Child in my class is trans

[theresheis]

Looking for some advice. I'm a long time lurker and whilst I have read lots of the posts surrounding the issues of trans rights and consider myself firmly in the gender critical camp I am not fully up to speed with the current legal situation surrounding the trans debate.

I am a primary school teacher and I teach eight-year-olds. I have a boy in my class who at home is going by a girl's name, using female pronouns and wearing girl's clothes. This has not happened at all in school and he has not spoken to his peers about this. His mum spoke to me recently and said she had taken him to the GP. She is supporting him but seems to be not overly pushing it. She is a single mum and she is somebody who I would describe as vulnerable.

His mum now has another GP appointment next week without the boy. I am wondering whether the GP is likely to signpost a charity which will advocate a transition?

I would like to know where I stand as his class teacher if it comes to it am I required to call him she/her etc?

I would say that none of the staff in the school would be aware that all of these issues and broadly would support his transition.

I have told the head that I am not prepared to tell the rest of the class that he has become a girl or ever was a girl. He looked pretty shocked and said he would go away and research this issue. Where could I suggest he looks?

Sorry quite a long post! Hope I've posted in relevant section.

their birth-assigned gender

How many times does it need to be said? There is no such thing as birth assigned gender. A baby’s biological sex is observed and recorded at birth.

There is no such thing as birth assigned gender. A baby’s biological sex is observed and recorded at birth.

I suppose we all get lumped with a gender based on our sex.

their birth-assigned gender

I probably should have corrected that to something more scientific when I quoted spannablue's post, but I didn't want them to get distracted by that issue, as I just wanted them to answer my questions.

spannablue How about answering the questions I asked you in my previous post?

I suppose we all get lumped with a gender based on our sex.

Even the most ardent genderist should be intelligent enough to acknowledge the ridiculousness of labelling a baby with a sex-based role.

Sorry, oldcrone, I just challenge it everywhere I see it because I think we ignore the stupidity of using the word gender when the correct word is sex at our peril.

As you were.

LangCleg they did say something but that included a decision not to act in case it gave TT more media attention.

Do you have a link for this?

Also can you answer my questions from earlier this morning?

I agree, SuburbanRhonda. It's the conflation of gender and sex, and the ridiculous co-opting of the intersex 'assigned at birth' which is partly responsible for getting us to where we are now.

LangCleg they did say something but that included a decision not to act in case it gave TT more media attention. Lol.

Link, please.

You'll have to take my word for it re the EHRC.

OldCrone - answers to your questions:

How many children do you think this applies to? What proportion of children presenting as trans do you think this applies to?

Well given the stats I've seen (by the way I posted lots of recerences in an AIBU post a few months ago if you want to find them) maybe 1 in 1000.

What do you mean by 'rational insistence'? Do you think it is rational for a child to think there is something wrong with their healthy body? Under what other circumstances would you allow a child's insistence to govern the way they are treated socially and medically?

See Gillick competence.

Do you think that telling children that they can change sex, or telling them that they could be 'born in the wrong body' will help them to develop a sense of comfort in themselves as non-gender conforming with their birth-assigned gender?

Kids already see this all over YouTube and Buzzfeed. It's part of our culture now. We are indeed responsible for ensuring they make a good critical analysis of what they see online. In my view that includes being honest about patriarchy, sex and gender stereotyping, and yes, in reasonable proportion, the existence of binary and nonbinary transgender people including those who haven't had any clinical intervention.

You'll have to take my word for it re the EHRC.

I'd rather not. Perhaps you could retract your statements, which TT may see as defamatory.

Any news on when you might investigate safeguarding loopholes in Allsorts guidance so that you can share with us your criticisms of it in addition to the Allsorts pack?

Sorry: in addition to the TT pack.

I have to say, it seems rather odd to me that you are so interested in this topic yet have only investigated one of two competing guidance packs.

Under what other circumstances would you allow a child's insistence to govern the way they are treated socially and medically?

See Gillick competence.

example of NHS Transgender policy:
UHSM (South Manchester)
5.4.3.(vi) Gender variant children and young people should be accorded the same respect for their self-defined gender as are Trans adults, regardless of their genital sex. There is no segregation, as is often the case with children, there may be no requirement to treat a young gender variant person any differently from other children and young people. Where segregation is deemed necessary, then it should be in accordance with the dress, preferred name and/or stated gender identity of the child or young person. In some instances, parents or those with parental responsibility may have a view that is not consistent with the child’s view. If possible, the child’s preference should prevail even if the child is not Gillick competent

Kids already see this all over YouTube and Buzzfeed. It's part of our culture now.

