Letter to school asking them to check for tension between safeguardi g and gender ideology

Nice I hadn't noticed that but you are right. Again, girls you need to learn to ignore your boundaries.

I hadn't even thought about dd2s primary school.

Have you thought about asking whether any of their staff have completed the GIRES training on 'Caring for gender nonconforming young people" as there are several exercises that tell teachers to keep secret any child's disclosure about wanting to change sex?

I’m a designated safeguarding lead in a small community primary school. I was advised by our LA’s lead officer for PSHE to do the GIRES online training. It’s bullshit from start to finish and is flawed as a training resource. I couldn’t progress through the training without giving answers I knew to be wrong from a safeguarding aspect.

I’ll be raising these issues at my safeguarding update training in October. Not all school staff are unaware of how schools are being targeted in this way.

I'm a lurker on this board but have been sufficiently angered by this whole thing to have written to my MP, completed the City of London consultation and now doing the GRA consultation.

Anyway, I'm just de-lurking to share my experience.

DD1 is at a small CofE primary school, and I made an appointment to see our headteacher on Friday. I came in prepared: worked out exactly how I was going to open the conversation, made sure I could articulate the GG and NSPCC guidance and was clear about what I wanted to achieve out of the meeting, ie:

• ask Head to submit consultation in personal capacity
• ask Head to submit consultation in official capacity, if possible
• ask Head to raise awareness about the consultation within the diocese that the school operates

The result was as follows:

• Head totally on board and said she would definitely complete consultation in personal capacity
• Head planning to speak to governors about formulating the school's trans policy
• Head going to see what she can do about doing the consultation officially, though she admitted that there was bureaucracy on that
• Head planning to tell family and friends about the consultation
• Head happy for me to talk about this in the playground as it was "just as the same as any conversations you would have on your work, for instance"

She also asked me to send her some stats so I've sent her an email with stats and links which will keep her busy for days! I also told her I would send the Transgender Trend pack to school.

So I guess what I'm saying is, depending on your school, it may be worth talking to the head, or writing the letter, and then follow up with a conversation with the head. And be prepared, if meeting. I deliberately limited the outcomes I wanted out of the conversation as if it didn't go my way then at the very least she would know about the consultation.

twofalls re the policy document you posted.

The part that really jumped out at me was the advice for schools, where a parent or carer raises any concerns their child may have being in the company of a trans child.

"support work should be aimed at answering the question "How can we make your child feel better?" rather than compromising the rights of the transperson."

So, a child has always known another child as a boy or a girl. The child then self identifies as the "other" gender. Why would this not be potentially confusing or difficult for the child? But this confusion, communicated to their parent or carer, is automatically equated with a potential breach of the transchild's rights. What about the rights of the other child to have questions and opinions?

It goes without saying there should be conversations around transgender issues, and the issue of possible bullying. But they should be conversations, not a presentation of facts as indisputable, about which children with questions should be made to "feel better".

What does that even mean ? It's so patronising. It's like Orwellian re-education. I think that's the second time I've typed the O word today.

*stereotypical male characteristics

DD1's best friend is trans.... And shares a room on trips with my daughter. They are very sweet and don't have any male friends at all. Or male characteristics. Or male body parts. Just a feeling.

The toilet thing is very hard for them though. They won't go to either single sex loos. So if we're out and about it's the disabled. I don't think they go at school at all, which concerns me. I think there should be a unisex option but never at the expense of single sex spaces.
My DD is very grounded and I hope has been a good influence on her friend to avoid hormones so far. I hope her friend reaches adulthood before making any permanent decisions. And learns to love and cherish their true self. Whatever that is. Trans or not.

I had to sign a consent form for DC1's new school (usual stuff - photos, trips, etc). I agreed to everything listed, but then wrote that I did not give my consent to her attending any training provided by mermaids, etc.

I have yet to hear anything back from the school. I am desperately hoping that they are as critical of the ideology as I am. But, if they're not and ask why I will be explaining in detail.

twofalls
Maybe respond to the Gymnastics Association by asking for the name of their insurers to add to your records of the discussions in the event of any child being harmed by these guidelines?
It may (or may not) make them think again? And they will at least be aware that in our current litigious society people will sue those enabling harm - as there is clear evidence that they knew the risks but ignored them.

Materialist, I told British Gymnastics about the risk and asked them total down their guidelines pending review. They refused. (see my other thread).

