Staff at schools across the UK are reportedly being advised to have students drop the use of Sir and Miss in favour of gender neutral terms.
According to a leaked lecture exclusively reported by The Telegraph, Dr Elly Barnes, the chief executive of the Educate & Celebrate charity, told a webinar for teachers that instead of using gendered terms, children should refer to staff as “teacher” or “headteacher” followed by their surname.
Teachers are also being encouraged to use terms like “head pupil” instead of “head boy”, “headteacher” instead of “headmaster”, and “parent” rather than “mother” or “father”.
During the 90-minute lecture – which was organised by the National Education Union (NEU) and was titled ‘Getting the Language Right for 2022′ – Dr Barnes outlined how schools should be moving towards a “gender free model”.
Dr Barnes also suggested that the options of ‘male’ and ‘female’ should be removed from school application forms too, with a box for gender “left open” instead.
The charity leader told the group that the organisation works with transgender children as young as three years old, and that her ideas were working well in schools where it had already been implemented.
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s was advised by Dr Elly Barnes of charity Educate & Celebrate during a 90-minute leaked lecture to the NEU / Credit: Flickr
Dr Barnes – who has received Department of Education (DfE) funding to her charity in the past – says she sees schools as the frontline in changing attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people.
Responses to the lecture, according to The Telegraph, saw one attendee reportedly argue that teachers “do not take offence” to words such as ‘Sir’ or ‘Miss’, claiming that pupils only used them to “get your attention”, while another female teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, also said after the session: “It was propaganda for trans activists and completely against the DfE guidelines, but they were presenting it as fact.
“Teachers will take what this woman says as fact because the training was organised by the NEU and they’re not going to question their union.”
The teacher said that she was particularly upset at the way Educate and Celebrate “disrespected” women and girls in their advice, adding: “They’re trying to erase us by taking away our language, saying we should avoid words like mother, and we’re paying for it essentially.”
The NEU said that while thousands of teenagers are now identifying as non-binary, it will still be investigating as to whether the lecture was consistent with its policies.
Manchester’s libraries to become ‘warm spaces’ with free hot drinks and WiFi this winter
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s libraries are set to become ‘warm welcome spaces’ offering free hot drinks and internet access to those in need again this winter.
After millions of local residents visited the ‘stigma-free safe spaces’ to escape and take refuge from the cold each year since they were first introduced in 2022, Manchester City Council has decided to reintroduce its popular ‘Warm Welcome Spaces’ scheme again this year during the chillier months.
All 22 of Manchester‘s public libraries are, once again, taking part in the scheme this time around.
Designed to ‘provide support to people who need it’ over some of the most challenging months of the year when temperatures drop, the Council’s scheme is offering a range of different services – and they’re all for free of charge.
Free hot drinks, WiFi and internet access, data SIM cards, and newspapers are just some of the things people can make the most of inside these ‘warm spaces’, as well as get access to information, advice, and extra signposting to other support services they made need in the city.
Manchester’s libraries will become ‘warm spaces’ with free hot drinks and WiFi again this winter / Credit: Haydon Waldeck | koolshooters (Pexels)
There will be age-friendly spaces to connect with others, story times once a week at 11am for children under five, and even weekly digital drop-ins too.
Manchester Central Library, Miles Platting Community Library, Hulme High Street Library, Beswick Library, Longsight Library, and Abraham Moss Library are just some of the libraries taking part this winter.
All 22 libraries will be free to enter, and the Council says people can stay in them ‘for as long as you like’.
“For many years, the Council has been a proud supporter of the Warm Welcome Spaces initiative,” explained Councillor Thomas Robinson, who is the Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care at Manchester City Council.
“In Manchester we have been all too aware of the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the hardships people have suffered as a result.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say this work has the potential to be lifesaving. The simple act of offering a person a safe place where they can interact with other Mancunians, to not feel alone or get the help they need, can have a lasting and meaningful impact.”
Find your local free ‘Warm Welcome Space’ in Manchester here.
Featured Image – RawPixel
News
University fees set to increase in line with inflation but Government promises ‘better outcomes’ for students
Emily Sergeant
University tuition fees are set to increase in line with forecasted inflation for the next two academic years, the Government has announced.
Last year was the first year, since 2017, that tuition fees were increased in line with inflation, and now that the Office for Students is forecasting that 43% of institutions will be in deficit without further action to ‘shore up’ their finances, the Government has announced in its ‘landmark’ Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper – published this week – that fees will need to rise again.
To support universities in continuing to deliver world-class teaching and research, tuition fees will rise in line with forecast inflation for the next two academic years.
According to the Department for Education, legislation will then be brought forward, when parliamentary time allows, to enable automatic increases to fee caps in future years in line with inflation – but this will only be institutions that meet tough new quality thresholds set by the Office for Students.
Where standards are deemed to ‘fall short’, the Office for Students will then act quickly to stop the expansion of low-quality courses and will aim to hold providers to account.
University fees are set to increase in line with inflation for the next two years / Credit: PickPik
Universities that underperform could face financial and regulatory consequences, the Government has confirmed, as a way of ensuring public money is spent only on courses that deliver for students and the economy overall.
“Young people from all backgrounds feel they have been let down by a system that talks about opportunity but too often fails to deliver it,” commented Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, as the White Paper was published this week.
“Universities charge significant fees for their courses, but if they are going to charge the maximum, it is right that they deliver the world-class education students expect.
“These reforms will ensure value for money, higher standards across our universities and colleges and a renewed focus on the skills our economy needs.”
The Government has also said it will also work with universities and local authorities to ensure they offer ‘adequate accommodation’ for their students.
It will also support efforts to drive down the cost of living going forward.
The Manc -
16th February 2022 
