Beyond the Binary: What would happen if every staffroom heard my trans kids speak?
Written by Matthew Savage
Former international school Principal, proud father of two transgender adult children, Associate Consultant with LSC Education, and founder of #themonalisaeffect.
Back in 2021, I wrote for this blog a post entitled, ‘Gender is “wibbly-wobbly” and “timey-wimey”, and gloriously so’. How the world has changed since then!
Then, we lived in a world which was ignorant about, fearful of, and discriminatory towards the trans community. However, today, this ignorance, fear and discrimination have been multiplied a thousandfold.
As life has become tougher for most people, populist, and simply wannabe-popular, governments have sought somehow to blame the situation on the marginalised and minoritised groups most negatively impacted by it: refugees, for example; the disabled; and, of course, trans people.
However, the purpose of this post is not to amplify the critical work of the Good Law Project to rehumanise trans identity in the wake of the EHRC’s misinterpretation of the UK Supreme Court’s recent judgment, or to amplify the efforts of Transactual, and other organisations within the UK’s trans and LGBTQ+ communities, to develop a co-ordinated response to the subsequent public consultation.
As a disabled, wheelchair user myself, I am tired of trying to navigate a world designed through an ableist lens uninformed by the experience of the disabled community itself. And one of the things that angers me most about the offensively called ‘trans debate’ is that it never centres trans voices.
And so this post seeks to share some of those voices, namely those of my two, beautiful, kind, adult, trans children, with whom I recorded a lengthy conversation last August, with the intention of turning it into a published article about the publication of which I am now sufficiently scared to postpone.
For the time being, then, instead, please let these snippets speak for themselves:
- “Like with queer identity in the 1980s, even mentioning it was framed as a bad influence on kids… Section 28 came from that mindset. Today the same fear – ‘talk about it and you’ll turn children trans’ – drives the panic around schools.”
- “Trans Day of Visibility is supposed to be positive, yet the very act of being seen now brings more danger: headlines, hostile laws, threats. Sometimes hiding feels safer than visibility that paints a target on your back.”
- “Adults are so far behind. Some still stumble over ‘trans man’ or ‘trans woman’, let alone neopronouns. Children already use that language confidently, but teachers keep circling around the terminology instead of choosing to learn it.”
- “Our existence gets politicised; we’re not allowed simply to live without becoming a talking point. ‘What about the children?’ is rolled out, yet the outrage is profitable fear-mongering, not genuine concern for young people’s wellbeing.”
- “Bullies know that strangers – and even politicians – repeat the same slurs, so their abuse feels legitimised. It isn’t only hatred of who you are; it’s a constant challenge to whether you even are who you say you are.”
- “Trans kids are treated like pawns in a culture war. Nobody is talking to them; everyone talks about them. Policies get drafted, panels convene, yet the voices most affected are left outside the room.”
- “Breaking down gender stereotypes liberates everyone – cis students included – who doesn’t fit a rigid mould. When a classroom loosens those constraints, more young people can breathe and learn as their authentic selves.”
I firmly believe that in a world where to come out as trans has never been more terrifying, what we need most is for trans allies to come out instead – with your families, your friends, your colleagues and the world at large. Because I firmly believe that, at times like these, silence is complicity.
Will you come out as the ally my children, and their trans siblings nationwide, need now more than ever?
Flags: When Patriotism Becomes Politics
Written by Hannah Wilson
Founder of Diverse Educators
We have all seen them. Driving up the motorway, crossing a roundabout in town, suddenly there it is: the Union Jack, or the red-and-white St George’s Cross, flapping over a bridge or painted over the crossing. No football tournament, no royal celebration – just flags, bolted into the landscape.
Let’s be clear – they are not innocent festive decorations (although some people are pretending/ or are naively thinking that they are in support of the World Cup Rugby and the UK Women’s team, the Roses). They are bold political statements.
On a Personal Note
I was back on the road for the start of term INSETs this week and as I drove from Bath to Worcester to Manchester to Matlock back to Bristol and then home to Bath, I lost count of how many flags I saw. I would guess 150-200 flags heading North and the same again heading South. It was noticeable which regions had a higher density and where they felt angrier in their positioning.
