National Education Union warns the UK Government is ‘seriously failing to support trans people’
The NEU has been hosting its annual conference this week.
The National Education Union (NEU) has hit out at the UK government for not providing inclusive education for LGBTQ+ students.
The NEU has been hosting its yearly event in Harrogate. A motion passed on Wednesday (5 April) seeking to improve inclusive education across the UK.
Commenting, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the NEU, said: “Nearly 20 years after the abolition of Section 28, too many students still go through an education experience which isn’t LGBT+ inclusive.
“Inclusive teaching is essential for students who are LGB, trans or non-binary, and has also been shown to bring many benefits for all students.”
Dr Bousted stressed how important it is to “empower” LGBTQ+ students and young people. This means they can develop positive attitudes from their time at school and beyond.
“Teachers need time and support to develop curriculum resources which are inclusive and representative.”
She noted this was a particularly vital time with figures like Andrew Tate for providing “intolerant and divisive content.”
The NEU wants to provide resources to help schools support LGBTQ pupils.
She added: “Teachers need time and support to develop curriculum resources which are inclusive and representative.”
Continuing, she said: “Such time for building a creative curriculum is in very short supply.”
She closed: “The government is seriously failing to support trans people”. This, she argued, made the creation of LGBT+ spaces and networks “more necessary.”
Reacting to the news on Twitter, someone shared: “Too true. It’s currently a postcode lottery for our children and educators which isn’t good enough.”
Another commented: “Proud to be in a union that is standing up for LGBT+ teachers & students. We need school structures & a curriculum that supports all of our students, whether they are gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender or non-binary.”
“I helped second this today and it passed. A great day for equalities in our union,” someone else wrote.
It comes as the UK’s equalities watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), has been strongly criticised after issuing new guidance relating to trans people.
On Monday (3 April) the EHRC published its guidance to Kemi Badenoch, the women and equalities minister, regarding the definition of ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act.
The EHRC has suggested redefining ‘sex’ as ‘biological sex’. This would exclude trans people from single-sex spaces, support groups, and more. It is a suggestion at this point.
Mermaids, the trans charity, said it was “extremely distressing” to see the EHRC “seeking to strip trans people’s rights.”
Attitude has reached out to the Department of Education for comment.