Pupils should drop Mr and Mrs and refer to staff as “teacher” in an attempt to eradicate gender in schools, a union-funded training session has recommended.

Dr Elly Barnes, the chief executive of the Educate & Celebrate charity, told teachers that they should be moving toward a “gender-free model” in a 90-minute lecture organised by the National Education Union (NEU).

She advised them to dispense with terms such as “boys”, “girls”, “son” and “mother”, replacing them with the gender-neutral words “pupils”, “students”, “child” and “parent”.

Dr Barnes also told the webinar, called Getting the Language Right for 2022, that instead of gendered terms, staff should be referred to as “teacher” or “headteacher” followed by their surname.

She said that the “gender-free model” was “working very well in a lot of schools we are working with”.

However, one of the attendees at the session for NEU members in the North West raised concerns that this would impact terms such as “Sir” or “Miss”, which are only words used “to get your attention” and that teachers “do not take offence” at.

‘Gender-free’ uniforms suggested

In clips of the training seen by The Telegraph, Dr Barnes further suggested that the categories of “male” and “female” be removed from school application forms and the box for gender should be “left open”.

She said that alongside switching the terms “boys” and “girls” for students’ schools should also be introducing “gender-free” uniforms, adding: “Don’t say a boy’s fit or a girl’s fit.”

Teachers were shown a list of alternative terms to use, such as “head pupil” instead of “head boy”, “headteacher” instead of “headmaster”, and “parent” rather than “mother”.

Dr Barnes also showed a “code of conduct” that she encouraged schools to have at reception and said if people did not agree with it they should not be allowed on to the premises.

The poster listed all the bullet points of characteristics protected under the Equalities Act apart from sex.

Educate & Celebrate, which has previously received funding from the Department for Education (DfE) and has government contracts, has separately faced criticism for advising teachers that it is permissible not to tell parents if a pupil declares themselves to be transgender.

‘Thousands of schools’ sign up for ‘diversity award’

The NEU did not respond to questions on how many sessions it had provided which had been run by the charity.

According to the Educate & Celebrate website, one webinar session for unions cost £400. They list Durham County Council as a partner and include testimonials from headteachers.

The website also claims that “thousands of nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and businesses” have signed up to their “pride in equity, diversity and inclusion award”.

The programme costs £1,800 and includes training for all staff and an action plan on how to receive a gold, silver or bronze award at the end of the 12 months.

Paying members of the charity are also provided with policy and curriculum guidance, lesson plans and “inclusive book collections for three- to 18-year-olds”.

Charity ‘undermines children’s safety’

The NEU is now facing backlash, with members saying it should not be funding a charity that is “undermining” children’s safety and “erasing” the existence of women.

According to one attendee, Dr Barnes also told teachers that they should be asking pupils their pronouns and stated that her charity worked with “trans” children as young as three.

The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid professional repercussions, said: “It was propaganda for trans activists and completely against the DfE guidelines, but they were presenting it as fact. Teachers will take what this woman says as fact because the training was organised by the NEU and they’re not going to question their union.”

The female teacher said she was particularly upset at the way Educate & Celebrate “disrespected” women and girls in their advice. 

“They’re trying to erase us by taking away our language, saying we should avoid words like mother, and we’re paying for it essentially,” she said.

The Safe Schools Alliance, a parent-led group that campaigns for better child safety in schools, agreed it was “unacceptable” for the NEU to use its members’ fees to fund the Educate & Celebrate training.

An NEU spokesman said: “An increasing number of teenagers are identifying as non-binary, and education needs to respond to this – but the NEU does not believe that schools can or should adopt gender-neutral language across the board.

“This training came from an external provider and was organised locally. The NEU will review its contents to ensure it is consistent with our policies.”

Educate & Celebrate did not respond to a request for comment.