As I drove to a school in Manchester on Friday morning to join a MAT’s new staff induction day I felt sick to the pit of my stomach as I approached the school – they were everywhere, on every lamppost, gate and fence.
The sense of unease did not leave me all day. It felt hostile and threatening, despite them not being aimed directly at me. So, I asked the CEO and Executive Team of the MAT if I could speak to the elephant in the room, as I was concerned for the psychological safety of the staff who were gathered in the theatre, a visibly diverse workforce, many of whom had travelled from out of region. They agreed. They later asked me for some advice on how to navigate the start of term with the increasing tensions. I have been thinking about it ever since and what I would do if I was going back to being a school/ trust leader this week.
From Bunting to Battle Lines
In the past, flags have been raised for a coronation, for the Jubilee, or when England is playing in a World Cup match. The flags meant celebration, collective cheer, and coming together as a community, united through the event or the love of the game.
Now? The flags have become a different sort of shorthand. Reform UK supporters and far-right groups have learned that flags are cheap, visible, and impossible to ignore. Hang a Union Jack on a motorway bridge and the daily commute has been turned into a stage for politics.
My fear? How long will it be until the flags become bolder and braver, until the swastikas appear, until the ‘whites-only’ narratives of racially segregated nations get scrawled as graffiti beside them?
Why Roundabouts and Bridges?
Because they are public, they are prominent, and they belong to no one in particular. A roundabout or a bridge or a lamp post does not in theory need permission. It is ultimately a free billboard – one dressed up as patriotism but actually conveying hate.
In conversations with others about the growing campaign and visibility, I have heard two new phrases in the last week:
“Going roundabouting” has become a new hobby – people are taking their partners and their families out on the weekends to support the campaign and spend the day painting the flag on empty canvases.
“Your xxx looks like they go roundabouting” has become a new slur – playgrounds and classrooms will be divided by those who support and those who oppose these territorial and divisive behaviours.
Start of Term
As most UK schools re-open for INSETs, induction days and start of term this week, this cultural shift across the nation matters for educators. Symbols carry lessons. The flag on a bridge is far from neutral. It is an explicit message: “This is ours.”
Depending on who sees it, it can feel like pride… or it can feel like a warning.
It might as well say: “We belong here. You do not”.
What does this mean for schools?
- Our Senior Leaders will need to be visible – out on the gates, being the gatekeepers to the school’s boundaries.
- Our Safeguarding leads need to be anchoring this in the start of term KCSIE updates.
- Our Site Teams need to be vigilant and see if they begin to appear as graffiti on tables, on walls in our schools.
- As educators we need to be checking in on the welfare of our pupils and their parents/ carers.
- As employers we need to be checking in on the welfare of our employees.
Patriotism or Exclusion?
This is the heart of the issue. For some, these flags are a rallying cry for “taking the country back.” For others, they are an unsettling reminder that national identity is being policed in plain sight.
Educators need to help young people ask:
- Who is claiming the flag?
- Who is being included, and who is being left out?
- When does pride tip into nationalism?
- Why do some groups use symbols instead of words?
- How do different flags make different groups of people feel uncomfortable?
We also need to acknowledge that it is difficult to talk about one flag without considering other flags. People will ask why it is okay to fly the Pride flag and not the St George’s flag. Or why the Pro-Palestine flags have been vetoed but the St George’s flag has been supported and stays up.
Pulling flags down is also not the answer, if anything it is the reaction some are looking for to then escalate things. As schools, colleges and MATs, we thus need to consider our approach and our standpoint to flags and we need to apply it consistently for all flags, for all groups.
Why It Matters in Classrooms
What is important to remember is that all students will see these flags – on the way to school, on TikTok, in the news. If we ignore them, we leave the interpretation to whoever shouts the loudest. By unpacking the symbolism, we show students how politics works in the everyday: not just in Parliament, but in the quiet tying of a flag to a lamppost.
Flags are not the problem. The problem is when they stop being about unity and become markers of division.
Last September, we started term with a sense of unease post the faith and race riots of the summer. This September, we start the new term with a sense of unease about flags being weaponised. Both make our school communities feel unsafe, excluded and leads to people questioning their place and sense of belonging.
