Teachers have the right to ask pupils to address them as Mx, Education Secretary tells LBC
Teachers have the right to ask their pupils to call them Mx, the Education Secretary has told LBC.
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Bridget Phillipson insisted that the long-awaited guidance on trans relationships and schools was still being worked on - more than a year after the election.
And she said that it would include all “practical guidance” for classrooms that is necessary.
Ministers have repeatedly kicked back the guidance for schools, and say they are working through the implications of the review done by Dr Hilary Cass.
On whether teachers can ask to be referred to as Mx, a term which some trans people use instead of Mr, Miss or Mrs, Ms Phillipson told LBC: "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.
"This has been the subject of various legal cases as well about people's rights in terms of how they approach questions of gender identity.
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"We'll consider all areas of the practical guidance that schools need and responding to the challenges that they tell us they've faced.”
A Department for Education spokesperson later told us: “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”.
Ms Phillipson couldn’t say when the long-awaited trans guidance would finally arrive for schools.
Parents have described how they are uncertain what their children are being taught about sex and relationships.
And there were widespread concerns that youngsters are being taught content which wasn’t appropriate for their age.
The Supreme Court ruling on trans spaces earlier this year is also understood to have held up the guidance.
The EHRC is also due to issue new guidance in response to the ruling.
The UK’s equalities watchdog is expected to ban transgender women from single sex public spaces to comply with the ruling from the top court, which concluded that trans women do not have the same rights under the Equality Act.
The guidance is expected to apply to schools, shops, hospitals, prisons and government departments.
On when the guidance might be released, Ms Phillipson said: "So the last government were consulting on this at the point of the election.
"That consultation concluded and we had to look at all of those responses. But also what Happened subsequently was Dr. Hilary Cass published her final review around gender questioning children.
"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. Kass's recommendations. And I do think it's important we take the time to get this right….
“It’s important that we ensure that the two are aligned. Look, this is an important area. This is about children's well being. It's about making sure they've got the support they need and schools have got the clarity of the guidance too."