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Why is Oak National Academy so frightened of using the words girls and boys in their school resources? While it doesn’t openly promote gender identity theory, by avoiding using accurate words to describe the two sexes and linking them to the right body parts they may as well be doing so. The result is that their RHSE materials use dehumanising language which ends up obscuring the subject matter.

Oak was set up in 2020 as an emergency response to the Covid epidemic by the Department for Education, providing free online lessons on all subjects across the primary and secondary curriculum. In 2022 it became a fully funded arm’s length body (ALB) paid for by tax payers.

Its future looks secure. Among the reasons for funding by the DfE, according to the latest review, is the need to:

“continue to provide a national contingency for remote education should it be needed in the event of disruption”

We’ve found enough misleading information and language in Oak’s RSHE materials that make them unsuitable for use now, never mind making it the default for online learning in a time of national emergency.

Neutral language and misinformation

Oak offers 13 lessons about periods across the year groups. Those in biology and the sciences use accurate language, making it clear that menstruation is something that happens to females only; for instance the learning outcome for year 8s’ Science module is:

“I can explain how the menstrual cycle prepares adult human females for sexual reproduction”

But children learning about periods in PHSE may be less sure. In these modules, the preference to use the biological term ‘female’ rather than the usual language ‘girls and women’ is distancing and literally dehumanising.

Male and female are terms for the two sexes across all species, more suitable to biology textbooks; girls and boys, men and women are the words for human beings and are the words used in everyday life.

But the only sex specific word Oak uses to talk about periods is ‘female.’ The ordinary word ‘girl’ is not used at all. It’s queer theory diluted. Queer theorists believe that gender is innate and body parts are interchangeable, best summed up by the activist claim that it’s possible to have a girl’s brain in a boy’s body. Oak doesn’t appear to subscribe to this belief system but fear of offending those who do has led them to write resources which avoid sex specific terms where possible. The evidence is when talking about periods to 12 year olds they use the word female only 5 times, but the non-biologically specific ‘person’ 12 times. ‘People’ don’t have periods, girls and women do.

Confusing messages

Learning about periods, Year 7 children, just out of primary school, may be unsure whether the lesson is about periods or environmentalism. The module Managing Menstruation evaluates menstrual  products, with a strong sell on reusable products such as reusable pads and menstrual cups as they are “better for the environment.” This may be the case but surveys show only around 25% of women feel comfortable using them. Using a menstrual cup requires confident familiarity with your body, not something that a 12 year old girl is likely to have achieved.

Oak have produced all their RSHE lessons in partnership with Life Lessons and it shows. Life Lessons is a small private provider of RSE materials which are steeped in trans activist language:

“Menstruation can be a scary and confusing time for many people and so it’s important we prepare young people with what to expect and how they can manage their periods. Whilst most people with vaginas get their first period at the age of 12, some can be as early as 9 so it’s important we start these conversations early.”

“Periods vary from person to person in terms of the length of the cycle, how heavy they are and also the amount of pain that is experienced. People with vaginas can have irregular cycles in their first few years of menstruation…”

Oak doesn’t use the obscure ‘people with vaginas.’ But their materials erase girls all the same by never naming them.

Condoms for everyone

Like the stress on reusable menstrual products, the lesson for 14-year olds on using condoms downplays sex differences, by promoting condom use for girls as equivalent to use by boys.  

“external condoms are worn on the penis, internal condoms are inserted inside the body. Therefore, condoms can be worn by everyone.”

“So internal condoms, let’s work out how to use those.

Here’s how to use them safely.

Firstly, again, check the expiration date and look for that CE and kite mark, ensure the packaging isn’t damaged.

Insert the condom carefully.

Squeeze the ring at the closed end and guide it into your body.

Then ensure the open end stays outside so it’s easy to remove.

After use, twist the open end to seal the contents before removing it.

Again, dispose of it properly.”

