But the LA are leading this, and providing training and resources - and all the resources for schools locally militantly plug that line.
The policy Ikeasucks screenshotted is for a 33 school federation, and offers the following guidance:
Q: My daughter doesn’t want a boy changing next to her, what if he looks at her body?
A: For example, in this scenario it would not be appropriate to remove the trans person from the changing rooms if a concern is raised by a parent or carer. In this situation, it would be far more appropriate to look at offering an alternative changing arrangement for the child who feels uncomfortable around the trans person. A Human Rights response would be to state that although the individual in question may have the body of a boy, they are in every other respect a girl and as such have the right under the Equality Act to change with the girls and to be treated fairly as such. It is the responsibility of members of staff to support both trans students and cisgender students to feel comfortable around one another.
That is in direct contravention of the law. The Equality Act is clear that you can have single sex facilities in changing rooms etc, and that a transgender person who does not have a GRA (which you can't get before you are 18) must be treated in that situation according to their sex, and not gender identity. They are citing law that does not apply, ignoring sex-based protections which do apply... and even with a GRA, some exceptions are allowable, if it's seen as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Allowing girls the right to set boundaries over who sees them unclothed is that, given its significance in safeguarding. So while no child can have a GRA, those adults in the school who might would still be subject to whether or not the best interests of the children might be best served by retaining single sex care and oversight in certain contexts. None of these exemptions are in any way even hinted at in this policy.
This federation - which covers 33 schools, and so this policy applies to tens of thousands of children - insists that it's important to teach children to accept male as female, when told to do so. To deny their own instincts, and the evidence of their eyes, and believe that simple declaration can alter material reality. That trans policy refers to, "true gender". It misrepresents both science, and the law. And it does so without any regard for the fact that both sex and religious belief are protected strands, and at least one, and potentially both, are engaged here.
Transition does not magically alter risk - obviously it doesn't increase it, but nor does it reduce it (and that would include the risk to transboys in male spaces, too). It does not magically transform a body. There is literally no evidence at all that gender identity is real, any more than we can prove the existence of a soul. It is a faith belief, and should be politely respected, as any faith belief - but faith beliefs shouldn't dictate the lives of non-believers. Yet:
All schools need to work towards a robust whole school approach towards developing an understanding of trans issues and prevention of transphobia, which will minimise the potential of issues or concerns being raised by cisgender members of the school community including parents and carers about trans children and young people accessing toilets, residential facilities etc according to their gender identity rather than their biological sex.
Where a child’s trans identity is known to the wider school community schools will need to ensure that they have a robust language using the Equality Act and a Human Rights approach to counteract any prejudice expressed or concerns raised. Additionally, when a parent or carer raises a concern about the safety of their child when spending time in the company of a trans identified pupil or staff member it is vital that staff focus on the ‘problem’ being with the person who raises the concern and not with the trans individual.
They are saying that parents asking them to apply the law and the sex based exceptions, to protect the dignity and privacy and safety of their children in communal changing rooms and in shared accommodation on residential trips, are transphobes, and have a problem, and must be challenged robustly.
I'd really welcome more information on what aspects of the new SRE policy are going to be compulsory, really. Because your words are comforting, and wholly unreflected by the guidance being given to schools, and in turn parents, locally to me. So I'd (honestly - I'm not being sarcastic, I'm genuinely asking for help!) appreciate links to the extent to which parents still retain the right to limit their children's exposure to this regressive, damaging nonsense.