Teachers should not be “compelled” to address pupils by their chosen pronoun if they have a “good faith” objection, according to government advice. New guidance for British schools says children can change their pronouns and wear the uniform of the opposite sex if their parents give permission. However, the guidance says that schools operate under a “presumption against” social transitioning. They will only be able to transition socially in “limited circumstances” and with appropriate safeguards in place, the specifics of which are not yet clear. Head of the Association for Christian Teachers, Lizzie Harewood, said she welcomes the fact that guidance from the government is on the way and that “all sides of the ideological spectrum” have been calling for clarity. “Pronouns and gender identity is one of the biggest issues that we get correspondence on from our members; we get teachers who are concerned about being compelled to use preferred pronouns when they feel that that is a threat to their freedom of speech or their genuinely held religious convictions. “They believe, as I believe, that men and women are created, that sex is binary, and that God did not make mistakes when creating male and female.”
“Although this is a very sensitive topic, and young people need to be treated with great compassion and gentleness, actually affirming a child in a different gender is not going to be in their best interest.” In addition to the permission of parents, the minister for women and equalities, Kemi Badenoch, had suggested doctors must be consulted before allowing children to socially transition as part of a “clinical gateway”. However, this was dropped when the Department of Health said that the NHS would be unable to provide enough doctors to advise on whether children should be able to socially transition. Badenoch had previously disagreed with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, who called it “unreasonable” to stop children from socially transitioning once their parents had consented. But Harewood, who spent 12 years in Secondary Education as an English teacher, says the “presumption against” social transitioning is not strong enough for proper safeguarding against what she describes as gender “confusion”. “I personally feel that school shouldn’t be participating or cooperating in transgender ideology in any way.
Source: Premier Christian News
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