Teachers who turn a blind eye to casual name-calling of pupils as “gay” and “queer” are colluding in the homophobic bullying that is rife in schools, a government minister will say today.

In a speech to the gay rights organisation Stonewall, Kevin Brennan, the new Children’s Minister, will say that schools have a clear and urgent obligation to end the widespread use of homophobic language as supposedly “harmless banter”.

His comments follow recent research by the Schools Health Education Unit suggesting that half of teachers fail to respond to homophobic language when they hear it. He will make clear that such language should be viewed in the same way as racist abuse and punished accordingly.

“To ignore this problem is to collude in it. Turning a blind eye to casual name-calling, looking the other way because it is the easy option, is not acceptable – not only because it is disrespectful and hurtful, but because it is often the precursor to more serious bullying. We need to create a culture where homophobic bullying is as unthinkable as racist bullying,” Mr Brennan told The Times.

He particularly wanted schools to get tough on the use of the word “gay” as a synonym for “uncool” or “bad”. This, he said, contributed to a culture that could be threatening or uncomfortable for gay and lesbian pupils.

Mr Brennan said that the Government would be developing new curriculum materials for use in schools, “so that children and young people are taught about the importance of equality and diversity in ways that are appropriate to their age”. He wanted schools to be at the forefront of tackling lower-level homophobia in society in general by helping pupils to understand and tolerate diversity.

The research, commissioned by Stonewall, found that homophobic bullying was endemic in schools. Nearly two thirds of lesbian and gay pupils at secondary school, or 150,000 young people, have been victims. In faith schools this rises to three quarters.

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