Education Secretary: Teachers cannot insist on ‘gender-neutral’ titles

Teachers, parents and pupils are allowed to refuse to address a teacher by ‘gender-neutral’ titles if asked, the Education Secretary has confirmed.

While Bridget Phillipson said that a teacher could request to be addressed as ‘Mx’, she added that the teacher cannot insist on it, and that upcoming guidance must be in line with the Cass review.

Although the Department for Education’s transgender guidance is still to be published, guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) has recently been released. It states that in teaching on transgender issues, schools “should be careful not to endorse any particular view or teach it as fact”.

Views respected

When asked in an interview by LBC whether teachers could ask to be called Mx, Phillipson replied: “I think teachers can make that request. But of course, what we’ll be looking at is making sure that people are able to exercise their views on this topic too.”

A spokesman for the Department for Education added: “While teachers can make such requests, the Education Secretary was clear it’s not something that they can insist on. Teachers and pupils should be treated with respect.”

However, Transgender Trend, an advocacy group that challenges radical gender ideology, raised concerns on social media about the pressure a request from a teacher could exert: “The key word in the question is ‘pupil.’ Children are not ‘people who can exercise their views.’ The unequal power balance between teacher & child makes such a ‘request’ a demand.

“No adult should ask a child to validate their beliefs”.

Transgender guidance

Phillipson acknowledged that cases of ‘misgendering’ or refusing to use ‘preferred pronouns’ has led to various legal cases and noted: “So I think it is important, given the sensitivity of this area, that we make sure that the guidance we publish is aligned fully with Dr Cass’s recommendations.”

When asked about a timeline for the long-awaited guidance, she emphasised: “I do think it’s important we take the time to get this right”.

In a slot on Times Radio, Philipson reiterated: “We’re taking our time to get this right. I understand the need for guidance and we do believe that is important. But critically, we’re talking about quite sensitive issues of children’s wellbeing.”

She added: “And we want to make sure that any guidance that’s published reflects the important need to get this right for children and young people, but also ensures that schools have the clarity that they want on this important, but quite sensitive topic, because we are talking about children and young people here”.