Trans allies including Kate Nash and Alan Cumming criticise new UK schools sex education guidance
Kate Nash wrote ‘GERM’ so her pro-trans stance would be on record in music history. (Getty)
Kate Nash wrote 'GERM' so her pro-trans stance would be on record in music history. (Getty)
An array of celebrities, figureheads, and activists have signed an open letter demanding Labour revise its “dangerous” new sex education guidance.
The Department for Education’s (DfE) relationship, sex, and health education (RSHE) guidance urges schools and teachers not to teach trans identities “as fact.”
Published earlier in July, the controversial guidance says there is “significant debate” around the trans community and tells staff “not to endorse any particular view” when discussing trans identities.
A statutory review of the guidance was commissioned by the former Conservative government in 2023 after it claimed to have received reports of “inappropriate material” being taught in some schools.
It has faced significant backlash from an array of groups and experts, who argue its provisions on LGBTQ+ subjects are “deeply worrying.”
Pride in Education, a grassroots LGBTQ+ activism group, published an open letter expressing “deep concern” over the guidance and the risk it poses for trans, non-binary, intersex, asexual, and gender non-conforming pupils.
The signees, which include over 930 activists, allies, celebrities, and figureheads of the community, urge education secretary, Bridget Philipson, to revise the RSHE Guidance to centre LGBTQ+ voices.
Pride in Education argues that the guidance, in its current form, is “riddled with contradictions” and puts teachers in an “impossible position.”
“We must be clear. Trans people exist. Intersex people exist. Non-binary people exist. So too do trans and intersex teachers and educators, parents, carers, and foster parents,” the letter reads. “Excluding these very real and undeniable realities from our education system does not protect children. It denies them the opportunity to understand themselves and the diversity of the world around them.”
RSHE guidance trans provisions ‘unthinkable,’ activists say
Signees include musician Kate Nash, actor and TV personality Stephen Fry, and House of Lords Peer Michael Cashman.
Fashion designer Daniel Lismore, who also signed the open letter, told PinkNews that the “unthinkable” guidance risks causing significant damage to LGBTQ+ understanding among Britain’s young people, branding it a step “backwards.”
“As someone who was severely affected by Section 28 at school, I know exactly what it means when a government chooses to silence our existence,” Lismore continued. “I can only imagine the harm this new RSHE guidance will cause a whole new generation of young people.”
In 1988, Section 28 banned what the Tories called the “promotion of homosexuality” by schools and local authorities.
According to a government consultation, 62 per cent of the 14,196 respondents did not support the new policy’s changes to gender identity and gender reassignment, with one respondent saying, “you cannot teach about gender reassignment without teaching about gender identity.”
Marty Davies, campaigner and founder of Trans+ History Week, similarly blasted the government for “positioning trans+ existence as a belief, not an identity that’s been around for millennia.”
“It frames our lives as optional to acknowledge. It’s dangerous, it invites bullying, and it has no place in our schools,” she told PinkNews. “We can’t let another generation go through what mine did under Section 28. School should be a place to thrive, not to be erased.
Davies added that, despite the guidance’s provisions, they have “hope for the future” thanks to the petition’s support.
“This past weekend saw the biggest London Trans+ Pride yet. And now, seeing teachers, parents and public figures unite around the Pride in Education letter for inclusive schooling gives me real hope for the future,” they said. “Especially as someone who was denied that kind of support growing up. Every young person deserves the chance to understand themselves – and the world around them.”
A spokesperson for Pride in Education celebrated the volume of signees the petition has already seen, telling PinkNews it is a “powerful show of unity” among people from a host of different professions.
“The government continues to cause confusion and uncertainty across the education sector with each new piece of trans-exclusionary guidance,” they continued.
The group said it has heard from educators who wish to create an “inclusive environment” but are now afraid of supporting all students through “deliberate political interference and conflicting messages.”
“We stand proudly with trans, non-binary, intersex, asexual and gender non-conforming students,” they continued. “We want every single one of them to know this: your identity is valid, your existence matters, and your voice belongs in every classroom, every curriculum and every conversation about the future.”
Members of the public can sign Pride in Education’s petition using the link here.
