Christian MP: ‘DfE guidance must help schools combat gender ideology’

Trans guidance for schools must prioritise the protection of children from the harms of radical gender ideology, a Christian MP has said.

Writing for Conservative Home, Nick Fletcher MP said he believed most teachers and parents wanted guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) on how to counter the influence of such a contentious issue in schools.

Last year, responding to concerns raised by Fletcher, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan encouraged parents to challenge schools over the promotion of ‘partisan theories’.

Challenges

Fletcher said: “Schools across the country are wrestling with the issue of ‘gender identity’ – the idea that we all have an ‘inner gender’ independent from our biological sex” and that sex ed materials endorsing such concepts were being promoted to schools by activist groups.

The situation, he contended, was being exacerbated by social media influencers plugging ‘neo identities’ like “demi” and “asexual”, media outlets promoting gender ideology, and schools adopting a pro-trans stance.

The MP welcomed undertakings from the DfE to consult on the matter, and believed most teachers and parents “will want to see the draft guidance reasserting some basic fundamentals”.

Last July, Schools Minister Baroness Barran pledged that the DfE would “set out a clear expectation that schools respond positively to any reasonable requests from parents to view curriculum materials”.

‘Fundamentals’

Safeguarding children from harm was key, Fletcher argued, and the “only approach compatible with safeguarding” was one in which schools did not “affirm” or “encourage passing identities and social trends”.

He also criticised some sex ed materials for pushing the “scientifically illiterate” idea that “biological sex is a spectrum or that people can be born in the wrong body”, and defended the right of children to single sex facilities and sport.

The Christian MP concluded: “Guidance needs to come soon – and parental consultation is crucial. Shining sunlight on these fundamental issues will help to resolve them.”

Parents excluded

In December, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan addressed incidents of headteachers withholding controversial sex ed materials from parents.

She told the Education Committee that schools “can show resources to parents in person without infringing an external providers’ copyright in the resource” and warned them to “avoid entering into private contracts with commercial providers that seek to restrict their right to show [the materials]”.