DM article - ministers urged to investigate gender ideology in schools

[quote DoubleTweenQueen]@RedCarpetRebellion As you may gather from my comments on another thread, actually am now more concerned than I though I needed to be about the SAGA club, after dramatic change in mood in DD after attending it last week, and other children's comments about it, plus some digital digging.
I think in the meeting with school, I was being placated.

Round II !![/quote]
Yes often this is what schools do. I’ve found this while addressing the pshe teaching at primary and I thought they were happy to be working with us, but in reality we’re fobbing us off to try and work round the DfE guidance rather than follow it.

Formal complaints are the only option really. But be very well informed first.

Especially regarding a club like this- there will be sections of keeping children safe in education and working together to safeguard children that are relevant in complaints about this. Teaching children about safeguarding in the first, informing parents in the second. The pshe guidance and plan your curriculum guidance have relevant points also. It’s worth printing out all of them and highlight the relevant sections to refer directly to in a formal complaint. Refer to ofsteds peer on peer abuse report also- how can any school safeguard girls against boys when they teach them boys can be girls? Reference anything disability related if possible- girls with autism rates of referalls to Tavistock, factual language needed for their commication needs, higher safeguards needed etc. Public sector equality duty means all protected characteristic must have equal weight, except disability that is given great legal protections/priority. Always worth referencing of possible. And asking for equality impact assessment that shows lgbt+ require greater money/time spent on their needs as opposed to race or sex or any other pc. Ask for the safeguarding risk assessment for the club and ask if the schools insurance is well aware of this club and the safeguarding risks and will pay out if it goes wrong.

A complaint following the formal complaint procedure titled formal complaint means ofsted will review how they resolve it, and that can have better outcome that others.

Look at what outside agencies they bring in for this club/pshe/bullying etc - do they comply with dfe guidance to not teach children they are born in the wrong body. Ask for evidence the materials are working together complaint and what level safeguarding training visitors have.

Always always get written answers, minute, establish a time line you want things dealt with and what resolution you expect. And escalate complaints where needed.

If you have a serious concern about well fare or safeguarding contact ofsted.

@RedCarpetRebellion As you may gather from my comments on another thread, actually am now more concerned than I though I needed to be about the SAGA club, after dramatic change in mood in DD after attending it last week, and other children's comments about it, plus some digital digging.
I think in the meeting with school, I was being placated.

Round II !!

[quote DoubleTweenQueen]@RedCarpetRebellion I think we're ok. They're not socially transitioning her. They've heard me regarding previous bullying, current difficulties, general concerns.
Made a few points about their SAGA club which were written down and am expecting will be reviewed.
All going to work towards finding other things she can get involved in and focus on - bit more responsibility, build self esteem.

Think it will be ok.
Still will be adding my voice to swell of parental concern generally.[/quote]
Glad it went well.

Yes, I will be alerting other parents to the situation :/

Glad to hear the meeting went well DoubleTweenQueen Sounds as if it's yet another school that have cluelessly gone along with this without thinking of the consequnces.

As Meagaidh points out, Local Authorities unthinkingly promote all this to schools - as does the DfE via statutory guidance on the Equality Act - which some of us have been challenging for years.

The more parents intervene and challenge schools about their unthinking involvement in this, the better.

So many LAs have signed up to SW's Education Equality Index - I am challenging mine as it has direct links to SW and Mermaids from its Education and Learning pages and SW speak all over its website. I approached the Local Councillor who is currently convenor of the council and she is asking the CEO and Director of Education to respond. I get the impression that no one has asked before, but I really hope that's not true.

The other thing that should be talked about more is semantic/social contagion: 'the demographic of teenage girls that have previously been most susceptible to eating disorders and self harm are now starting to identify as the opposite sex in clusters, via social contagion, resulting in whole peer groups coming out as trans'. This is from voidifremoved.medium.com/the-aclu-censorship-and-semantic-contagion-fa994cec24e

@RedCarpetRebellion I think we're ok. They're not socially transitioning her. They've heard me regarding previous bullying, current difficulties, general concerns.
Made a few points about their SAGA club which were written down and am expecting will be reviewed.
All going to work towards finding other things she can get involved in and focus on - bit more responsibility, build self esteem.

Think it will be ok.
Still will be adding my voice to swell of parental concern generally.

@DoubleTweenQueen

How did it go?

