A teaching union will campaign against government plans to force schools to tell parents if their child changes gender.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) agreed on Friday to oppose what teachers described as the “compulsory ‘outing’” of pupils to parents.
Teachers at the union’s annual conference in Bournemouth also said they would campaign against a ban on any aspect of “social transitioning” in schools, which could include allowing children to change their pronouns or use lavatories or changing facilities of the opposite sex.
The motion, approved by the majority of delegates at the conference, was drawn up in response to draft government guidance on gender-questioning children.
The long-awaited advice states that schools in England should not accept all requests for social transitioning and should involve parents in any decision that is made.
Speaking in favour of the campaign against the guidance, Kathryn Barton, an NEU member, said she knew of a seven-year-old who had transitioned during the summer holiday and said that “not a single pupil” had a problem with it.
Ms Barton said: “They [the pupils] very easily changed his pronouns that they used to refer to him.”
She added: “This [government] guidance instructs schools to make parents aware if a child requests a name or pronoun, except in the very rare situation where informing parents might raise significant risk of harm to the child.
“It’s OK if it’s not a significant risk, that they are just going to be verbally abused. It’s absolutely absurd.”
‘Regressive trash’
Midge Lowe, a teacher from Doncaster, said the Government’s draft guidance was “regressive trash” and said teachers must campaign for it to be withdrawn.
She said: “This guidance, refusing to acknowledge the existence of trans children, is a risk, is harmful. Refusing to allow a cautious but early social transition is harmful and encourages risk-taking behaviour in later stages of life where it presents much greater harm.”
No delegates at the conference spoke against the motion, which also stated that “schools, colleges and external providers should not change or remove LGBT+ inclusive policies or curriculum content as ‘knee-jerk’ response to political rhetoric”.
It comes after The Telegraph revealed that primary school teachers are being told to allow children to change gender without informing their parents.
An analysis of more than 600 school equality and trans policies reveals that up to three-quarters misrepresent laws protecting sex and gender.
‘Not a neutral act’
Two years ago an NHS-commissioned report by Dr Hilary Cass, a paediatrician, warned that allowing children to socially transition to their preferred gender was “not a neutral act” and could have a “significant” impact on their “psychological functioning”.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