Fuck it, here is the whole document, would love some advice/feedback

transgender guidelines

Can someone give me some advice. Some more of the language states "sex assigned at birth" which rings alarm bells - who did they have advising them?

Then they go not o say: Children and young people may question their gender identity for a range of reasons and this may not mean they are definitely trans or will go on to transition. The important thing is to validate the young person’s identity as it is now, and support any changes that may arise as they come to explore their gender identity further.

What are people's thought on unquestioning validation?

Then this:

Closely monitor all areas of the curriculum and resources to ensure that they do not contain gender stereotypes or transphobic material

Then this:

Participate in relevant national events including LGBT History Month and Stonewall initiatives and ensure visibility of trans people and their achievements.

Between this policy and British Gymnastics I am truly worried.

It annoys the hell out of me, to put it mildly, that examples given regarding trans identified students, girl guides etc, always assume only one male identifying as female, and one girl being uncomfortable with this.

It is perfectly possible that boys would identify as girls in groups, and be more emboldened to use girls’ facilities with their mates. So trans identifying boys may outnumber girls in toilets, changing rooms, dorms etc.

Likewise, it is likely that more than one girl would object to getting changed with a bepenised girl in the room. What will schools do, if 30 girls have to queue for the single cubicle? Personally I would hve loved it, -I hated PE so being at the back of the queue to get changed would have been a legitimate way of getting out of PE all together, but schools do have to offer PE to all students. How will they do that?

Lisa It's this kind of mind f*ery that enrages me. So a girl identifying as a boy will still use the girls loos as she might be unsafe around the boys. Presumably it's the presence of the boys that make the toilets unsafe for her. But girls are not allowed to express any concerns around their safety when a boy identifying as a girl uses their toilets. Or rather they can express it, but risk being accused of any number of things.

Thank you sceptical that's really useful. I'm going to find out the name of the organisation and raise the issue of enhanced DBS checks.

With reference to your last post about toilets Lisa . My friend said her dc had said they didn't want to use the boys toilets as they smelt and they would have to use the cubicles which were not very clean. I pointed out that they had no choice but to use the cubicles as they could not physically use a urinal. The upshot was that the school have said they can use the disabled toilet. They will also use this toilet to change for PE, although they will be doing PE with the boys.

Are there any actual cases of transboys wanting to use boys' facilities or dorms?

Also, is trans porn mainly about individuals with natural penises and prosthetic breasts, or is it also about those with no breasts or breasts and prosthetic penises?

One last point - sorry for the long post but it's important. The government are consulting on new guidelines for Sex Relationships Education.

The guidance states the following:
..schools are responsible for ensuring that they check the
visitor or visiting organisation’s credentials. Schools should also ensure that the teaching delivered by the visitor fits with their planned programme and their published policy. It is important that schools discuss the detail of how the visitor will deliver their sessions and ensure that the content is age-appropriate and accessible for the pupils. Schools should ask to see the materials visitors will
use in the sessions as well as a session plan in advance, so that they can coplan, including ensuring that it is adequately differentiated to meet the full range of pupils’ needs (e.g. special educational needs). It is important to agree how confidentiality will work in any lesson and that the visitor understands how safeguarding reports should be dealt with in line with school policy.

I'd add that anyone discussing sex, relationships, transgender issues must have a current DBS certificate.

So schools are totally responsible for everything that an organisation tells their pupils. No wriggle room when children are being taught dangerous, delusional, anti- science penguin rubbish.

A friend of mine recently said that her DD's all girls private secondary had changed their uniform to include trousers - their head had sent out a letter which my friend said was to reassure parents that although they now had some girls who were already at the school that now believed they were transgender boys, the school was still a single sex girls school and as such would not be admitting actual boys. I don't know how they would ever be able to police that though!

nicenewdusters
Does the adult have an enhanced DBS check? I'd make a safeguarding referral about that group as a concerned member of the public. IF the adult concerned understands about safeguarding they won't object to being checked out at all. If they roar transphobia then they don't understand and that makes them a risk to children.
We have had to weed out those who set up sports groups in order to abuse children, those who use private tuition, music tuition, swimming - any opportunity where they get to be close to vulnerable children with no adults present. Report, report, report - and then if appropriate checks are done and this person is not a threat to children - that's one less thing to worry about.