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Original poster

phse/life skills teacher doesn't know what the Cass review is

28 replies

shayri · 15/01/2025 20:04

parents evening tonight for my year 8.
Her teacher spoke about the upcoming lessons and mentioned that they'd be looking at gender identity. I asked her if they'd be approaching these lessons with the Cass review in mind and it was
the first time she'd heard of it! Seriously? She's teaching this without any knowledge of the Cass review?How would you approach? My daughter knows you can't change sex and knows that boys can wear pink and have long hair and like musicals and makeup without being girls
and that girls can have short hair, play football and like lego without being boys.
Would you email school? I suspect many schools
are willfully uneducated on this and pushing the harmful affirmative nonsense.

OP posts:
Burntt · 15/01/2025 20:20

I would. Cass is very répand that teacher should read it before teaching. It may even stop a class of children being brain washed that a belief system is mandatory and lead to a more balanced introduction to the subject

MsGoodenough · 15/01/2025 20:22

This doesn't surprise me at all. I think I'm the only teacher at my school who knows about the Cass review.

ArabellaScott · 15/01/2025 20:27

I'd.email about both the Cass review and the updated guidelines from the DoE. Hold on, I'll find them.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 15/01/2025 20:28

Doesn't surprise me at all tbh. Is this teacher a specifically PSHE teacher?! In secondary schools, PSHE/life skills is normally just taught by other subject teachers who are light on their timetable, or by the form tutor. They don't have any training in the topics and are not going to have time to research them (nor would they be expected to).They are usually just given materials to deliver (by whoever is overall in charge of PSHE).

MsGoodenough · 15/01/2025 20:35

Teachers have been told to ignore the new guidance now the government has changed...

lifeisacat · 15/01/2025 21:25

Teacher of PHSE and have read the Class review and the guidelines from DofE that came out earlier in the year. So yes she should have done however, from my experience some schools don't have PHSE teachers but just have it as an additional lesson for other subject teachers.
I would certainly be contacting school.

Leafstamp · 15/01/2025 21:38

I would ask to see the resources and ask that teachers be made aware of the Cass Review.

It’s indicative of how captured the teaching unions are and how useless the DfE are that teachers are still unaware.

Ive only skim read, but this seems fairly factual if you wanted to send school something https://www.irwinmitchell.com/news-and-insights/expert-comment/post/102j6jj/cass-review-implications-for-schools-and-colleges#:~:text=The%20report%20looks%20at%20social,and%20harms%20of%20social%20transition.

As I said, there really should have been something from DfE by now - on both PSHE and on gender questioning children.

There is useful para in KCSIE too that you could remind school of.

Cass review: implications for schools and colleges

Cass review: implications for schools and colleges

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/news-and-insights/expert-comment/post/102j6jj/cass-review-implications-for-schools-and-colleges#:~:text=The%20report%20looks%20at%20social,and%20harms%20of%20social%20transition.

Knowitall69 · 15/01/2025 22:28

Another teacher of PSHE here.

I'm delivering an "Identity and sexuality" lesson to my Year 10's tomorrow.

I hit Peak Trans about 2 years ago BUT I still gotta deliver this horseshit if I wanna pay the mortgage (and yes there are ways of doing that without completely selling your soul.)

Good news is that the resource pack which my school has bought into is pretty lame.

Tomorrow's lesson is some crap "key terms bingo game" but there is no way I will be legitimazing "The contested belief" of Gender Identity.

Oh.... And I say "CONTESTED BELIEF" because that is how we have been asked to refer to it by the course leader.

I do believe the tide is turning. Cass, Glinner, JK, Helen Joyce, Kathleen Stock, Arielle S, Magdalen Burns, Posie and others were my inspiration.

Now... Where is my dinosaur pin badge????

🦖 🦖 🦖 🦕 🦕 🦕 🦕 🦕 🦕 🦕

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 15/01/2025 22:28

MsGoodenough · 15/01/2025 20:35

Teachers have been told to ignore the new guidance now the government has changed...

That's a bit of a sweeping statement! I expect most teachers have been told nothing of the sort. We haven't been told to change anything in the light of the Cass report or since the change of government. The school had already (pre-Cass) decreed that there would be no changes of pronouns or names without parental permission.