Nowhere in the video does it say the ‘internal’ condom should be put in the vagina. The only way students would know it’s girls who are to use internal condoms is the cartoon character of ‘Sophia’ with speech bubble asking if they feel uncomfortable.

The emphasis on female condoms is not just developmentally inappropriate and muddled. Government research found that 0.1% of female respondents used an internal barrier method, a figure that includes the cap.

Here it is not clear whose body might experience hormonal side effects:

“…unlike other contraceptive methods, condoms don’t have the hormonal side effects, and it makes them a good choice for many people.”

Children will come to PHSE with very different levels of knowledge which requires plain accurate language. A specialist RSE teacher told Transgender Trend “I have absolutely been asked – more than once – whether boys have periods. Another time a year 8 girl asked me – with loads of caveats about not wishing to be rude or to cause offence or upset anyone – which man actually had the baby when two men had a baby.”

The tortuous gender neutral approach is repeated in the lesson about virginity testing and hymenoplasty, procedures that can only affect girls. In the video explaining the law and the harms of these practises, the word ‘girl’ only appears 6 times, in contrast to the neutral ‘someone’ which is used 26 times instead of girls or women. It’s a pity too that the lesson fails to mention that girls in the UK are unlikely to be subject to these harmful practice and doesn’t name the cultures that do promote them. It’s misinformation by omission which may cause unnecessary worry for all girls.

Pornography lesson

By age 13, 50% of children have come across porn and the experiences and reactions to it will be different for boys and girls. The one Oak lesson on the topic is for year 9 pupils, aged 13-14 years old. This is the age when girls are more likely to find changes to their bodies difficult, and when they become aware of societal ideals about femininity. Porn, if they have seen it, shows highly sexualised unreal female bodies and behaviours. But the Oak lesson never addresses this difference, nor the actual content of porn, in which girls and women are the subject of violent and degrading treatment. Treating the subject in a gender neutral way negates girls, erasing biological sex by the use of the ungendered ‘person.’ The learning outcome is to know how pornography causes harm. But girls need to know that the harm to them is very different to the harm it causes to boys.

“pornography often shows one person using insults or treating the other person aggressively or violently.” 

“Pornography often presents some activities as normal that are actually really dangerous or uncommon in healthy relationships. Many people don’t and will never engage in these activities, and some can cause serious emotional or physical harm. So for example, some pornography includes dangerous practices like strangulation, often referred to as choking, or suffocation. These activities are extremely risky and they can lead to serious injury or even death, even when someone thinks that they’re being careful.”

It’s more miseducation by omission not to tell girls that they are most likely to be the victims of insults, violence and strangulation, not boys.  

The Equality Act lessons

Children are introduced to the Equality Act 2010 and the 9 protected characteristics in year 9, when they are 13/14 years old. The language used is that of trans advocacy, which defines gender reassignment as:

“..the gender that somebody chooses to identify as, and it can be different to the gender that they were assigned at birth.”

Sex likewise is not correctly defined, in contradiction to the 2025 Supreme Court decision which ruled that sex in the Equality Act is biological, immutable and binary. Oak implies that this may not be the case with the use of the word ‘usually.’

“This is usually determined by the reproductive organs that a baby is born with. So it’s usually male or female at birth..”

This is harmful equivocation, there is no other sex except male or female.

Oak seems wedded to the idea that there are more than two sexes:

“There was a Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 to make sure that all sexes are treated equally.”

All six lessons in this unit muddle the terms sex and gender:

“Sophia’s situation, for example, the manager made assumptions about her suitability for a job based only on her appearance, her gender, and her age”

“So for example, it could be down to their age, it could be down to pregnancy, disability, race, gender, sex, and that’s just some of them.”

“Discrimination – treating people unfairly or differently because of things like their race, gender, or where they come from, instead of treating everyone equally”

The idea of transphobia is taught as if it were written into the Equality Act:

“Transphobia is prejudice against people whose gender identity is different from the sex that they were assigned with at birth.”

