A teacher at Rye College, in East Sussex, was recorded saying that a pupil’s opinion on gender was “despicable”, after the student said there are only two genders and that anyone identifying as an animal is “crazy”.
The discussion, which was recorded and posted on social media, has been widely reported as prompted by the pupil’s refusal to accept that a fellow student identifies a cat, but a statement Aquinas Church of England Trust, which runs Rye College, said that “no children at Rye College identify as a cat or any other animal”.
In the recording, the teacher can be heard saying: “Gender is not linked to the parts you were born with – it’s about how you identify.”
“If you’re talking about the fact that cisgender is the norm, that you identify with the sexual organ you are born with…that’s basically what you’re saying, which is really despicable,” they added.
Badenoch has requested a snap inspection in a letter to Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman, saying that the teacher acted “inappropriately” and that the conversation raised “safeguarding issues”.
She said that teacher was “not acting in a way consistent with the Equality Act’s requirements upon schools” or with Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework’s requirements on promoting respect for protected characteristics, saying that the belief that people cannot change their gender identity is “philosophical belief worthy of respect".
Badendoch added that the teacher was “teaching contested political beliefs as fact”, which she believes breaches the Education Act’s political impartiality requirements.
Ofsted said it is “considering the letter”, but is yet to confirm whether an inspection will follow.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has ordered an investigation into the incident at the school, with a Department for Education spokesperson saying that teachers “should not teach contested views as fact”.
In a statement, the school’s trust said it has now met with the DfE to discuss the events, and 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,” it added.
This comes as the DfE is set to publish guidance on gender identity in schools, which is expected to ban schools from allowing pupils to change their gender without their parents’ consent, as first reported in The Sun.
The trust said it would welcome the guidance, and hopes it will be “clear and helpful guidance to support all teachers and schools in addressing gender identity going forward.”
In a blog published by CYP Now, Jonathan Stanley, manager of the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Childcare said that the ramifications of this incident for the social work sector are "not solely about sex and gender identification", adding: "It stands to have an impact on how the upbringing of a child is to be supported".
"Childhood is a time of exploration of identities," he said. "As children explore other aspects of their identity how might they be supported? The Quality Standards are written with an assumption that carers will approach the matter as would those holding parental responsibility, indeed, as all parents."