Final Thoughts
If we ignore it and we do not speak up, we feed the problem.
Check out a blog by Bennie Kara called ‘Flying the Flag’ and a No Outsiders Assembly on flags by Andy Moffat.
You may also want to speak up by signing the Hope Not Hate petition against the biggest Neo-Nazi music festival in Europe being held in Great Yarmouth this weekend.
Teaching Ideas for: Flags, Symbols, and Meaning
1. Spot the Symbol
- Show images of flags in different contexts:
A street party with bunting
A football stadium
A motorway bridge with political slogans nearby - Ask: “What’s the difference between these uses? How does the same flag carry different meanings in each place?”
2. Timeline of the Union Jack
- Research the history of the Union Jack and St George’s Cross.
- Students create a visual timeline: how has the meaning shifted from empire, to WWII, to the 1960s mod culture, to football, to today’s political movements?
- Prompt: “Does a symbol’s meaning change with time, or do we change how we read it?”
3. Bridge or Billboard?
- Debate exercise:
Group A argues that putting flags on roundabouts/bridges is legitimate free expression.
Group B argues it is intimidation or exclusionary.
Group C acts as judges, deciding which arguments were strongest. - Reflect afterwards: “How do we balance free speech with community impact?”
4. Flags Without Words
- Discuss why groups use flags instead of leaflets, speeches, or adverts.
- Activity: students design a non-verbal symbol or image to represent a cause they care about.
- Prompt: “What does your design say, and how might others read it differently?”
5. Critical Media Watch
- Collect recent headlines or social media posts about flags and patriotism.
- Analyse language: is the coverage celebratory, critical, neutral?
- Prompt: “How does the media shape whether we see flags as pride or protest?”
6. Personal Reflection
- Journal exercise: “When have you seen a flag displayed in public? How did it make you feel? Did you feel included, excluded, or indifferent?”
- Emphasise that different reactions are valid — it’s about recognising diversity of perception.
These activities help young people see that symbols are never neutral. They are tools of communication, belonging, and sometimes exclusion. The aim is not to tell students what to think, but to give them the vocabulary to analyse and question what they see.
Recommended Reading & Resource List
Articles & Commentary:
- The Guardian – “The strange politics of flags” (2021) – Explores how Union Jacks have been co-opted into culture wars in the UK.
- BBC News – “Why England’s flag is so divisive” – A short explainer on the St George’s Cross, from football pride to far-right appropriation.
- The Conversation – “Flags and nationhood: who gets to own national symbols?” – Academic but accessible, good for educators to unpack.
Books:
- Michael Billig – Banal Nationalism (1995)
Classic text on how everyday symbols (flags, weather forecasts, sports) quietly reinforce nationalism without us noticing. - David Olusoga – Black and British: A Forgotten History. Not about flags specifically, but brilliant for context on who “belongs” in British identity, and how that story gets told.
- Eric Hobsbawm & Terence Ranger – The Invention of Tradition (1983). Explains how many “ancient” national symbols are surprisingly modern constructions.
- Khalid Koser – International Migration: A Very Short Introduction. Short and sharp, useful for helping students understand the backdrop to debates about identity and belonging.
Reports & Teaching Resources:
- British Future: “How to talk about immigration and integration” – Practical, non-partisan strategies for teachers and facilitators.
- Hope Not Hate: “State of Hate” reports – Annual overviews of far-right movements in the UK, including use of symbols and flags.
- Facing History & Ourselves – Lesson plans on symbols, propaganda, and identity that can be adapted for UK classrooms.
Multimedia:
- Podcast: Talking Politics – History of Ideas (episodes on nationalism and identity).
- BBC iPlayer: Who Owns the Flag? (documentary on the contested meanings of the Union Jack).
- YouTube: Vox – “The surprising history of the American flag” (useful comparison point; shows how symbols shift with politics).
These resources and readings can help educators:
- Ground classroom discussion in research and history.
- Show that debates about flags are not new, but part of long struggles over identity.
- Give students a bigger toolkit for thinking critically about the symbols they see every day.
