A Government minister has actually required Ofsted perform a ‘snap inspection’ at an East Sussex school after an instructor called a trainee’s viewpoint ‘despicable’ in a conversation about gender and a schoolmate’s claim that she ‘identifies as a cat’.
Kemi Badenoch, Women and Equalities Minister, said in her letter to Amanda Spielman, Ofsted primary inspector, that she thought a ‘widely circulated recording of a teacher acting inappropriately regarding her pupils’ beliefs about sex, gender and a fellow pupil who claimed to identify as a cat’ had actually raised ‘safeguarding issues’.
Ms Badenoch said in her letter, which she shared by means of Twitter: “By apparently teaching contested political beliefs as fact, including that there are ‘lots of genders’ or that ‘gender is not linked to the parts that you were born with’ – beliefs which are both politically controversial and have no scientific basis – it appears to me that the teacher was in breach of the political impartiality requirements set out in Articles 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996.”
In the recording, the instructor said she would report the trainee to school leaders.
The trainee was likewise informed she would no longer be welcome at the school by the instructor if she continued to express her view on the topic.
The argument happened in a class on life education, where trainees were informed that ‘who you want to be and how you identify is up to you’.
Geoff Barton, basic secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “There is a need for a sense of proportion here. This involves an incident at one school in which the trust has already met with the Department for Education to share an update on the events that took place, and the school has said that no pupils identify as a cat or any other animal.“Now we have politicians, including the Minister for Women and Equalities, weighing in over this matter in a manner that is unnecessary, unhelpful and smacks of grandstanding.“To be clear, we have never heard of any issues arising at any schools over children identifying as animals. However, there are nine million children in England’s schools so all sorts of discussions are bound to crop up in classrooms. Teachers and leaders are very good at dealing with whatever situation arises.”
A representative for Rye College, said: “We have already met with the Department for Education (DfE) to share a comprehensive update on the events which took place before, during and after the recording.
“This meeting was a positive step, and we will continue working closely with them to ensure any appropriate action is taken. In the event we receive an Ofsted inspection, we would of course, as always, fully support and engage with the process. We can confirm, no children at Rye College identify as a cat or any other animal.
“More widely, we understand that draft guidance on gender identity in schools is expected to be issued by the Government soon and we would of course welcome what we hope will be clear and helpful guidance to support all teachers and schools in addressing gender identity going forward.
“This will be particularly useful in developing future training to ensure staff feel confident, well-equipped and well-prepared to address these issues.
“We remain committed to offering our pupils an inclusive education in line with best practice and will continue to support our teachers in their endeavours to ensure that pupils’ views are listened to, and encourage them to ask questions and engage in discussion.”
