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The Conservative Party has been accused of starting a “culture war” by announcing a crackdown on “woke” civil servants and sex education in schools, but it may have little effect in practice.
The government is expected to announce on Thursday that it will ban teaching children under the age of nine about sex and that “gender identity” cannot be taught as established fact.
But teachers and school leaders argue that the new rules largely mirror what’s already happening in classrooms, making little practical difference.
The remarks came after the minister threatened in a speech this week to ban civil servants from wearing “random” straps to celebrate their identity, but the government almost immediately backed away from the idea. .
The 10 insiders say they are committed to protecting the safety of children, ensuring the neutrality of public officials, and focusing on the priorities of their constituents.
However, some Conservative MPs have criticized the policy, with the right claiming it does not go far enough as it does little to change the realities of the public sector.
“There’s so much noise and anger that it doesn’t mean anything,” said one former cabinet minister. A right-wing Tory source said: “If you want things to change, you just have to actually change the laws, like the equality duty. You can do that with statutory instruments. The rest will end up being an ineffective bubble. They don’t have the time to amend or repeal the entire Equality Act, but they can use their powers to alleviate its worst parts.
In an official announcement today, the Ministry of Education is expected to announce that sex education will not be taught until Year 9, and from there onwards it will be introduced from a “purely scientific point of view”. Parents always have the right to view the materials given to their children.
The ministry also confirms that “schools should not teach about the concept of gender identity,” but that they are allowed to teach about “sexual orientation and gender reassignment.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: ‘Parents rightly believe that sending their children to school will keep them safe and prevent them from being exposed to age-inappropriate and offensive content. I was shocked to hear that something like this happened in our classroom.
“I will always act quickly to protect children, and this new guidance will do just that, supporting teachers to teach these important topics with care and supporting parents if they wish to do so. provides access to curriculum content.
The new guidelines will be statutory-based, meaning that schools that fail to comply with them could be penalized by Ofsted after an inspection.
Pepe Diacio, president of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he supported a review of existing guidelines on religious, social and health education, but warned against using the topic as a political dividing line.
he said I: “The fact that this review is being used by some politicians to criticize schools and suggest that there are wider problems with the teaching of this subject is completely inappropriate. The changes to the guidance are… It must be based on evidence, not political expediency.”
Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis Academy chain, which has more than 50 schools, told Times Radio the guidance would make “little change” for teachers. Daniel Kebede, from the National Education Union, said: “This is yet another culture war noise from an ill-informed and uncaring government.”
On Monday, Cabinet Office Minister Esther McVeigh gave a speech in which she claimed that “politically correct ‘woke warriors’ have made a concerted effort to reach positions of influence within the public sector.”
He suggested that updated guidance on how to ensure public servants are considered neutral would include “very simple but visible changes” to the rules. She said: “The lanyards worn to carry security passes should not be randomly selected and matched, but should be of standard design to reflect that we are all part of the government we provide for the British people. ”
When the formal guidance was released on Tuesday, there was no mention of straps. A government spokesperson said the permanent secretaries of each department would need to use their own judgment to interpret the rules. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Personally, I don’t mind people expressing their opinions on these things. It doesn’t particularly concern me what strap someone is wearing.”
Those close to Mr Sunak objected, saying he was trying to start a “culture war” ahead of the general election. A No. 10 source said: “Keir Starmer and the left have silenced women seeking same-sex spaces and silenced whistleblowers raising concerns about children being subjected to life-altering gender treatment. They invented the label ‘culture war’ to silence them.”