Scots teachers could be banned from using 'girls and boys' in Tory led constituency

Teachers in the constituency of Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross face being banned from calling pupils girls or boys under new gender neutral rules.

The MSP, whose party have been highly critical of the SNP’s push on gender reform, has been left red-faced after Moray Council confirmed they are planning new guidelines for schools.

The Conservative-led local authority - where Ross was previously a councillor - is, so far the one admitting they are considering proposals to ban teachers from referring to pupils by their sex.

The plans were discovered by the Sunday Mail in a survey of all 32 local authority areas following private concerns raised by teachers and parents that schools across the country were blocking the use of male and female terms.

But Tory council leader for Moray Kathleen Robertson claimed she was unaware of the plans.

Douglas Ross said: “These proposals are being looked at by officers and it’s been confirmed to me that councillors have not even been informed about this, let alone taken a decision.

“I expect the review of guidance will confirm that teachers and staff should continue to refer to pupils as boys and girls.”

Furious opponents of gender neutral policies called for the plans to be axed.

Susan Smith from children and women’s right campaign group For Women Scotland said: “No schools should be think they need to protect children from biology.

“As the Cass report made clear pandering to this anti-scientific ideology is far more damaging to children.

“Guidance for schools needs to be urgently revised, but not in such a way that reinforces this dangerous clap trap.”

Ross is the Conservative MP for Moray and is also an MSP for the Highland and Island who served as a councillor in from 2007 to 2016.

Most councils said they followed national advice and guidance from the Scottish Government regarding equality and diversity.

That guidance, published by the Scottish government in August 2021, sets out how schools can support transgender pupils and outlines preferred pronouns of trans children.

And in the 26-page document, the words “girls and boys” are used.

In March last year, the Scottish Public Health Network estimated that 24,000 adults or 0.5% of the Scottish population is transgender.

One primary school teacher, who asked not to be named, said: “Councils follow advice from the Scottish government and we have an SNP government who will not stop obsessing about gender ideology which is now seeping into schools.

“Teachers are being told to avoid calling kids “girls and boys “ is ridiculous.

“Children are children and should not be afraid to be the gender they are.

“There are rumours across councils about plans to ban ‘boys and girls’ and if Moray Council brings this in, it won’t be long before the rest follow. It’s a dangerous precedent to set.”

Another teacher added: “There is nothing being circulated in writing as yet but it’s already becoming the status quo.

“We’re already having to avoid referring to our pupils as boys or girls when writing school reports and are being encouraged to call the kids pupils or children instead.

“It’s a very sad day because it’s pushing adult views onto children. Yes some children are transgender but the majority or our school pupils are not.”

A Moray council spokeswoman said: “Discussions around this are ongoing and updated guidance is currently under consideration which will provide advice on good practice.”

The Scottish Government declined to comment.

It comes after The Cass Report into gender identity services, published last month, found that children had been let down due to a lack of research and evidence on hormones and puberty blockers.

Last year the Scottish Government’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill was blocked by the UK Government.

Speaking previously, Ross has said that gender reforms should be dealt with on a UK-wide level.

At a Scottish Conservatives conference in Glasgow in April last year, he told party members that there were issues with a Scotland-led approach, particularly around obtaining a gender recognition certificate.

When the Tory leader was asked about the case of Isla Bryson, the convicted rapist who was sent to a women’s prison before being moved back to the male prison estate.

Asked if Isla Bryson is a man or a woman, he said: “A man. He’s a man who raped a woman – that’s as clear as day and I don’t know why other politicians can’t give that straightforward answer.”

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