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..

I think now is the time to be asking that schools cross reference their safeguarding with gender identity stuff with as many examples as possible. They HAVE to take note, it only takes a few parents a school but this is grooming, this is actual inducement of dysphoria and grooming as far I am concerned.

It annoys the hell out of me, to put it mildly, that examples given regarding trans identified students, girl guides etc, always assume only one male identifying as female, and one girl being uncomfortable with this.

It is perfectly possible that boys would identify as girls in groups, and be more emboldened to use girls’ facilities with their mates. So trans identifying boys may outnumber girls in toilets, changing rooms, dorms etc.

Likewise, it is likely that more than one girl would object to getting changed with a bepenised girl in the room. What will schools do, if 30 girls have to queue for the single cubicle? Personally I would hve loved it, -I hated PE so being at the back of the queue to get changed would have been a legitimate way of getting out of PE all together, but schools do have to offer PE to all students. How will they do that?

I dont think any of them have given it the first bit of thought, genuinely. THis was just indifference.

Can someone give me some advice. Some more of the language states "sex assigned at birth" which rings alarm bells - who did they have advising them?

Then they go not o say: Children and young people may question their gender identity for a range of reasons and this may not mean they are definitely trans or will go on to transition. The important thing is to validate the young person’s identity as it is now, and support any changes that may arise as they come to explore their gender identity further.

What are people's thought on unquestioning validation?

Then this:

Closely monitor all areas of the curriculum and resources to ensure that they do not contain gender stereotypes or transphobic material

Then this:

Participate in relevant national events including LGBT History Month and Stonewall initiatives and ensure visibility of trans people and their achievements.

Between this policy and British Gymnastics I am truly worried.

Fuck it, here is the whole document, would love some advice/feedback

transgender guidelines

Materialist, I told British Gymnastics about the risk and asked them total down their guidelines pending review. They refused. (see my other thread).

twofalls
Maybe respond to the Gymnastics Association by asking for the name of their insurers to add to your records of the discussions in the event of any child being harmed by these guidelines?
It may (or may not) make them think again? And they will at least be aware that in our current litigious society people will sue those enabling harm - as there is clear evidence that they knew the risks but ignored them.

I had to sign a consent form for DC1's new school (usual stuff - photos, trips, etc). I agreed to everything listed, but then wrote that I did not give my consent to her attending any training provided by mermaids, etc.

I have yet to hear anything back from the school. I am desperately hoping that they are as critical of the ideology as I am. But, if they're not and ask why I will be explaining in detail.

Yes, re asking about liability insurers. I worked for years in risk managemenent. What schools and the Girl Guides are doing would have set my hair on fire. Generally, once someone has been advised a risk exists, and they take no action or indeed even expand the risk, they are financially very exposed.''

Thats basically safeguarding in a nutshell. I do not understand how this has happened

DD1's best friend is trans.... And shares a room on trips with my daughter. They are very sweet and don't have any male friends at all. Or male characteristics. Or male body parts. Just a feeling.

The toilet thing is very hard for them though. They won't go to either single sex loos. So if we're out and about it's the disabled. I don't think they go at school at all, which concerns me. I think there should be a unisex option but never at the expense of single sex spaces.
My DD is very grounded and I hope has been a good influence on her friend to avoid hormones so far. I hope her friend reaches adulthood before making any permanent decisions. And learns to love and cherish their true self. Whatever that is. Trans or not.

*stereotypical male characteristics

twofalls re the policy document you posted.

The part that really jumped out at me was the advice for schools, where a parent or carer raises any concerns their child may have being in the company of a trans child.

"support work should be aimed at answering the question "How can we make your child feel better?" rather than compromising the rights of the transperson."

So, a child has always known another child as a boy or a girl. The child then self identifies as the "other" gender. Why would this not be potentially confusing or difficult for the child? But this confusion, communicated to their parent or carer, is automatically equated with a potential breach of the transchild's rights. What about the rights of the other child to have questions and opinions?

It goes without saying there should be conversations around transgender issues, and the issue of possible bullying. But they should be conversations, not a presentation of facts as indisputable, about which children with questions should be made to "feel better".

