Question

To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment has been made of the merits of the Church of England's recent guidance to nursery and primary school teachers on transphobic bullying.

The Church of England Education Office issued an updated version of their Valuing All God’s Children guidance in November 2017. This guidance is designed to support primary and secondary schools in addressing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying. The new guidance reflects the latest equalities legislation, enabling schools to be inclusive environments where all pupils are treated with dignity and respect in line with the Church of England’s Vision for Education.

The guidance has been distributed to every Church of England primary and secondary school along with every Diocesan Director of Education. This guidance has been welcomed by the schools and Directors of Education. Training to accompany the guidance will be rolled out to dioceses and schools from February next year.