Children protesting at DfE

Hmm. I wouldn't be surprised if these kids are the "organisation led by trans people" that the Good Law Project will be funding for the next 3 years.
He must think we're all as gullible as his donors

Well, the FK's eldest is the right age. I believe some years ago it was reported that he and his wife had three daughters and in this article from two years ago it's a son and two daughters. https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/60075/jolyon-maugham-lawyer-activist-public-enemy

From this Guardian article www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/15/ive-had-to-become-my-own-doctor-trans-young-people-on-life-after-the-cass-review : Grin, a 17-year-old trans boy and sixth form student .... obtained hormones privately online at 14 with the support of his parents. He has now been on puberty blockers, bought from abroad, for four years and, through his GP, has been taking the masculinising hormone testosterone for three years.

Whoever Grin's parents are, they are complicit in allowing their child to take these powerful drugs which have such awful side effects and consequences.

Grin is now climbing all over the Department of Health and the Department of Education.

To make sure the government never forces them to wear masks in school again. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist it.)

No, just terrified of heights.

Are you a Borrower?

You should worry. I have to hold onto a lamppost to climb a kerb.

Yeah I'm not as limber as I used to be, damn that biological reality.

I refuse to try to climb a wall, though. I don't like heights and have to psyche myself up to stand on the kitchen stool.

We could identify as teenagers, all you need to do is dress like one and as far as i can see anything goes.

I'm going to dress as normal and tell them its old-core (I may need to work on the name but its basically a rebrand of baglady chic).

I wonder if ITV delayed reporting on this until the protest was almost over as they didn't want to draw attention to the exact location of a group of teen (mostly)'girls sleeping on the street. If so then they've shown a greater understanding of safeguarding than the parents of these children.

Maybe we should go and occupy a government building. Having that sort of tantrum seems to get attention and placation. I suspect, however, that a bunch of plain-talking older women wouldn't get the same sort of sympathy.

I'm going to be seriously pissed off if they bin the responses to the draft guidance. I spent ages on mine with references and everything! It would be such a disrespectful thing to do. I didn't really have time for it, but I made time because safeguarding children is so important. It's fine if they want to do things a bit differently than the previous government but just dumping public responses isn't on. It's a huge waste of taxpayers money just abandoning a public consultation too. (I know I've said this before but I am very, very worried this is what is going to happen and schools will be left high and dry again).

Dumbledore: age 26 and a half (identified, actual age a little more than that)

Indeed. All very Adrian Mole.

adding your age to your signature is such a young thing to do

DeanElderberry 37 (and a lot of quarters)

!

I think DT's nonbinary child would be too young. The handwritten letter signed by all the protestors gave ages and most seemed to be 15, 16 or 17. Times have changed, of course, but when I was that age I'd have been incensed to be described as a kid. This bunch seem to have embraced the term.

(They've all left now, btw. There were closing speeches. All masked. Not, I assume, because of infection risk. It would never do for a prospective employer to be able to track them down from images of this protest a few years in the future.)

I bet fox killer and doctor what’s kids are there.

iTV news link
There's a short report on the iTV website about the protest, not sure if it's actually been broadcast.
Even though they're wearing masks these children will be recognisable to anyone who knows them, so I imagine a certain Twitter famous parent/ally is feeling a bit nervous about any wider scrutiny happening on the back of this report.

That paper cranes things made me so sad, at least the way it was told to me. I was told this young girl was told if she made 1000 paper cranes her terminal illness would be cured. I can't remember if she died before she did the 1000 or after. Either way she could have died feeling she failed and perhaps blaming herself or feeling betrayed because she succeeded and died anyway. I'm hoping I was told wrong or, even better, the whole thing is apocryphal.

I know this is a derail, so to tie it in it does match a pattern of young people and children being told nonsense that might make them feel better short term but will ultimately fail when it comes time to deliver on promises of impossibilities.

They make craft coffins? As a protest?

is it a riff on “a thousand paper cranes”? (which would be cultural appropriation)

It's us, the 'Terfs' they think they are at risk from. Random men are okay as long as they use the correct pronouns.

Jo Bartosch has written about this in Spiked

https://archive.ph/vIdPR bypass the paywall

www.spiked-online.com/2024/08/30/trans-kids-really-do-deserve-better/

Maybe they think the DfE identifies as the Dept of Health?

It's a bit depressing that their demands are so illogical and incoherent though I'm totally on board with the no external validation. Yes, that's what we've all been saying, other people, and their right to freedom of speech, matter too.

As to the guidance. I spent bloody ages on responding to that consultation so I'm fine if they change some bits of the guidance but just throwing out everyone's response would be deeply unfair to all who took the time to respond and unfair to the schools and children who desperately need proper guidance in place.

Apart from anything else, if proper guidance isn't in place soon I think the legal battles will start and it will drain schools of resources they desperately need. It will not be in children's best interests for that to happen. Far better to have clear guidance.

Schools have been begging for guidance for years and nothing happened. It is easier for the government to let schools bumble on dealing with these contentious issues without support and copping all the flack for it, than the government laying down rules and copping all the flack for it.

You're right - they can bin it - and have already said that it will be reviewed. But with schools desperately demanding guidance and the evidence of serial gaslighting of children in some schools that's highlighted by Cass and furious parents, they're going to have to do something.

And whatever it is, I can't see the current immediate affirmation and teaching TWAW etc being sustained. Maybe I'm being too optimistic about the new government and they really are as foolish and captured as some of their previous pronouncements suggested? Time will tell.

Yes - but it's still a legal consultation from the DfE so the government will have to decide what to do. Doing nothing is not an option for them.

Why not? It was a consultation on guidance written by the previous government, they can bin it just like that and implement a 'new process'.