The PDF guidelines were sent to nurseries and primary schools so they could explore gender identity from a young age.
The children are able to discover who they are by being free to experiment without any negative comments or judgements.
Nothing is off limits and there are no gender stereotypes.
The Church Of England and has now reinvented their previous homophobic literature to cover Transphobic and Biphobic bullying.
Dignity for all
The guidelines take a strong stance against any bullying based on sexual or gender orientation.
The new advice is likely to spark a debate among many who view it as a fashionable trend, or a step too far.
The LGBT charity Stonewall have embraced the change wholeheartedly by saying that it is a "clear signal that homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying will not be tolerated"’.
The definition of homophobia as stated in the dictionary is; 'having or showing a dislike of or prejudice against homosexual people', biphobia; 'dislike of or prejudice against bisexual people' and transphobia; 'dislike of or prejudice against transsexual or transgender people'.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has voiced that, ‘We must avoid at all costs, diminishing the dignity of any individual to a stereotype or a problem’.
Such bullying has been said to lead to serious mental health disorders. Ones the Church of England are trying to avoid by taking the approach to value all of God’s children in their schools.
Teacher suspended
This has been announced the same time as Christian Teacher Joshua Sutcliffe has been suspended and faces the sack for praising a group of girls with the phrase, ‘Well done girls’. The group in question had a transgender pupil in it. The child’s mother has lodged a complaint and the teacher now faces a disciplinary hearing.
Scottish Lib Dems have now backed Gender Neutral uniforms in schools, which is also supported by the UK’s deputy leader Jo Swinson. It calls for allowing children the choice to wear what they wish, trousers or skirts, regardless of gender to help beat ‘harmful gender stereotypes,’ that encourage segregation.
A school in Lowe has implanted gender neutral uniform already after concerns about the length of pupil’s skirts and to help cater towards their transgender pupils.
Only time will tell if adopting this stance by the Church of England will encourage others to follow suit, and stamp out gender and sexual orientation bullying in school settings.
