It is your civic duty not to offend, pupils taught
GCSE citizenship studies textbook also claims it is ‘discrimination’ to provide lavatories for each sex
Secondary school pupils are being taught it is their responsibility not to offend other people. A GCSE revision guide for citizenship studies states that British citizens have a responsibility “to use freedom of speech but not offend”. The textbook is designed to help 16-year-old pupils prepare for their Pearson Edexcel GCSE in citizenship studies. Labour has made citizenship a central pillar of its education strategy, making the lessons compulsory for primary school pupils.
SECONDARY school pupils are being taught it is their responsibility not to offend other people.
A GCSE revision guide for citizenship studies states that British citizens have a responsibility “to use freedom of speech but not offend”.
The textbook is designed to help 16-year-old pupils prepare for their Pearson Edexcel GCSE in citizenship studies. Almost 21,000 pupils took the subject in England in 2025.
Labour has made citizenship a central pillar of its education strategy, making the lessons compulsory for primary school pupils.
Bridget Phillipson, the Education
Secretary, has described this as part of a “plan for change” to help young people “step boldly into the future”.
The guide also states that “freedom of speech may be misused to promote extremist views”.
“This should be limited so it protects rights and does not discriminate against others,” the authors write.
Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, said: “It’s utterly wrongheaded to teach children they have a right not to be offended. Schools should be places where ideas are tested and debated, not repressed.
“Labour wants to double down on more citizenship in our schools. We need less ideology and more focus on the core skills that equip children for life beyond the classroom, not wrap them in cotton wool.”
Free Speech campaigners have criticised the resource for “whipping up cancel culture in schools”.
Lord Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, said: “This revision guide is encouraging children to cancel their classmates for saying something they find offensive. It’s whipping up cancel culture in schools.
“If children are being taught in school that the right to free speech doesn’t include the right to be offensive, God help us.”
Quoting Lord Justice Sedley, he added: “Free speech includes not only the inoffensive, but the irritating, the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative, provided it does not tend to promote violence. Freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having.”
The textbook also states that it is “discrimination” to provide lavatories only for men and women and that “human rights come ahead of the right of a country to conduct its own affairs”.
Under examples of “discrimination”, it includes “gender reassignment discrimination, eg toilets provided only for men or women”.
In the “Answers” section at the back of the guide, it adds: “Gender can change individual identity. For example, an individual born in one gender might choose to change to another gender, with changes in appearance, clothing, and practical aspects such as which public toilets they use.”
Maya Forstater, the chief executive of sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, said: “Pearson has taken the job of producing a ‘revision’ guide too far by suggesting
‘Free speech includes the irritating, contentious, eccentric, heretical, unwelcome and the provocative’
that single sex toilets for women and men are a form of discrimination and inequality. Separate sex facilities are the exact opposite: they’re an essential inclusion measure. They ensure safety, dignity and privacy for everyone, and prevent discrimination against women, who are harmed more than men are by having to share toilets and changing rooms with the opposite sex.”
A Pearson spokesman said: “Pearson regularly reviews its content to ensure it remains accurate and aligned with curriculum requirements and relevant government guidance.
“As part of this process, we are reviewing the wording in our Citizenship Studies Revision Guide and Workbook for clarity and accuracy.”
A Department for Education spokesman said: “Teaching children a range of viewpoints is vital, but our impartiality guidance is clear that all materials used by schools must be accurate, age appropriate and teachers must provide a balanced presentation of views where political issues are covered.”