MsGoodenough · 15/01/2025 22:35

I should have specified I meant this was the advice given on the PSHE teachers Facebook group I'm on.

Gymrabbit · 15/01/2025 23:16

At my school one teacher who teaches some PSHE is a TRA who told me the other day that she wishes glinner was dead and hates JK Rowling. God knows what she would teach them…..

LoobiJee · 15/01/2025 23:33

MsGoodenough · 15/01/2025 20:35

Teachers have been told to ignore the new guidance now the government has changed...

Deleted. Found the answer in a later post.

PurpleSparkledPixie · 15/01/2025 23:36

MsGoodenough · 15/01/2025 22:35

I should have specified I meant this was the advice given on the PSHE teachers Facebook group I'm on.

Interesting. And how was the Cass Report received in this Facebook group?

DeanElderberry · 16/01/2025 07:49

MsGoodenough · 15/01/2025 22:35

I should have specified I meant this was the advice given on the PSHE teachers Facebook group I'm on.

Surely grown adults don't take instruction from Facebook goups?

bluenova · 16/01/2025 07:53

I met my daughter's school to talk about this recently. I met two teachers. One sensible and one captured. I asked to see their materials and gave them feedback about reinforcing and introducing stereotypes.

The safe schools alliance site has some good resources.

Original poster
shayri · 16/01/2025 08:59

yeah, I think I'm going to have to email them and have a proper discussion about it. Hard to do over a 10 min video call which automatically cuts you off after 10 mins! Thanks for the resources. No wonder we've reached this point in schools when teachers don't understand the basic safeguarding around it!

OP posts:
elozabet · 16/01/2025 09:05

Email the head of subject or line manager for that subject.

The teacher is probably not a PSHE specialist and is just following the lesson plan having read it about 10
mins before getting in the classroom. Usually not top of our list for preparation.

elozabet · 16/01/2025 09:08

Also, I think I remember something about gender being in the process of being updated in safeguarding info. We had an update back in September like we always do on training day and I remember something being mentioned about changes, but changes haven't been done! So maybe Cass hasn't filtered down yet.

unintended101 · 16/01/2025 10:38

I went to a parent meeting where a parent was talking about her daughter, and the teacher responded with "oh so she/he/they....."
wish I found very worrying... especially since the mother only said "she" in the first place...

Thelnebriati · 16/01/2025 11:04

I don't believe for one minute they have never heard of the Cass review, I think its far more likely they are a die hard activist who is pretending they haven't, to force you to challenge them.
The previous Govt issued guidance in May 2024, which AFAIK has not been superseded.

''The contested theory of gender identity will not be taught and the guidance confirms copyright law should not be a barrier to sharing curriculum materials with parents''
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/age-limits-introduced-to-protect-children-in-rshe

Age limits introduced to protect children in RSHE

New age ratings to be introduced on Relationships, Sex and Health Education content in schools to ensure it is appropriately and sensitively taught.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/age-limits-introduced-to-protect-children-in-rshe

Thelnebriati · 16/01/2025 11:05

The new guidelines were also reported widely in the press at the time, and most of the press reports mention the Cass review.

''Schools told not to teach about gender identity'' May 2024
www.bbc.com/news/education-69017920

Leafstamp · 16/01/2025 20:08

elozabet · 16/01/2025 09:08

Also, I think I remember something about gender being in the process of being updated in safeguarding info. We had an update back in September like we always do on training day and I remember something being mentioned about changes, but changes haven't been done! So maybe Cass hasn't filtered down yet.

KCSIE was updated and improvements made. There’s a section on LGB and gender questioning children.

elozabet · 16/01/2025 20:37

Here is the section in the KCSIE

It's under the section titled 'two sections are still under review'.

Which we were given in September.
I haven't seen an update since then but I'm just a classroom teacher and have no management role so would be looking out for any further changes. Anyway, you can read the update for yourself as of Sept 2024. There must be further changes coming.

The other section under review was preventing radicalisation.

phse/life skills teacher doesn't know what the Cass review is