THE terms ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ have been cancelled in a number of British schools which are encouraging other expressions to be used instead to avoid discriminating against ‘non-traditional’ families.

 

So ‘mum and dad’ are not to be used?

It initially emerged that St Luke's Primary School in Brighton does not use 'mums and dads’ in conversation, to acknowledge that children may live in a variety of different family circumstances. The school’s Equalities and Diversity section on its website states, “We value all family types as equally special.”

 

So what do they recommend?

The school states that it uses “the term ‘grown ups’ as a general term rather than ‘mums and dads’ to refer to children’s significant adults so that children who live with one parent; 2 mums; 2 dads; foster parents or who live with extended family don’t feel that their own family make-up is not included. We ask club providers to use this language too.”

 

And then?

A number of schools in the area were found to adopt the same approach, including Saltdean Primary, which states in its Equality and Diversity Policy that "we use the terms parents/carers rather than 'mum' and 'dad' as we recognise that our families are made up of many different people’.

 

What else do the policies address?

St Luke’s policy looks at stereotyping and gender equality. It states: “We value individuality and this includes individuality in children who don’t want to act or dress in a way that is ‘typically like a boy’ or ‘typically like a girl’”. It also says staff “use language carefully to reflect gender equality”, adding: “For example: we wouldn’t say ‘ladies first’, we would teach the children about letting each other through a door as a polite thing to do; we would talk about fire-fighters not firemen; police officers not police men or women; nurse not male nurse which suggests a man as a nurse is unusual”.

 

Anything else?

Teachers at the school don’t ask children to get into boy and girl groups teams in settings such as PE and says: “We do run girl-only sports clubs because these sporting activities are often dominated by boys and so we positively discriminate.” It also says it “occasionally undertakes a  ‘Stereotype Trail’ – checking toys/displays/book corners.”

 

What has the response been?

Reaction online ranged from "This country is broken" and "Has the government lost total control of all education? To “Why do we have to mould our normal lives around the exceptions?”

 

There is support for the position?

One Twitter user said “It’s standard practice to not refer to ‘mums and dads’ when working with kids”. Another wrote: “My little boy lost his dad at the age of six and very much appreciates his teachers not referring to ‘mums and dads’.” Brighton & Hove Council, the local authority responsible for schools in the area, said: “Schools make their own decisions about their equality policies.”