Furious parents have claimed that the use of teaching materials in sex education classes for children as young as 14 tells pupils that gender transition would prevent them from being bullied.
Content produced by educational consultancy Chameleon PDE says puberty can be optional and that there are seven genders, a report claimed.
Included in the material is a presentation on gender diversity that tells the story of Tom, who went from being known as Tina May, who said he was no longer bullied at school after his gender transition.
In the story, Tom says that he was upset after being put in the same tutoring group as a “bad kid,” but that “once I transitioned at school, the bullying stopped.”
Tom said there were “whispers and staring” at first, but his transition eventually became “old news.”
Furious parents have claimed the use of teaching materials in sex education classes for children as young as 14 tells pupils that gender transition would prevent them from being bullied (file photo)
Parents and activists have criticized the teaching resources, saying they effectively tell vulnerable teens that gender transition is a “silver bullet” to stopping bullies, she said. Telegraph reports.
James Esses, co-founder of Thoughtful Therapists, a group of doctors concerned about the medical care provided to trans children, told the newspaper that implying that feeling different from classmates or being bullied “can be resolved by coming out as trans is reckless”.
He said children should be taught to accept themselves rather than “fundamentally changing” who they are.
Esses said society should stop teaching children that transition is a “silver bullet” for any problem they face.
One parent, who allegedly claimed this material had been taught at the boy’s school, said the children were taught, “I will no longer be bullied when I become trans.”
They said schools were not dealing with bullying policies and were instead teaching children to follow a surgical or medical path.
Tanya Carter, of the Safe Schools Alliance, told the newspaper that implying that transition is a response to bullying is “very irresponsible” and that they were “horrified” to discover that schools were using such materials.
In the presentation produced by Chameleon, Tom decides not to use puberty blockers after consulting with a GP, but the slide says it is an “option”.
The consultancy says on its website that its clients include a number of schools and councils, including Hull City Council and the Town Hall.
The ‘gender diversity’ presentation, which comes with a range of other resources, is included in a subscription that costs £360 for the first year and £180 for subsequent years.
Parents and activists have criticized the teaching resources, saying it effectively tells vulnerable teenagers that gender transition is a “silver bullet” to stopping bullies (file photo)
Angela Milliken-Tull, co-founder of Chameleon PDE, told the Telegraph: ‘We follow current Department for Education (DfE) guidance on legal relationships, health and sexual education when writing material.
‘We allow schools to edit our materials and constantly update lesson packs as things change.
‘We do not receive any funding from the government. We have an extensive library covering the much broader PSHE curriculum and allowing young people to critically examine a wide range of current topics.
‘We have deliberately chosen to design a library of optional resources that allows schools to personalize their PSHE to the needs of their students. Within the library of over 200 lesson packs, only two focus on gender diversity: the aforementioned lesson pack and a similar one for students 16+. Schools would only use these lessons if they felt they were appropriate for the needs of their students.
‘We know this is a rapidly changing landscape and our 25 years of experience in this area has taught us that nothing stands still in this area for long. We will update our materials accordingly in line with the government’s review of RSHE (relationships, sex and health education). We have no affiliations with any of the aforementioned groups.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “As part of the current review of the Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum, we will consider introducing age classifications and ensuring that teaching materials are of high quality and meet guidelines to keep children safe.
‘We are clear that schools must ensure that all content they use is factual and age-appropriate, and communicate to parents that they are aware of what their children are being taught.
“The Education Secretary is working closely with the Minister for Women and Equalities to publish guidance for schools during the summer term on how to respond to children questioning their gender identity.”