.jpg)
Catholic schools in the Diocese of Nottingham are communities of love and respect where all are welcomed and nurtured.
Friday 21st June 2024
Press Release | ‘Precious in My Sight’
Catholic schools in the Diocese of Nottingham are communities of love and respect where all are welcomed and nurtured. This is the case every day of the year in our schools and is evidenced in a range of sources such as inspection reports from the Catholic Schools’ Inspectorate, Ofsted and staff surveys.
The guidance draws upon a recently issued pastoral reflection called ‘Intricately Woven by the Lord’, published by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Everything about the guidance, from its title ('Precious in My Sight') which is taken from the Book of Isaiah (43:4) to its details, makes it clear that it is designed to help our schools to provide the best possible support and pastoral accompaniment to any students questioning their gender in a manner which is consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church. It states clearly that the purpose of the guidance is to respond to the needs of students who are questioning their gender and that it does not go into employment issues.
The guidance explicitly draws schools' attention to all the relevant legal provisions, including the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty in particular. It was produced with the benefit of legal advice and careful consideration of the PSED.
At the time of writing, the Department for Education’s draft guidance on ‘Gender Questioning Children’ was adopted in full. This is stated. It is our intention to update our own guidance when the DfE publishes the final version.
Page 11 – of the 40 page document, of which guidance on Pride is only a small section – gives the full context, alongside the Bishop’s full introductory message which can be found on page 6.
There has been an encouraging and positive response from many school staff and parents in the Diocese of Nottingham and beyond:
“I found the document really helpful, it was an excellent reminder that our duty in Catholic schools is to take care of each and every one of our students and to walk alongside them with love and respect.”
“Thank you for such clear and helpful guidance.”
“I would like to thank you as a grandparent with 7 grandchildren”
“Whilst I am not a Catholic, your statements regarding being born in the image of God and the references to scripture was a joy to read.”
END
Latest news from
Communications
