Last night’s Media Watch parsed a story by Miranda Devine last week that claimed teachers at a NSW school had been asked not to refer to students using gendered terms.

Teachers at a leading Sydney all-girls school have been asked to stop calling students “girls”, “ladies” or “women”, but to use “gender-neutral language instead,” the front page splash claimed.

The claim was widely slammed following statements by the NSW Education Minister and the school itself saying no such edict had been made. But the issue was mentioned, Media Watch revealed, though perhaps not in the way the Tele implied it. Media Watch says the suggestion was made by a junior teacher, who said gender-neutral language should be used when students requested it. It’s a little short of school policy, but Devine is taking it all in stride.

“So Media Watch tried their best but had to confirm our story was correct, that CGHS teachers WERE asked to use gender-neutral language,” she tweeted this morning. 

“So now you’ve confirmed our story true, why let off Minister Piccoli for media denials & false claim it’s not a safe school?”