Teachers can ask to be referred to as ‘Mx’, education secretary confirms
Bridget Phillipson said teachers can ask to be called Mx but Labour will “looking at is making sure that people are able to exercise their views on this topic too” (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Bridget Phillipson said teachers can ask to be called Mx but Labour will "looking at is making sure that people are able to exercise their views on this topic too" (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said trans and non-binary teachers can ask to referred to as ‘Mx’ by pupils rather than other gendered titles, but the Department for Education states it is “not something that they can insist on”.
Mx is a gender-neutral title which some trans and non-binary people use as an alternative to gendered ones like Miss, Mrs or Mr.
As an honorific, Mx is not new and dates back to the 1970s but in recent years it has become more widely adopted and understood, with several large brands in the UK adding the title to their online forms in 2024 following a campaign by journalist and activist Tom Pashby.
Speaking to LBC, Phillipson said trans and non-binary teachers can make the request to be referred to as Mx.
“But of course,” she continued, “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.
“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 subsequently told LBC: “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”.
During the interview, Phillipson also said the long-awaited trans guidance for schools is still being worked on by the Labour government – more than a year after the Party took power from the Conservatives – but would include all “practical guidance” needed.
“The last government were consulting on this at the point of the election,” she said.
“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 Cass’s recommendations. And I do think it’s important we take the time to get this right.”
She continued: “It’s important that we ensure that the two are aligned. Look, this is an important area. This is about children’s wellbeing. It’s about making sure they’ve got the support they need and schools have got the clarity of the guidance too.”
After being promised for a number of years, the then-Tory government under Rishi Sunak published non-statutory guidance in December 2023.
The document aimed to provide information to teachers and school staff on how to approach a range of issues related to trans youngsters in educational settings, such as pupils socially transitioning, changing names and pronouns, access to single-sex spaces, admissions to single-sex schools and sport. However, it came after a number of controversial leaks which suggested the government could compel teachers to out trans pupils to their parents and ban social transitioning altogether.
This draft guidance was then the subject of a 12-week consultation followed by review of the responses by the Conservative government, and then Labour since July 2024.
Earlier this year, Phillipson said the government would “publish revised gender-questioning guidance for our schools this year to provide that necessary further clarity”.
In the meantime, the government published its new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance in July, which urged schools to be “mindful” that there is “significant debate” about transgender identities stated and staff “should be careful not to endorse any particular view or teach it as fact”.
The RSE guidance outlines that schools should not “teach as fact that all people have a gender identity”.
Adding that schools should also be “mindful to avoid any suggestion that social transition is a simple solution to feelings of distress or discomfort” and materials which could “encourage pupils to question their gender” should be avoided.
A statutory review of RSHE guidance was announced former prime minister Sunak in March 2023, after the Department for Education said it had received “disturbing” reports of “inappropriate material” being taught in some schools.
Then-education secretary Gillian Keegan – who said she supported outing trans pupils to parents – said the review was needed to “make sure all children are protected from inappropriate content”.
