Letter to school asking them to check for tension between safeguardi g and gender ideology

[lisamuggeridge]

I am deeply concerned about the expansion of gender ideology and the stark increase in referrals for adolescent girls to gender identity specialists. Gender dysphoria is a very serious sign of emotional and mental distress and carries a very serious treatment path which has huge consequences. We have seen the rise of an ideology demanding that this be validated as a naturally occurring identity, we have seen news stories about key figures pushing this narrative including abusive males and males who have harmed children. A schools guidance pack called 'Allsorts' linked to prominent charities at the heart of this contains advice to support textbook grooming and which breaches safeguarding and organisations like the Girl Guides have undermined safeguarding procedures on basis of advice from these groups. I am writing to formally request that the school check and clarify ANY tensions between gender identity procedures(gender identity has no evidence base) and established safeguarding striuctures and rules.
I am the mother of xxx who is in 7xxx.

We have power as parents to address this in schools..

Thanks, I really appreciate you sharing that Lisa - I've been trying to frame how to approach my DD's school & this is a great help. 🙏🏻

I will use this to help me frame a response should this come up at the school where I work. Steeling myself - no sniff of it yet.

lisamuggeridge
That's great. Have you thought about asking whether any of their staff have completed the GIRES training on 'Caring for gender nonconforming young people" as there are several exercises that tell teachers to keep secret any child's disclosure about wanting to change sex? Can they guarantee that their staff know and understand 'Working Together to safeguard children'' and will ignore dangerous advice like this from lobby groups?

They have specifically targeted schools and as the DfE and the NHS are funding them, many schools have to date, seen no issues.
The idea of adults with no DBS checks and no safeguarding training being let loose on children to 'persuade' them that is is possible / desirable to change sex is repellant - but it's happening.

It is and its been normalised and this is serious as. I am going to go see them when I get a response to that. We have to end this. We can end it but we have to.

I think that's a really well worded letter Lisa . My friend's 13 dc has recently revealed that they believe they are transgender. Already there's been name change, looking to buy a binder, the school have informed their class of their intent.

Most worrying to me is that they have started attending a charity run group for transgender children. These meetings involve my friend sitting outside while her dc sits alone in a separate room in discussion with another adult. I asked who these people were. She said they were volunteers, often people who'd been through the same process. Basically she didn't know.

The dc involved is a textbook case of an adolescent who has recently experienced a huge trauma in her life. They have always been slightly eccentric and outside the box, and whilst always having had friends have always been a bit of an outsider. There are a couple of other features, which are too outing to mention, which also make them very vulnerable.

I want nothing but the best for my friend's dc, but there has been no pause, no reflection, no acknowledgement that this may be part of a much bigger and more complicated picture. A friend who works in a related field, recently told me about the scenario in schools whereby if a child confides in a teacher, they are not duty bound to share this information. I can't recall whether this was a law or guideline? Either way it's totally against all safe guarding good practice.

The sad thing is I want to tell my friend all the information my other friend has passed onto me. She is about as well informed as anyone could be just now on these issues due to her job. But I know my friend will be upset and offended, and think I am questioning her dc and the whole transgender issue. It's too Orwellian.

Lisa I just came on to ask if anyone had any advice for approaching schools so thank you. I am going to write.

Can everyone who writes please update this thread with any response?

Thank you.

Most worrying to me is that they have started attending a charity run group for transgender children. These meetings involve my friend sitting outside while her dc sits alone in a separate room in discussion with another adult. I asked who these people were. She said they were volunteers, often people who'd been through the same process. Basically she didn't know.

Can just say...

A-WOOGA! SAFEGUARDING CONCERN! Jeez, I wouldn't let my kid in a room alone with an adult I had no information about!

It has been normalised. One of DD2s classmates has suddenly decided she's to be called a totally made up name, and the teachers are doing it! I asked DD2 why and she said they are afraid of being called transphobic! This particular child is receiving no medical interventions, and defines herself as a demi woman. Which means you're a man some of the time and a woman some of the time. In the language of nonsense.
This child is desparate for attention. Good / bad doesn't matter. Doesn't get on with her peers. Takes lots of risks. Is threatening taking testosterone if she can get it online.
Why are we allowing troubled teens to dictate to adults? I get that every case is different but this is fucked.

Is threatening taking testosterone if she can get it online.

Normalisation of drug-taking and adults stand back and let it happen - or even encourage and enable it.

The more parents there are taking this up with schools the better. They cannot ignore you. Worried about letting a strange unknown adult loose on a confused child. Really scary that this is what we are being groomed to accept.

The friend who's dc has said they are transgender is part of my close friendship group. We discuss everything together and are very tight nit. I haven't discussed what's happened with any of them, and as far as I know they're not discussing it with each other. Not.A.Word.

