To think that the state should offer single sex education as part of parental choice?

[KTheGrey]

Everyonesinvited.uk states as fact that there are three sexual assaults in primary schools reported to police every day (2016 figures), and that 9/10 girls had received unsolicited images (2021 from Ofsted). The Attainment 8 data analysis by gsa.uk (2019) shows an over 10% average higher point score by girls in girls' schools than by boys in boys' schools and over 20% higher average point score than all students in co-ed schools. A 2018 Queensland University study showed girls from single sex education emerged more confident. Many studies have shown they are more likely to engage with STEM at a higher level.

Should the state admit that it has failed in its primary duty of care in keeping girls safe, (as well as promoting every child's chances of getting their best results from school) and start providing single sex options to parents?

Women and Men are different from the OP which talks about Girls and Boys.

The state can barely afford to support the schools it has, there is no way it will find the money for this.

Ah well of course and social media too. But the word images is very vague, an unsolicited meme is very different to 90% of girls receiving an unsolicited dick pic

I went to an all girls school and I will not send my child to a single sex school.

When I went to uni it was the first time I'd been educated around men since I was 10. Most of the people I was at school with had the exact same awkwardness around men as I did. Being nice must mean they are flirting or going to trick me. Theres a distrust because of what we were told.

Most of the boys in the local boys school were a lot more sexist, a lot more misogynistic.

Both groups lack the experience of being friends with someone of the opposite sex without it being because we fancied them. It actually enforced seeing someone's sex before we saw them as a person.

Academically it might have been better, but socially? No way.

Girls do better in all female environments.

I’d love for my DD to go to the all girls’ school but it’s oversubscribed here.

BUT, if I had a son I’d want him going to a mixed school.

Guess we can’t have it both ways.

Within a mixed school maybe based on further research there could be single sex classes? All girls math and science classes?

Impossible on a societal level but possible on an individual if/whilst the choice exists

It’s not based on a whim, it’s based on research data and crime statistics?

My old village school in the 60s had it about right. Separate entrances, cloakrooms, toilets, playgrounds and PE lessons but everything else mixed. Also a staff mix of men and women, all of whom were very strict. It felt like a very safe place.

No.

Because it doesn't solve the problem it just delays it.

Better off teaching boys not to be abusive boys who turn into abusive men.

Unless you plan on segregating the sexes forever?

There is an alarming rate of same sex sexual assault in schools too. The education system has failed in many more ways than this unfortunately.

Keeping males and females separate does not keep women safe. Its divisive and not representative of society in real terms. Males and females should be around eachother and learn/know how to be respectful to eachother from a young age.

Having unisex toilets to suit children who think they are in the 'wrong body' 😕 doesn't help.

Toilets should be sexed based.

It would be a timetabling nightmare and wouldn’t solve the harassment issues, but it should theoretically be possibly to have girls and boys separated for all subjects where there’s streaming. Stream by sex and ability not just ability.

Not true. In my area the state girls school is massively oversubscribed. it is incredibly popular with Asian parents, Muslim parents and the burgeoning Cantonese population. I went to a co-ed school and I wish I had not. My dd is having a fabulous experience at her secondary school and so confident in STEM, whereas the neighbouring state co-ed has failed to persuade any girls to do Further Maths or Computer Science A level for the last four years.

I would choose and recommend single sex over and over again , especially for girls.

Watford. So we’ll be a bit squashed dow here…but we do get London and Cornwall 😂

@Kriscross I'm fully into gendered toilets. But single sex schools in the name of female safety is too much of a reach.
Of course at secondary you can choose it, but to entrench gender differences among pre pubescent children, a them and us thing, is not what I consider a good plan.

My academic girls went to mixed schools and it suited them. They made nice male friends and did well academically. They will need to work and live with males so far better they get used to them now imo.

Academically it seems to even out at A level. What bothers me is the culture of sexism; if schools kept girls safe then I could live with the grade reduction. I expect to be safe at work, children should be entitled to expect safety at school. Especially as it is compulsory.

If it comes to a straight choice between boys do worse or girls aren't safe, I am afraid I know my choice.

There are confidence reasons, academic reasons, mental health reasons to choose single sex.

We started out in co-ed and whilst confident kids always dominate and they can be girls, we did find both our girls getting dominated by a group of loud and very dominant boys.

childhood is a developmental period different to adulthood - I never understand the chuck then in now argument - and I felt my girls were being socialised to be quiet and 'good' in their co ed primary, and that a more nurturing environment targeting their confidence to put themselves forward suited then best.

I'm of the opinion that you cannot change sex, hence single sexed based toilets. What decisions people make as adults is up to them. There was a boy, yes he said he was a girl at secondary who flipped flopped between non binary, male and thinking he,was a girl. He made girls uncomfortable because he liked to check out girls bodies. More about what he thought he wanted than sexual but girls aren't a social experiment or validation for a boy.

Everyonesinvited.uk is an anti rape culture site - so sexual.

Whethet it's mixed schools - no, more likely down to a lack of safeguarding and growth in porn over last decades. It's hard to make a definitive statement because comparative data is lacking, but if girls and their phone numbers are more difficult to get hold of, it's going to reduce.

Once a girl is in a mixed sex setting she will not withhold her phone number because that would exclude her.

It wouldn't be practical everywhere but yes. If I could wave a wand I'd get rid of 'faith' schools and replace some of them with pairs of single sex schools.

It's a good idea, but not practical at all.

I live in a small town and there is one primary school and one secondary school. They wouldn't be able to have 3 of each to cover single sex plus mixed.

I imagine there are a lot of places like that around the country.

I can't see how the money, locations etc could be raised to have 3 times as many, smaller schools.