Should schools be supporting gender diversity?
Trans inclusion should be applauded not criticised in headlines
A recent article in The Telegraph1, published on December 4, 2025, by Julie Henry, attempts to paint schools as undermining parents by supporting trans students. The piece claims that schools are “still supporting trans trans ideology behind parents’ backs”.
It is incredibly harmful to refer to the reality of transgender people’s lives as “trans ideology”. Transgender people exist, transgender children exist, and their lives are real, true, and integral to who they are.
The Law Protects Transgender People
It is critical to remember that the Equality Act protects people who have undergone gender reassignment. The definition in the Equality Act refers to a person who has reassigned their sex. This is not “trans ideology”; this is real life, and reporting that suggests otherwise is cruel and causes harm.
What Is a School Actually Being Criticised For?
The article singles out a school in Rugby for its LGBTQ policy. The policy affirms that trans individuals can use the toilet and changing facilities that correspond with their gender identity.
What is wrong with that? If you are a transgender girl, you use the girls’ toilet.The policy is also criticised for:
Describing telling a pupil’s parents that their child is trans as “outing,” which is accurate, particularly if done without the person’s permission.
Allowing victims of bullying because of their gender identity to choose whether their parents are told. It is absolutely up to that child whether or not they tell their parents, and bullied children need support.
Stating that students on a “transition care plan” can choose their name and pronouns. When someone says, “My name is Mary and I’m a girl, and I’d like you to call me she,” you should “just bloody do it,” as the speaker says.
Misrepresenting the Cass Review and Guidance
Shelley Charlesworth of Transgender Trend claims that the school’s policy “flies in the face of the Cass review, the official statutory guidance on safeguarding, and the Supreme Court ruling”.
We must reject the idea that basic support for transgender children is an “ideology”. Schools should be praised, not criticised, for creating supportive and affirming environments that respect the identity of all their students.
Over to You
What is wrong with teaching children about gender diversity and allowing children to explore and live in their true gender?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please subscribe to share them in the comments below.
This is part of a series examining cases, commentary and hearings concerning gender identity. If you have a case or article you’d like me to review, get in touch.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/04/schools-trans-ideology-children-parents/?recomm_id=06515453-17a1-4206-a7ac-71be4935eeed