These Equality Act lessons are taught as part of Citizenship. The following year 14/15 year olds will be taught the Equality Act as part of RSE/PSHE.  

Statutory RSE guidance says schools should comply with the Equality Act 2010 and that by the end of secondary school children should have learnt about the law relating to the nine protected characteristics. For clarity, the guidance lists all nine PCs.

The Equality Act is a complex piece of legislation, currently much in the news following years of misrepresentation by LGBT+ groups about the law relating to the PCs of gender reassignment and sex. The 2025 Supreme Court ruling clarified the matter stating that sex in the Act means biological sex at all times. As noted in the Citizenship lessons, this information is crucial and should have been included in the lesson. It is a serious omission for girls in their understanding of their rights as the female sex.

The key learning points are:

1. The Equality Act of 2010 sets out a list of protected characteristics that are legally safeguarded from discrimination.

2. Sex is a protected characteristic.

3. Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic.

4. These protections apply in many areas of life, including employment, education and access to public services.

5. If you witness discrimination of any kind, you should report it to an appropriate person or authority.

It is never explained to pupils why the PCs of sex and gender reassignment are prioritised over the others for in depth discussion. The module ignores the fact that the highest volume of discrimination claims under the Equality Act are for disability, followed by race. Not telling children this is again miseducation by omission.

The fifth learning point entirely misrepresents what the Equality Act is for. It is a remedy for discrimination not an instruction manual for social relationships. But children being taught the Oak version would think they had a duty to monitor the behaviour of others and to act as if they have witnessed a crime. This is legally dubious and morally wrong. Children are not duty-bearers under the Act.

Oak uses a fictious policeman to reinforce the message:

“Police Officer Kofi says, “If you see serious discrimination in your community, you can tell someone who can help, like a shop manager, event organizer, or police officer.

Reporting what happened means the situation can be properly addressed.

Speaking up helps protect others, and shows that discrimination is not acceptable in your community.”

The only scenario in the lesson is about gender reassignment.

“In an office, a staff member who has been through gender reassignment is repeatedly mocked by two colleagues.

The comments are about their appearance and past, and they are made in front of other staff.”

Pupils are asked what course of action should be followed.

“Well, a colleague should make sure the person is safe, and offer support if appropriate.

They should report the incident to a manager or human resources, and give an accurate account of what they witnessed.”

Although the world of HR will be foreign to 14-year-olds they will be told that the Equality Act requires them to be active allies in the workplace. This may be straightforward in the case of a colleague with a disability, less so when it comes to the issue of single sex changing rooms for health workers.

The module Being an Inclusive Friend goes even further in its implication that children are not allowed to be friends only with children they like. They must be ‘inclusive’ of everybody. The Equality Act was never intended to intrude on children’s games or friendships, but children are given the idea here that excluding anyone is ‘discrimination.’ This lesson is for Year 6, 10 – 11 year-olds.

Conclusion

Lessons on the Equality Act encourage children to view personal relationships through the lens of rights and equality, to be on the lookout for potentially discriminatory words or behaviour in normal playground disputes and disagreements. Those with protected characteristics are encouraged to use them to police others’ behaviour and to see themselves as victims. The focus on the protected characteristics sex and gender reassignment shows ideological bias. The only example used is people being mean to a trans person, suggesting to girls that the priority is to be kind rather than stand up for their own rights as a sex. 

Oak must return to common sense, everyday language when teaching children PHSE.  These resources prove that activist language has already had a chilling effect. The writers of these Oak materials appear to be scared of using ordinary language. Every boy and girl in school has a biological sex and there is nothing wrong in saying so.

In every module, whether the subject is pubertal development, porn, contraception, or Equality Act protections, it is girls who are disproportionately disadvantaged by Oak’s omissions, equivocation, dishonesty and obfuscating language. If we were asked to view Oak’s teaching resources as a whole through the lens of the Equality Act we would judge it to be unlawfully discriminatory against girls.