Responding to Kemi Badenoch’s request, the school standards watchdog carried out a snap inspection and, in a blow to the ‘anti-woke’ brigade and culture warriors, presented a glowing report of Rye College.

A high school in Rye that became the focus of a political and media storm last month after footage of students discussing if a person could identify as a cat went viral, has been given a new bill of health by Ofsted.

Inspectors commended the ‘culture of kindness’ and the ‘sensitive and impartial’ teaching of sex and relationship education at Rye College in East Sussex.  

A moral panic had erupted on both sides of the Atlantic after a teacher was heard telling a student on the video that their views are ‘despicable’ and saying: ‘If you don’t like it, you need to go to a different school.’

The right-wing media jumped on the story, labelling the school as ‘woke’, and claiming parents had criticised the teacher for bringing ‘gender politics’ into the classroom.

Rishi Sunak even got involved. “Teachers … should also not be teaching contested opinions as fact or shutting down valid discussions and debates,” his spokesperson told reporters.

Women and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch also waded into the row, asking the school watchdog to inspect Rye College.  A school leaders union accused Badenoch of ‘grandstanding’ and getting involved unnecessarily, warning that there must be a ‘sense of proportion.’ While in a statement, Rye College said none of its pupils ‘identify as a cat or any other animal.’

In her letter to Ofsted, Badenoch said 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,” …. “raises issues about safeguarding at the school.”

Responding to the minister’s request, Ofsted carried out a snap inspection and, in a blow to the ‘anti-woke’ brigade, presented a glowing report of the school.  

Exonerating the school, the report said: The concerns relating to the teaching of [relationship, health and sex education] that led to this inspection do not reflect pupils’ normal experiences at school.”

In the report, Matthew Haynes, Ofsted’s lead inspector, said: “Pupils are taught how to debate contentious subjects. Most pupils learn to do so respectfully and maturely.

“For example, pupils are clear that there are contested views about gender, sexuality and whether these are assigned at birth. One pupil summed up the views of many when he said, ‘We are taught to think for ourselves, but also to respect everybody’s point of view.’”

The inspection also found that most of parents were “impressed” with how the school handles complex issues.

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said there had been a “huge amount of political and media noise around the incident which led to this inspection and which we can now see very clearly from the findings of this report was blown out of all proportion.”

“The most ridiculous aspect of that media and political noise was the suggestion that children were identifying as animals in schools on a widespread basis – something we have never heard of and never had reported to us by any school or college leader.

“We would urge politicians in particular to establish the facts before leaping on stories in the media and remember that there are real people – students, staff, and parents – who are deeply affected by suddenly finding themselves in the eye of a manufactured storm.”

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward

Image credit: Rye College – Twitter screen grab

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