Parents win government commitment to reform trans school guidance

Sep 24, 2022 by

from Christian Concern:

A Christian family has been awarded £22,000 in legal costs and a commitment from the government to reform transgender policies in primary schools, following a five-year legal battle.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Nigel Rowe, 49 and his wife Sally, 47, had taken legal action against the Department for Education (DfE) after they and their six-year-old son were labelled ‘transphobic’ by a Church of England primary school for refusing to ‘believe’ in transgender affirming policies.

The government has now decided to settle the case after the Rowes won permission at the High Court for a judicial review of the government’s transgender affirming policies. The recent comments of Attorney General Suella Braverman KC align closely with the reasoning behind Nigel and Sally’s legal case.

School didn’t require psychological assessment

The Rowes had raised concerns after two boys in their sons’ classes at the age of six were allowed to come to the Isle of Wight school identifying as girls.

The school had stated that they did not “require any formal medical/psychological assessment and reporting when a pupil seeks to be treated as transgendered.”

It added that it was working “at every stage” with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust (TPHT) in supporting transitioning children at the school. This year the TPHT has been shut down over safety concerns for thousands of children who have been referred to the clinic.

The Rowes were subsequently given an ‘accept it or leave’ ultimatum by the school after they were told that their son would be demonstrating “transphobic behaviour” if he showed an “inability to believe a transgender person is actually a ‘real’ female or male” or refused to “acknowledge a transgendered person’s true gender e.g. by failing to use their adopted name or using gender inappropriate pronouns.”

The local Church of England diocese backed the school’s position based on its ‘Valuing All God’s Children’ guidance on challenging homophobic, bi-phobic and transphobic bullying.

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