Children are having their lives 'destroyed' by delay of trans guidance

Children are having their lives ‘destroyed’ by a lack of advice on trans issues, says teacher sacked for mis-gendering pupil

  • Kevin Lister, 60, says children’s lives are being ‘destroyed’ by delay of guidance 
  • He was sacked for not referring to a pupil by their preferred pronouns last year

A maths teacher who was sacked for refusing to affirm a pupil’s gender change says youngsters are having their lives ‘destroyed’ by the delay of trans guidance.

Kevin Lister, 60, who taught at a further education college in Swindon, lost his job for not referring to a 17-year-old pupil, who was born biologically female, by their preferred male name and he/him pronouns in A-level lessons.

He is now taking legal action against the school for unfair dismissal, and blames ‘weak’ heads who are being influenced by ‘trans activist teachers’.

Mr Lister said: ‘The longer that there is uncertainty and the longer the Government doesn’t make a definitive statement, then the more kids and more young people’s lives will be destroyed.’

Mr Lister, 60, is now taking legal action against a further education college in Swindon for unfair dismissal, and blames ‘weak’ heads who are being influenced by ‘trans activist teachers’

He added: ‘The transgender industry has got a hold on schools that the tobacco industry never managed to get.

‘My experience is that senior managers are very weak and they basically give the whip hand to the trans activist teachers.

‘It is absolutely outrageous that we’re allowing this in schools. This is normalising the teaching of absurdities.’

Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis academy trust, which has 52 schools and educates more than 31,000 pupils, said his organisation was forced to come up with its own LGBTQ guidance in the absence of Government policy. 

He added: ‘We have a policy and a code of practice around our support for young people who are questioning their gender and support for parents.

‘We have students in primary schools and secondary schools, as all schools do, who don’t identify with their birth gender. There needs to be a sensible approach.’

The call for clear advice follows claims among campaigners that teachers are keeping parents in the dark about their trans policy while they await official guidance from the Government. 

The Department for Education is now expected to write to headteachers to tell them they have an ‘obligation’ to share material on sensitive topics, such as same-sex and transgender issues, with parents.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has been asked to clarify her definition of a woman after she appeared to roll back on her stance on trans women.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has been asked to clarify her definition of a woman after she appeared to roll back on her stance on trans women

Last night the Association of School and College Leaders, which represents more than 22,000 school and college leaders, urged Mrs Keegan to publish the policy ‘as soon as possible’. 

Julie McCulloch, director of policy, said: ‘Decisions about how to best support pupils who identify as transgender are complex and sensitive.

‘It is important that this guidance is published as soon as possible to help schools navigate what is a rapidly evolving landscape and respond to issues in ways that maintain a safe environment where the privacy and dignity of every pupil is respected.’

But as pressure mounts, campaigners who do not believe children can be transgender fear the guidance could go against their beliefs after schools minister Baroness Barran used the phrase ‘transgender children’.

Asked in the House of Lords for an update on the timing of the draft policy, Baroness Barran said the guidance will ‘support schools in relation to transgender pupils’ and ‘aim to provide clear information to support their consideration of how to respond to transgender issues’. 

Stephanie Davies-Arai, director of the campaign group Transgender Trend, said: ‘The Government guidance should be politically neutral and to call a child who is experiencing change, related distress, transgender, is already politicising that child.

‘The Government must not jump ahead and diagnose children, it must provide guidance that safeguards children who are experiencing distress as in any other area.’

A Department for Education spokesman said ‘it is working closely with the Women and Equalities Minister to provide guidance and we plan to consult on a draft before final publication’.

Wales wants to make it easier for people to legally change sex despite controversy over a similar move in Scotland.

The Labour-led government is to demand that Whitehall hands it the power to make laws about gender recognition.

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has already said that he wants to allow people to self-identify and that trans women are women.

Welsh Conservatives leader Andrew RT Davies said: ‘This is dangerous. These powers must not be devolved.’

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