School trip policies on overnight accommodation for trans children

I'm a primary teacher not secondary. However, the decision is to be made by the group leader who also completes the risk assessments. There is (or should be) a member of staff who has competed their group leader training. I don't remember it covering transgender but this is not to be decided by a 14 year old and whether they're 'OK with it'. The risk assessment should be checked with SLT and possibly the local authority/academy lead. Under the equality act 2010 sex is a protected characteristic and separate sleeping areas need to be provided. Gender (unless they have a GRC) is not covered. The school will be leaving themselves wide open to safeguarding concerns if they go ahead with this. Adults need to saying no to this and pushing back

I have experienced first hand a young person of this age born female transitioning to male.

Yes, many of us have witnessed it amongst our children's friends, or even in some poster's cases, their own children. Despite how many people try to frame the poster's on this board, a good many of us have direct relevant experience.

I have witnessed their journey, how the community helped him transition and the many, many difficulties they have had to go through. The way my own daughter (14) and the rest have benefitted from that journey has been immense. One of the most admirable parts has been how accepting the boys have been in making this a less harrowing experience for the person. Thankfully, not one person has brought up any issue about he previously being identified as she.

Please do explain how any other child benefits from that child's 'journey'? Because the group of trans friends my teen have, every single one of them has very poor mental health. (there are 5 of them in a group of 7 friends) And that mental health is not getting any better despite extensive support from the school, the parents and the friends.

The numbers are confusing me a bit. If this is a three bedroom house, with 3 to each room, that is only 9 children. That seems very few for a school trip. Is it possible that girls are being housed in one house and boys in another?

If that's the case it's not just the op's dd and the other girl's decision - there are another 6 girls who will, most likely, be forced to share a house (and possibly a bathroom, depending on setup). Have they been asked?

If the 'lesbian' had a penis, fuck yes

@Qwerty2019

I am also keen to know in what sense a male person is a girl - please enlighten us?

I'm a bit at how a persons transitioning should benefit others actually.

Would you object to your daughter sharing rooms with a lesbian?

So. Are you a spokesperson for the trans community? And are you happy to ignore those trans people who disagree with you? Because....?

Schools (and prisons) skirt around the issue. Clearly this pupil needs their own room as a safeguarding issue and parents need to suck up the cost...though the school will fear backlash from parents of said pupil....and will fear bad press.

OP I agree with previous posters, this is aside from being absolute lunacy a genuine safeguarding issue that the school ought to be managing, not placing in the realms of 3 x 14 year old girls.
In law this child is a biological male and no way on earth would my 1 year old daughter be sharing a room on this basis. Regardless of how nice the child is, this sets a grievous precedent which should be challenged in the strongest terms. I would be doing this in writing with the school, requesting responses in full in writing too. I suspect they may amend plans then.

Read my comment @oldwomanwhoruns and the subtext I obviously failed to convey.

The point I'm making is that schools are run by the politically correct and often spineless who disregard staff and only 'move' if parents complain. I have seen so many injustices and wish parents would push - ordinary teachers have no power and fear Competency charges from bullying Heads.....in many cases.

I think a previous poster's point about getting the school to explicitly confirm they'd fully support all & any babies (pregnancies, abortions etc) born as a result of their mixed sex accommodation policy (or lack of) on their school trips from now on is a good one. Maybe the head would like a quick chat with the biology teachers before signing off.....

Bonkers to attempt to push this one back down to the CHILDREN concerned, that's not how safeguarding works ffs.

Also....its not anti trans to suggest that someone born male has a male body. In fact, surely it's his innate male-Ness which, in contrast to his feelings on his own body, which means this person refers to themselves as Trans to begin with?

So one has to acknowledge one's own biological sex in order to then trans "against" it.

Half the teenage population can potentially get pregnant. The other half does the impregnating. Is this startling new information for some people? Where the fuck are the adults at this school?

If you could just let go of the obsessive anti-trans panicking, you might make your own lives a bit easier, let alone the lives of your poor DC

Are u saying safe guarding is transphobic?

Amd that trans people are unable to comply so shouldn't have to?

That's a low bar. I'd say that's transphobic tbh

Ahahaha no wreath they’re really not. Your lack of knowledge of safeguarding is so bad it’s almost funny

My friend is a teacher and has regularly supervised over seas trips of mixed sex teenagers. There is no way on gods earth they’d even contemplate letting boys and girls share hotel rooms however much they might want to . Cos you see - and this the salient point - THEY ARE CHILDREN

parents to go whining to the SLT about their little darling choosing to share a room with X who the parents disapprove of because X is gay/a different religion/a different social class?

Huh? Are you on glue?

Do you think that, if the school has encouraged DC to arrange amongst themselves who rooms with whom, that they would then insist on individuals sharing with someone they dislike? Do you think it would be up to parents to go whining to the SLT about their little darling choosing to share a room with X who the parents disapprove of because X is gay/a different religion/a different social class?
Teenagers sharing rooms on school trips are usually allowed to choose roommates to avoid being stuck with the peer they dislike or are scared of. It wouldn't be that difficult for a transphobic teenager to avoid sharing with a trans kid that they didn't like. If you could just let go of the obsessive anti-trans panicking, you might make your own lives a bit easier, let alone the lives of your poor DC.

I'm blown away by some of the responses.

Had someone come on here and started a thread

"AIBU to be pissed off that school allowed my 14yo to share a room on a trip with two of her male friends in the same year"

I'd imagine the responses would be very different.

This isnt a 'boy' sharing a room with 2 girls. This is a girl in every sense that matters (2 years i read) who just happens to not quite be at the end of their journey.

And this nonsense is precisely why the school needs challenging to uphold normal safeguarding standards.

This is a boy. At 14 they may have "socially transitioned", i.e. dress up as a girl and use a girl's name, but other than that they will be a physically normal boy.

who just happens to not quite be at the end of their journey.

None of them are at the end of their journey, they are teenagers. That's why adults make decisions for them in some situations, because they aren't adults.

That’s nice qwerty - given we’re talking about a teenage boy transitioning to be a girl, not the other way around, it’s completely irrelevant

Also girls are not support humans but fully fledged ppl in their own right