Kemi Badenoch calls for snap Ofsted inspection at college the place pupil ‘recognized as a cat’

A snap Ofsted inspection needs to be performed at a college the place a pupil was reported to have recognized as a cat, a senior minister has mentioned.

A trainer is claimed to have been recorded telling one other classmate at Rye College secondary college in East Sussex that she was “despicable” for refusing to simply accept the pupil recognized as an animal.

The college has issued an announcement insisting “no children at Rye College identify as a cat or any other animal” following widespread reviews of the incident.

Women and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch has written to Ofsted urging them to “carefully consider” the inspection, which she has requested over “safeguarding” issues on the college.

A educating union has accused Ms Badenoch of “weighing in unnecessarily” and “grandstanding”.

But the previous Conservative management candidate mentioned in her letter to the faculties watchdog that the “widely circulated recording of a teacher acting inappropriately regarding her pupils’ beliefs about sex, gender and a fellow pupil who claimed to identify as a cat”, in her view, “raises issues about safeguarding at the school”.

Ms Badenoch additionally mentioned the trainer’s behaviour was not in line with college guidelines outlined by the Equality Act.

She additionally flouted the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework necessities to “promote respect for the different protected characteristics, as defined in law”.

“By apparently teaching contested political beliefs as fact, including that there are ‘lots of genders’ or that ‘gender is not linked to the parts that you were born with’ – beliefs which are both politically controversial and have no scientific basis – it appears to me that the teacher was in breach of the political impartiality requirements set out in Articles 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996”, Ms Badenoch wrote in her letter.

The minister concluded that the inspection was vital for “both this school and the integrity of the system more broadly.”

Ofsted has mentioned it’s contemplating Ms Badenoch’s letter.

Earlier this week, it was introduced Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has began an investigation as MPs additionally expressed issues in Parliament.

The college met with Department of Education officers to share a “comprehensive update” on occasions that occurred earlier than, throughout and after the recording.

It has agreed to “fully support and engage” ought to an inspection happen.

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Geoff Barton, basic secretary of educating union the Association of School and College Leaders, known as for a “sense of proportion” over the incident.

“This involves an incident at one school in which the trust has already met with the Department for Education to share an update on the events that took place, and the school has said that no pupils identify as a cat or any other animal.

“Now we’ve politicians, together with the Minister for Women and Equalities, weighing in over this matter in a fashion that’s pointless, unhelpful and smacks of grandstanding.”

Mr Barton urged the government to publish long-awaited guidance on issues affecting trans pupils – warning it is of the “utmost significance” the advice is “genuinely useful” to schools and pupils and not “illiberal and burdensome”.

But Ms Badenoch mentioned in her letter: “It should not be necessary, however, to wait for this guidance in order to tackle gross breaches of existing legislation.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to launch new steering on gender points after a report from a centre-right assume tank concluded some colleges are failing to tell mother and father when a toddler questions their id.

However Mr Sunak himself confronted criticism after video footage emerged apparently exhibiting him mocking Liberal Democrat chief Sir Ed Davey ‘convincing all people ladies have penises’.

In April, it was revealed trans pupils could possibly be denied admission to single-sex colleges below steering drawn up by ministers together with Ms Badenoch and Ms Keegan.

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