Students at Barnsley College have learned about the transgender community during a guest talk from two trans women.

Ashleigh Lee and Jess Ryan travelled from Halifax to share their experiences of gender reassignment with the college’s childcare and education students, as well as fielding questions from students about their lives, what being transgender means, and the issues they’ve faced along the way.

The talk was tied to the children’s health and wellbeing unit which is studied on the course. In particular, the learning objectives of how to understand the needs of children during transition and significant events, and their potential effects of on a child’s life.

They also helped a handful of learners who were confused about their own gender become more informed about the options available to them.

“Education is key in building people’s understanding of the transgender community and hearing our stories gave the students valuable knowledge about the transgender community, who are often a misrepresented group,” said Ms Lee. “People can experience very different reactions from family members and friends and educating young people is vital in breaking down misconceptions,” Ms Ryan added.

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