Glory Be. The DfE has published guidance for schools on sex and gender which says that schools must tell students that biological sex is a fact, whereas gender identity is merely a set of contested beliefs linked to the equally contested notion of gender ideology. In the absence of definitive legislation, this will have to do, imperfect though it is. It is certainly a challenge to opposition parties' feelings.
Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said:
This guidance puts the best interests of all children first, removing any confusion about the protections that must be in place for biological sex and single-sex spaces, and making clear that safety and safeguarding for all children must always be schools’ primary concern. Parents’ views must also be at the heart of all decisions made about their children – and nowhere is that more important than with decisions that can have significant effects on a child’s life for years to come.
Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch said:
The principle of biological sex is real. Schools and colleges have specific legal duties that are framed by a child’s biological sex. Sex it not ‘assigned’ at birth. It is observed at birth and schools need to be aware of this. Gender stereotypes do not define sex. This guidance is intended to give teachers and school leaders greater confidence when dealing with an issue that has been hijacked by activists misrepresenting the law. It makes clear that schools do not have to accept a child’s request to socially transition, and that teachers or pupils should not be pressured into using different pronouns. We are also clear how vital it is that parents are informed and involved in the decisions that impact their children’s lives..
Ofsted Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman
I have long called for clear guidance for schools who face difficult choices around how to help pupils who are gender-questioning. This guidance is therefore welcome and will help schools do their best both for gender-questioning pupils and for all other pupils in their schools.
DfE also said that teaching about gender identity falls under schools' legal duty of political impartiality. The Department is also reviewing relationships, sex education and health guidance (to be published in the New Year).
None of this will completely end the problems, or the pressure from scurrilous and/or serially-ignorant, useful-idiot activists, but it is an important Enlightenment-based marker, and should be a booster for biology teachers everywhere battered as they have been with magical ideas.
Well done the DfE, imperfect as you are. Happy Christmas.
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