Nottingham Catholic Schools' Healthy Approach to Sex and Gender
Ben Sears on a Catholic schools’ guide for ‘gender questioning’ students offers hope for religious and non-religious parents alike.
In May 2024, The Catholic Diocese of Nottingham, which oversees 84 Catholic schools in the area, produced the document Precious in My Sight: Accompanying students who question their gender. The document is described as ‘A compassionate and practical guide for use in secondary schools’ and delivers this with an explicitly faith-based context and approach. While many will be sceptical of any guide which focuses heavily on scriptures and theology in its foundations and framing, this guidance explicitly applies the findings of the Cass Review, clearly applies the legal duties of the Equality Act 2010, asserts the rights of schools, students, parents, and teachers, and highlights the need for a strong evidence base when working with students who are distressed by their sex. It makes clear that sex is immutable and binary, explaining that the medical treatment of those with DSDs is outside the scope of the document.
A founding principle of the guide is that we are all created ‘imago dei’ or ‘in the image of God.’ Whether or not one accepts this is less important than how this sets the tone for a school’s culture and what it means for how students are considered and dealt with in practical terms. The message throughout is one of love, compassion, and inclusion, and one which posits psychological health and acceptance of oneself as an embodied human as a desirable outcome for a child.
Drawing on the words of Pope Francis, the guide says that “beyond the understandable difficulties which individuals may experience, the young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created.” It is explicit that “Pastoral accompaniment…. cannot encourage support for surgical or drug-based medical interventions aimed at aligning the body with a student’s perceived gender identity.” It also makes clear that affirmative approaches and those that encourage social transition are not in keeping with the Cass Review. Instead it promotes a sensitive and holistic approach:
“An authentic pastoral accompaniment is one which walks alongside people with compassion, sensitivity and a disposition which treats each person with “the maximum of respect.” It is “capable of reaching out to those who are experiencing complex and painful situations” and it is one which necessitates and nurtures trust, calmness, openness, time, careful discernment, and “a patient and understanding ear, far removed from any unjust discrimination.”
Along with providing clear direction on how to work sensitively with students and parents on questions of gender identity in alignment with the Cass Review, the guide gives clear guidance on specific concerns and the curriculum. It provides clarity on the conflation of sex, sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity which have caused chaos in schools and created serious safeguarding issues. Practical considerations such as: the registration of name and sex; changing names, pronouns; single-sex spaces; toilets; changing rooms and showers; boarding and residential accommodation; uniforms: PE and sport are covered in a way that makes clear the legal position on such issues and aspects which schools must consider.
The guide deals forthrightly with matters relating to the curriculum, including with the way that some student LGBTQ+ groups and events like Pride and LGBT+ History Month have been co-opted and employed as trojan horses to promote gender ideology and kink in schools. While many will disagree with Catholic beliefs and teachings, on homosexuality, for example, what this document does well is to clearly distinguish a school’s legal requirements from beliefs they may feel pressured to espouse or celebrate, such as support for gender identity ideology or queer theory. This clear distinction and positioning is helpful for religious and non-religious schools alike and for teachers and parents, many of whom fear ostracism, discipline or even criminal prosecution if they are not seen to share and celebrate such beliefs.
While many non-Christians will find it difficult to see beyond the guide’s religious framing, and some critics will point to the Catholic church’s numerous scandals and dire safeguarding record as reason enough to dismiss this these efforts out of hand, good guidance is good guidance. The will, resources and culture needed to implement it is a separate issue. What this guide offers is refreshing consistency and the legal and moral clarity which has been lacking from that produced by activist-influenced government, local authorities, and third-sector organisations. As we enter 2025, it is yet to be seen how many more institutions will adopt such an approach and how the current Labour Government will deal with this topic, but this guide may offer reasons for hope and faith.
Has your school adopted a healthy approach to sex and gender? Please share your examples in the comments.
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Impressive. Other schools should follow this example.
Is this document available online anywhere?