I'm struggling to think of another scenario where there would be such radio silence amongst the group. I really do think it's fear of saying the "wrong" thing, coming across as not on board. Nothing ever ends well in my experience when it can't be spoken of.

So far no sign of any of this where I work. A couple of girls being called by 'boy' names but still in the same girls' PE classes and using the girls' changing rooms.

I am prepared to lose my job on this hill if necessary, but so far so sensible here.

Trouble is that the National Association Of Headteachers has some guidelines normalising this - including telling schools that self identifying adults MUST have access to the toilets / changing facilities of their choice immediately. So 22 year old PE teacher Sophie is having to share her changing rooms and shower with her colleague 50 year old Fred who transitioned last week - and she's a bigot if she complains.

It might be worth parents asking schools to give them the details of their insurers (public liability) - just let them know that IF you think your child is being negatively influenced by outside organisations you may wish to take action against the school . Just a thought.

So just looked a our school guidelines, published in July this year. Its a single sex girls school so not why this should be even an issue but it is (mixed sixth form but they are a separate entity) and these two things jumped out at me:

Toilets
Students have the right to access the toilet that corresponds to their gender identity. Any student who has a need or desire for increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason, should be provided access to a single stall toilet, but the student shall not be required to use such a toilet.

Residential Trips:
Trans students should be able to sleep in dorms appropriate to their gender identity. Some trans students may not feel comfortable doing this and in such cases alternative sleeping and living arrangements should be discussed.

Two I see that in relation to the residential trips it is only the potential discomfort of the trans student that is mentioned. This is what worries me. What if a girl was uncomfortable with a boy identifying as a girl sleeping in the same dorm as her ? Where is her "should be able to...." in all this ?

Exactly. Its like the BG guidelines I shared the other day. Exactly the same. And this is a girls school FFS which is all about empowering girls. Its why I chose it. If I find out they have also drunk the fucking koolaid I will not be happy.

nicenewdusters
Does the adult have an enhanced DBS check? I'd make a safeguarding referral about that group as a concerned member of the public. IF the adult concerned understands about safeguarding they won't object to being checked out at all. If they roar transphobia then they don't understand and that makes them a risk to children.
We have had to weed out those who set up sports groups in order to abuse children, those who use private tuition, music tuition, swimming - any opportunity where they get to be close to vulnerable children with no adults present. Report, report, report - and then if appropriate checks are done and this person is not a threat to children - that's one less thing to worry about.

A friend of mine recently said that her DD's all girls private secondary had changed their uniform to include trousers - their head had sent out a letter which my friend said was to reassure parents that although they now had some girls who were already at the school that now believed they were transgender boys, the school was still a single sex girls school and as such would not be admitting actual boys. I don't know how they would ever be able to police that though!

One last point - sorry for the long post but it's important. The government are consulting on new guidelines for Sex Relationships Education.

The guidance states the following:
..schools are responsible for ensuring that they check the
visitor or visiting organisation’s credentials. Schools should also ensure that the teaching delivered by the visitor fits with their planned programme and their published policy. It is important that schools discuss the detail of how the visitor will deliver their sessions and ensure that the content is age-appropriate and accessible for the pupils. Schools should ask to see the materials visitors will
use in the sessions as well as a session plan in advance, so that they can coplan, including ensuring that it is adequately differentiated to meet the full range of pupils’ needs (e.g. special educational needs). It is important to agree how confidentiality will work in any lesson and that the visitor understands how safeguarding reports should be dealt with in line with school policy.

I'd add that anyone discussing sex, relationships, transgender issues must have a current DBS certificate.

So schools are totally responsible for everything that an organisation tells their pupils. No wriggle room when children are being taught dangerous, delusional, anti- science penguin rubbish.

Are there any actual cases of transboys wanting to use boys' facilities or dorms?

Also, is trans porn mainly about individuals with natural penises and prosthetic breasts, or is it also about those with no breasts or breasts and prosthetic penises?

Sproglet has a trans 'boy' in her year who uses the girsl facilities cos its not safe for a girl to use the boys!lol

Thank you sceptical that's really useful. I'm going to find out the name of the organisation and raise the issue of enhanced DBS checks.

With reference to your last post about toilets Lisa . My friend said her dc had said they didn't want to use the boys toilets as they smelt and they would have to use the cubicles which were not very clean. I pointed out that they had no choice but to use the cubicles as they could not physically use a urinal. The upshot was that the school have said they can use the disabled toilet. They will also use this toilet to change for PE, although they will be doing PE with the boys.

Lisa It's this kind of mind f*ery that enrages me. So a girl identifying as a boy will still use the girls loos as she might be unsafe around the boys. Presumably it's the presence of the boys that make the toilets unsafe for her. But girls are not allowed to express any concerns around their safety when a boy identifying as a girl uses their toilets. Or rather they can express it, but risk being accused of any number of things.