What does that even mean ? It's so patronising. It's like Orwellian re-education. I think that's the second time I've typed the O word today.

I'm a lurker on this board but have been sufficiently angered by this whole thing to have written to my MP, completed the City of London consultation and now doing the GRA consultation.

Anyway, I'm just de-lurking to share my experience.

DD1 is at a small CofE primary school, and I made an appointment to see our headteacher on Friday. I came in prepared: worked out exactly how I was going to open the conversation, made sure I could articulate the GG and NSPCC guidance and was clear about what I wanted to achieve out of the meeting, ie:

• ask Head to submit consultation in personal capacity
• ask Head to submit consultation in official capacity, if possible
• ask Head to raise awareness about the consultation within the diocese that the school operates

The result was as follows:

• Head totally on board and said she would definitely complete consultation in personal capacity
• Head planning to speak to governors about formulating the school's trans policy
• Head going to see what she can do about doing the consultation officially, though she admitted that there was bureaucracy on that
• Head planning to tell family and friends about the consultation
• Head happy for me to talk about this in the playground as it was "just as the same as any conversations you would have on your work, for instance"

She also asked me to send her some stats so I've sent her an email with stats and links which will keep her busy for days! I also told her I would send the Transgender Trend pack to school.

So I guess what I'm saying is, depending on your school, it may be worth talking to the head, or writing the letter, and then follow up with a conversation with the head. And be prepared, if meeting. I deliberately limited the outcomes I wanted out of the conversation as if it didn't go my way then at the very least she would know about the consultation.

The whole thing is bananas. I missed this earlier:

'
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.''

THIS is the Allsorts guidance, its textbook grooming. Claire Graham did a really excellent bit on it at the last correcting a blindspot there is a video somewhere, I will post it. Its textbook grooming. The guidance in schools is textbook grooming. Its astonishing. I was open mouthed at some of the things in that Allsorts pack.

''So I guess what I'm saying is, depending on your school, it may be worth talking to the head, or writing the letter, and then follow up with a conversation with the head. And be prepared, if meeting. I deliberately limited the outcomes I wanted out of the conversation as if it didn't go my way then at the very least she would know about the consultation.'' I completely agree with this, schools are not daft, just bvecause this has dropped doesnt mean everyone is blindly accepting it. And the sequence of news stories this is now producing should sort where that was not considered.

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?

I’m a designated safeguarding lead in a small community primary school. I was advised by our LA’s lead officer for PSHE to do the GIRES online training. It’s bullshit from start to finish and is flawed as a training resource. I couldn’t progress through the training without giving answers I knew to be wrong from a safeguarding aspect.

I’ll be raising these issues at my safeguarding update training in October. Not all school staff are unaware of how schools are being targeted in this way.

Nice I hadn't noticed that but you are right. Again, girls you need to learn to ignore your boundaries.

I hadn't even thought about dd2s primary school.

Suburban have you got any idea why GIRES is used by LA? I mean what are their credentials??

Gires are funded by the DfE and the NHS to promote their dangerous anti safeguarding rhetoric. That's why schools assume it's OK.
I showed some screenshots of the Gires advice about keeping trans children's disclosures secret to some police officers recently - they work in the paedophile investigation unit and were horrified. Took the copies away with them to discuss.

Oh my word really? So we don't have a hope in hell of successfully complaining if they are delivering training in our schools then? I suppose all we can do is point out where it goes against safeguarding.

Quite the opposite twofalls. Safeguarding is not an isolated responsibility, its about professionals working together in agreed ways, sharing information properly and the parent in that situtaion has the most power unless the LA share parental responsibility. They are obliged if you ask them to check tensions between guidance and safeguarding and they are obliged for safeguarding to take precedence. Thats not optional and we can demand that and its our duty and responsibility by law to do so when we believe our children are at risk.

WE are the site of political responsibility for safeguarding, as are professionals, as are politicians. This shit aint optional

We have the power to kill it in schools and make it difficult for the doe to justify putting it there in the first place.

Ok. So that's why the last line of your letter is important. Thank you.