A Christian couple have withdrawn their six-year-old son from a Church of England school after it failed to consult with parents on new rules regarding transsexualism.
Nigel and Sally Rowe removed their son after another boy in his class began coming into school dressed as a girl and asking to be called by a girl’s name.
The parents said they received a letter outlining a new policy against ‘transphobic behaviour’.
Concerns
Under the new policy, children are deemed guilty of ‘transphobia’ if they fail to accept a transsexual child’s assumed sex; refuse to use a child’s adopted name or chosen pronoun; or experience ‘feelings of discomfort’ at another child being transsexual.
Mr Rowe explained: “A child aged six would sometimes come to school as a girl or sometimes come to school as a boy.
“Our concerns were raised when our son came back home from school saying he was confused as to why and how a boy was now a girl.
“We believe it is wrong to encourage very young children to embrace transgenderism. Boys are boys and girls are girls.”
They stated that adults are free to make their own decisions, but it is not the place of schools to affirm a child’s confusion.
Hateful response
The couple had already removed their elder son a year ago – a decision they said was due to the emotional stress he felt at seeing one of his classmates dressing as the opposite sex.
Speaking on BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire, Sally said that there are lots of families in the same position, who feel they cannot speak out for fear of being labelled ‘transphobic’ or ‘hateful’.
During the interview, Derbyshire read out comments from viewers, where they were labelled “unchristian” and “disgraceful”, and were accused of “transferring their prejudice through the generations”.
The Christian Legal Centre are considering supporting a legal action by the couple. Nigel and Sally intend to challenge the policy in an educational tribunal.