Labour clearing way for gender identity lessons in schools, say Tories
New sex education guidance, published on Tuesday, watered down Tory proposals to ban lessons on gender identity.
The Government's updated relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance said schools should teach children the facts and law around gender reassignment, but did not rule out wider debates on gender identity.
From September next year, secondary schools will be told to separate science from opinion in lessons on the topic and ensure they do 'not teach as fact that all people have a gender identity'.
Labour has removed a section from the draft guidance drawn up by the Tories, which stated that 'schools should not teach about the broader concept of gender identity' amid claims that it 'is a highly contested and complex subject'.
Teachers will instead be instructed to 'be mindful' that there is 'significant debate' around the subject and to 'be careful not to endorse any particular view or teach it as fact', the new guidance says.
'There must be strict age limits'
Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, claimed it could pave the way for inappropriate debates on gender identity that failed to distinguish facts from contested views.
'The new guidance opens the door to controversial gender identity discussions that have no place in our schools,' she said.
'Labour's updated RSHE guidance utterly fails to shield children from inappropriate content. There must be strict age limits – children under nine should not be exposed to lessons on sex, pornography, or harassment.'
The Government said it chose to amend the Tory proposals on gender identity after the majority of respondents to a consultation on the matter said they disagreed with them. Almost two thirds of more than 14,000 people consulted said they did not support calls to ban gender identity discussions from the classroom.
Responses highlighted by the Government said it would be impossible for schools to fulfil their legal obligation to teach children about gender reassignment without the topic arising. However, others expressed concerns about 'how to teach about gender identity while complying with duties in the education act to be politically impartial'.
Schools should avoid sex education materials that 'oversimplify' the matter, perpetuate gender stereotypes or 'encourage pupils to question their gender', the new guidance says.
Labour has also chosen to take forward Tory proposals for parents to be able to see sex education material upon request and withdraw their children from lessons if they disagree with the content.
Helen Joyce, the founder of Sex Matters, said it came after Mermaids, a controversial trans children's charity, produced a chart teaching pupils their gender identity 'on a scale that runs from Barbie to GI Joe'.
'Far too much harm has already been done by sexist and frankly stupid teaching materials that lie to children by telling them it's your personality and interests that determine whether you're a boy or a girl,' she said.
Labour's revised guidance, which comes more than a year after the closure of a public consultation on the draft Tory regulations, has also scrapped plans to ban sex education for children under the age of nine.
The previous Tory government had called for sex education lessons to be limited to pupils in Year Five and above amid concerns that children were being exposed to explicit content before they are mature enough.
It had also proposed for issues such as sexual harassment, revenge porn, upskirting and sexual exploitation not to be taught before Year Seven and for discussions of extreme sexual violence not to take place before Year Nine.
'Labour keep dragging their feet'
Primary school pupils will now be taught about things like pornography and deepfakes if teachers become aware that pupils have already stumbled across them online, after a 2023 report by the Children's Commissioner found the average age for exposure to pornography was 13.
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, told the BBC that it might be necessary 'to broach a topic a little bit sooner' than usual in some schools, but that parents would be consulted in such cases.
The Department for Education will issue separate guidance later this year, advising schools on appropriate measures for gender-questioning children, such as whether teachers should adopt preferred pronouns or tell a child's parent about a name change request.
Ms Trott said: 'The Education Secretary's top priority must be safeguarding children and protecting women and girls, but Labour keep dragging their feet on publishing clear guidance on gender-questioning children. This failure is unacceptable. Our children and parents deserve better.'
Margaret Mulholland, the inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'We hope soon to see specific guidance on supporting gender-questioning children, something for which we have been calling for several years.'
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