‘Knee-jerk’ school policy changes after gender ruling should be opposed – union

Any introduction of “knee-jerk policy changes” in schools in response to the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman should be opposed, a teaching union has said.

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, the UK’s highest court ruled the terms woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.

This means transgender women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) can be excluded from single-sex spaces if “proportionate”.

Delegates at the annual conference of the NASUWT voted to call on the teaching union to “campaign and collectivise against any knee-jerk policy changes in educational settings”.

An emergency motion, which was passed by delegates at the conference in Liverpool on Saturday, warned that the Supreme Court ruling may lead to policies in education workplaces “that put transgender and non-binary teachers at significant risk of abuse, inequality and harm”.

It suggested many schools are already “failing to provide safe spaces for non-binary and transgender teachers and students”.

Delegates at the conference described the Supreme Court ruling as “dangerous” and “disheartening”.

The urgency motion, which was carried by delegates, called on the union to work with the Government “to strengthen the legal protections of transgender people and protect safe spaces for transgender people”.

It added that model guidance for schools on supporting LGBT+ members should be reviewed “to ensure schools continue to meet their obligations under the Equality Act”.

During a debate on the motion, delegate Loren Wright, from East Sussex, said: “The Supreme Court ruling a few days ago that trans women are not women has set a dangerous precedent. A precedent that is already having a domino effect both nationally and internationally.

“This, coupled with the rise of the far right, could increasingly mirror those damaging effects of Section 28 in the modern day.

“I am imploring you, conference, to be that ally amongst the sea of vitriol. Send a clear message that we do exist. Trans and non-binary people do exist. We do not need fixing, because we are not broken.”

Headteacher Nik James, from the union’s national executive, said: “It was a really, really disheartening day the other day when the court judgment came down.

“I sat at my desk for some time in stunned shock at what had happened. I couldn’t believe it.

“It’s really important that we go back out into our communities, into our workplaces, into our schools, and discuss this and put forward our dismay and disgust of what has been decided.”

Claire Ward, from the union’s national executive, said: “If you see or if you are made aware of any negative changes, any knee-jerk responses to policies in your workplace around trans rights, please do let us know.

“Because if we don’t collectivise around them, as soon as we know that there are rumours of something being amended, something punitive being put into those policies, we’re on the back foot.

“Because if they’re already in place, it is harder to get them changed.

“Obviously, we will campaign. That is what we do.

“But we must collectivise. We must collectivise as soon as we hear any noise about anything being made different.”

The debate came after education unions earlier this week called on the Government to provide clear guidance to schools and colleges on how to interpret the law in regard to children questioning their gender.