News

Pupils at Pirie Park Primary School were delighted to have Rangers Women’s player Kirsty Howat visit as they participated in the Rangers Charity Foundation’s Diversity Wins programme.

Kirsty was able to watch the programme in action before having an insightful question and answer session with the P7M pupils.

Pupils were keen to know about how Kirsty had tackled discrimination as a female player as well as the challenges she faced balancing her previous job and her footballing career.

They were also dressed up in their PJ’s as they held a fundraiser for Foundation partner, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

Diversity Wins is a school education programme run in partnership Glasgow City Council as part of its Towards Better Futures initiative and the Foundation’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

P6s and 7s across Glasgow learn about discrimination and prejudice, stereotyping and employability. There is a focus on the different skills sets required to do different jobs, equality among young people and LGBT+ education in line with the school curriculum.

Speaking after seeing the Diversity Wins programme in action Kirsty said:

“I think it’s great that we can have conversations around diversity and inclusion in schools. We’re in a world now where there’s so many different cultures and beliefs so why should we not embrace every single one of them?

“It helps us learn more about each other and learn so much about the world.”

“Letting young people know that it’s okay to challenge stereotypes and call people out when they hear discrimination and giving them the confidence to do that is a vital message to spread. All the pupils today have really embraced the workshop and they’ve learned about what discrimination is which is key. The Diversity Wins programme is really great at raising awareness about those important issues.

“Women’s football is constantly facing different challenges and I think if the younger generation can see women playing sport and see it as normal it’s only going to help the game grow.”

The Diversity Wins programme features interactive workshops and was delivered to 790 pupils in 25 schools in 2023. After the course, 85% of pupils had gained a good/excellent understanding of what discrimination and prejudice is, how it can look, and the impact it can have on people. Through activities, the young people also looked at ways they can help stop discrimination.

Miss Mackenzie, P7M teacher at Pirie Park also added:

“I think it’s really important that we tackle the issues of diversity and inclusion from a young age because no matter where you go in the city, there are diverse demographics and young people are mixing with others from different backgrounds on a daily basis. I think we as educators have a responsibility to get them to realise that there’s lots of different people around the world and prepare them for the diverse world that they’re going to grow up in.”

“Being so close to Ibrox which is obviously an integral part of the local community really helps engage the pupils.”

“Having Kirsty visit as well as staff from the Rangers Charity Foundation come to the school to deliver an important message can really help get through to them.”

“We instil it in the curriculum, and we always mention how important diversity and inclusion are but having that message repeated by organisations like the Rangers Charity Foundation, that can amplify the message that we as teachers try to give as well.”

Workshops have been designed to break down barriers between young people from different backgrounds, promote anti-bullying, help prepare children for different employment pathways and motivate pupils to share the messages they have learned with families and friends.

To find out more about our Diversity Wins programme click HERE.