TIE's pledge, and the formation of a working group with TIE representatives, was debated at the SNP's Spring Conference in March 2017 and passed with acclaim, having been supported by senior party politicians including Christina McKelvie and Jenny Gilruth.
Aims TIE's campaigners claimed that the lack of LGBT education in Scottish schools was a "national disgrace", holding that "education is an absolutely vital tool to tackle homophobia, biphobic and transphobic behaviours, and discrimination, and it must be utilised." It lists its primary aim as ensuring that all Scottish schools offer an education that is inclusive of LGBT topics, and outlined various methods to achieve this in its campaign pledge.
TIE have argued that LGBT specific teacher training should be made available to all Scottish schools - including faith schools - and urged parties to commit to this during the 2016 Scottish parliamentary election period, claiming that: "it is vital that the next strategy to tackle LGBT-phobia in Scottish schools is the right one - for too long we have dealt with a Section 28 hangover, the next Scottish Government must tackle this properly."
Support
The campaign has gained cross party political support as well as endorsements from public figures across Scotland and internationally; including Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Education Minister John Swinney, Welsh international rugby union referee Nigel Owens, CEO of Ditch the Label, Liam Hackett, human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, former Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell, journalist Owen Jones, former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, actress Emma Thompson, American activist Alicia Garza, Patrick Harvie, Willie Rennie, Kezia Dugdale, Pat Nevin, David Torrance (journalist), Jonathon Shafi and Cat Boyd.
The campaign has received the backing of the Scottish National Party's affiliated youth organisations, the Young Scots for Independence (SNP Youth) and Federation of Student Nationalists (SNP Students). Speaking after the decision was made, Rhiannon Spear - convenor of SNP Youth - claimed that "...the TIE campaign's values are directly in line with those of the Young Scots for Independence (SNP Youth), and we have made a commitment to campaign against all forms of discrimination and prejudice."
At their Spring conference in March 2016, the Scottish National Party moved a resolution from SNP Youth and SNP Students in support of TIE and the campaign's calls for inclusive LGBT education. Youth delegates spoke personally, all of whom cited statistics in the area which highlight higher rates of suicide and self-harm amongst LGBT school pupils. As a result, the party has committed to working with TIE to improve LGBT inclusivity within the Scottish education system. TIE's campaigners called the move "historic".
In March 2016, actress Emma Thompson backed the campaign.
First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, expressed her support for TIE during the 2016 Scottish Parliament election campaign, stating that the group's work was "very impressive" and vowing to work with the campaigners during her current term in government.
In April 2016, the Scottish Green Party launched an LGBT manifesto, in which they expressed their support for TIE, and committed to pushing for many of the campaign's aims within the Scottish parliament - including LGBT specific teacher training.
The former Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, Tam Baillie, has also supported TIE's aims. He publicly backed the campaign in October 2016, arguing that the issues that had been raised by the campaigners regarding homophobic bullying in schools should be "addressed by the Scottish Government and education providers to ensure we live up to our international rights obligations and to create school communities based on equality and respect for all." His successor, Bruce Adamson, has also supported the campaign and has strongly advocated the group's calls for legislation on LGBT inclusivity in schools.
Columnist and author Owen Jones has also endorsed the campaign, insisting that "being exposed to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia at a young age can be damaging to LGBTI people for the rest of their lives".
Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, has also endorsed the group's calls. In December 2016, he stated that while he was accepted when he came out as gay earlier in the year, he is aware that there are "many LGBTI young people" who are being bullied at school. He agreed with the group's proposals for inclusive education, arguing that they should be implemented "to tackle prejudice and spread understanding in our schools, giving LGBTI young people equality and respect, which is their right."
The former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has supported the charity along with the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Richard Leonard.
In late 2017, the charity's work was endorsed by the National Parent Forum of Scotland and Scouts Scotland.