Parents of a pupil in Brighton have been left outraged after the local council leader dismissed their concerns over controversial breast binders as “baseless smears”.
Bella Sankey, who was first elected to Brighton & Hove Council in December 2022, make the remark during a meeting in response to a public question.
She was asked about parental concerns about the teaching of gender in local schools during a meeting of the full council in July.
The pupil’s parents are now seeking an apology from Sankey.
They had expressed their fears over their child being allowed to use a breast binder at schoool without their knowledge, despite some evidence suggesting the accessory negatively impacts health.
They parents said: “It is shameful that Bella Sankey should refer to any parental concern as a baseless smear.
“It is even worse as her council knew about our formal complaint to the school at the time she made this comment … they provided lawyers to the school to help them respond to it.
“Rather than admit the significant safeguarding issues exist, Bella Sankey doubled down in the full council meeting on Thursday, October 19.
“We cannot understand how this statement can be true.
A wide-view shot of teenage music students in a classroom
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“We wrote directly to her well in advance of the meeting setting out our concerns and setting out that the complaint about breast-binders has been conceded by the head teacher.
“There is no sense in which she can therefore possibly fail to recognise our concerns.”
"She said I don’t recognise any of the concerns’ that we have raised."
Adrian Hart, a community activist at PSHE Brighton, initially put the question to the Labour Councillor for Wish.
PSHE Brighton has since said: “Already we have been inundated with concerns from parents, staff and governors at a significant number of schools in Brighton & Hove.
Rear view of teenage girls and boys learning in classroom
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“We have heard about concerns being raised with head teachers about the materials used in PSHE classes and about overzealous punishment for ‘misgendering’ for young children who innocently make a mistake in relation to a fellow pupil or teacher’s chosen pronoun.
“We have heard real concerns about schools socially transitioning children – changing their name and pronoun – which the NHS has said is not a neutral act.
“And we have heard about teachers engaging in discussion about breast-binding and other interventions that irreversibly change a child’s body without (those teachers) having the necessary qualifications or talking to the child’s parents.
“Schools are hiding behind the Trans Inclusion Schools Toolkit published by the council.
“It is time that the council step up, step back from the Toolkit in its current form and take a safeguarding first approach, ensuring all schools in the city do the same.”