Being a teenager can be such a confusing time it all sounds so easy to get sucked into, the need to fit in.
It's very worrying, I for one would hate for my kid to feel they are oppressed. I don't believe it's a good thing to get children to believe, they should instead be taught you can do anything, reach for the stars.
I think schools seem to be massively failing children in that respect too.

Please everyone look at the conversion therapy bill consultation with the Govnmt.

Psychotherapy, psychiatry and counseling services are already fearful of looking at deeper trauma and pressured into not questioning a trans self-diagnosis.

It's nuts, isn't it! Heard a program on cults on the radio yesterday, and how young people are particularly susceptible and at risk of being strongly influenced.
Yet this doesn't seem to be taken into account when kids are getting sucked into the gender ideology woo. I don't get it.

Wow, my son has been coming home from school telling me how he feels like they are being brainwashed, I was literally just talking to my husband about this then saw this thread.

So sorry some people are having a particular hard time with this.

I hope something is done.

Yes good luck. And don’t be deflated if it goes badly, that’s what formal complaints procedure is for. And formal complaints stay on record for ofsted to review the next time they are in which hopefully makes teachers take it seriously even when they brush you off first time.

Good luck for tomorrow @DoubleTweenQueen.

Keep mentioning safeguarding and ask why they deemed it appropriate to keep information from you about your own child. Also remind them of the dfe guidance not to reinforce gender stereotypes or suggest a child is in the wrong body.

I will still be writing to the following about my general concerns, to add to the growing voices:

My local MP

Education Minister

Minister for Women and Equalities - particularly regarding the consultation on the ban on conversion therapies, including ‘talking conversion-therapies’ - which is (unbelievably) in serious danger of including psychological support for someone (particularly children and young teens) where the deeper traumas and psychological state which may lead to gender-questioning, as a symptom rather than root cause, may be deemed illegal, and support and talking therapies being restricted only to the superficial affirmation of a trans self-ID. Consultation ends December 10th, I think.

DTQ x

@RedCarpetRebellion Thanks for your support. Feel calmer about going in to school tomorrow.

First recky. See what’s what.

Then ready for further action.

Thankyou to everyone who has pointed me to useful info. It has meant a great deal in my distress.

You’re all s

I got the document name wrong. It’s working together to safeguard children document I linked above. Section 14. And there’s other relevant parts about working with families further down. And about not needing consent from a child to safe information if it’s to safeguard them. Highlight them all and stick it under their noses.

It seems to have been updated, and parents removed

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1021914/KCSIE_2021_September_guidance.pdf

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/942454/Working_together_to_safeguard_children_inter_agency_guidance.pdf

Number 14

@RedCarpetRebellion

I can’t find that comment in there - all seems to be schools, child, agencies - difficult to find any mention of the parent

@DoubleTweenQueen

Wanted to add you need to print out keeping children safe in education guidance.

It says in there that schools must work collaboratively with parents when deciding how to best support their needs.

Highlight the relevant part/parts and go in with it. They can’t avoid statutory guidance if you’ve put the document under their noses. If they do then - and ensure you have a neutral party minute the meeting or record it- ofsted immediately.

It's why (until with this issue) political activists have been kept outside schools and only able to access children as part of balanced discussions.

When that happens there is a team of other agencies involved that help make that decision.

When it comes to social transition of children i highly doubt any school will have all the relevant agencies involved and the documentation to prove this was the best decision to safeguard the child.

If the school socially transitions a child then it will almost always get back to the parent at some stage (a child’s pregnancy they are choosing to terminate would remain confidential and not become known socially amount peers) so if the parents posed a risk to the child if they found out the child is trans then the school are collaborating in actively putting that child at risk, because as it will become known socially that the child is trans it will get back to the parents at some point.

That’s a huge safeguarding fail.

There are certain circumstances where teachers and safe guarding teams DO keep secrets for children, and where it certainly isn't grooming.

There are some cases where it would put the child in danger to disclose information to parents. Schools wouldn't necessarily disclose a teenager's pregnancy to parents for example. I imagine staff in these situations would very much encourage the girl to tell her parents though, and would only withhold the information if they believed it really was in the best interests of the child.

This doesn't mean that teenagers from stable, safe homes should be encouraged to transition in secret. Just that nothing's ever as simple as "keeping secrets = grooming".

And teaching children it’s ok for adults to keep secrets for them is grooming.