A YouTube search, "Am I transgender' will bring up a mix of young vloggers and private healthcare businesses.

All of the ones I have watched say, 'if you're asking this you likely are' and suggest 'starting with changing your pronouns'

There's much content on Social Media to be concerned about but this seems particularly worrying.

As adults, we have responsibility for chidren and young people hence age restrictions on alcohol, buying knives, being able to consent to sex etc

LangCleg ok, the EHRC haven't said a word aboout the TT schools pack

LangCleg ok, the EHRC haven't said a word aboout the TT schools pack

Thank you. Perhaps you should consider reporting your own posts in which you said they have? It might be best you had them removed since they could be seen as defamatory.

I asked: How many children do you think this applies to? What proportion of children presenting as trans do you think this applies to?

You replied: Well given the stats I've seen (by the way I posted lots of recerences in an AIBU post a few months ago if you want to find them) maybe 1 in 1000.

I asked two questions there, and it's not clear which one you are responding to. Are you saying that you think 1 in 1000 children overall are 'really' transgender, or that 1 in 1000 who present as trans are 'really' transgender? An important distinction.

I asked: What do you mean by 'rational insistence'? Do you think it is rational for a child to think there is something wrong with their healthy body?

"See Gillick comptence" does not answer either of these questions.

Kids already see this all over YouTube and Buzzfeed. It's part of our culture now. We are indeed responsible for ensuring they make a good critical analysis of what they see online.

I am aware of that. Kids see all sorts of nonsense online. How is reinforcing this nonsense helping them to make a good critical analysis?

In my view that includes being honest about patriarchy, sex and gender stereotyping, and yes, in reasonable proportion, the existence of binary and nonbinary transgender people including those who haven't had any clinical intervention.

How do you define the difference between 'binary and nonbinary transgendender people' who haven't had any clinical intervention and gender non-conforming people?

I've got stuff to do today so I'm going to bow out.

EHRC need to take action v TT. Their negligence in not doing so may be subject to a judicial review. Basically they don't want the bigoted press to kick off and make them look bad.

Ah, so EHRC hasn't said anything. Thanks for the confirmation. Could you mention this to Mermaids, who seem to have posted in error? Cheers.

Sure this is a case of say it enough times and people may start believing it. Pretending TT have been denounced by EHRC is ridiculous, when the advice follows almost to the dot TT guidance on the topic. And is all about supporting the trans child while also thinking about the other children in the school. Rather than just focus on the trans kid and fuck everyone else, and also throw out all known safeguarding procedures, like the Allsorts pack suggests. I wonder why those who are so down on TT (generally without reading it, just taking the word of TRAs who claim its evil and should be shredded without anyone reading it...) never mention the multiple problems with the allsorts pack.

I've got stuff to do today so I'm going to bow out.

Good idea. You should be ashamed of yourself for posting an outright lie.

I wonder why those who are so down on TT (generally without reading it, just taking the word of TRAs who claim its evil and should be shredded without anyone reading it...) never mention the multiple problems with the allsorts pack.

This is what really gets to me. Those of us who are GC and subject to endless abuse for it, are the only ones pointing out the massive safeguarding failures for the gender-questioning children themselves contained within the trans lobby group guidance.

We seem to be the only people wanting to protect this highly vulnerable group in the same way other children are protected.

It speaks volumes to me that no pro-gender ideology devotee can answer these questions, no matter how many times I ask them. But then, if the NSPCC can't answer them either, what else should I expect?

We seem to be the only people wanting to protect this highly vulnerable group in the same way other children are protected.

This has been the focus of my emails to my MP and AM. I am currently trying to get them to answer two questions which affect this group.

Should children be taught gender ideology as fact, and be taught that they can change sex? (I've referred here to the 'gender unicorn' and GIRES sex-changing penguins which are supposedly teaching aids)

Should girls be discouraged from self harming by binding their breasts? I have used comparisons with cutting and anorexia.

The rational answer to these questions is the opposite of that given in the TransForm Cymru Toolkit, which is the Welsh equivalent of the Allsorts pack. I'm still waiting for an answer from my political representatives.

I’m not sure how people think kids can be taught about sex and what makes someone a man or a woman, then turn around and be expected to also teach that sex can be changed. It’s ridicu thinking about it. I’m not a teacher but I wouldn’t even entertain it. There is no way I would tell other children that this child has changed sex, it’s stupid and a lie, I don’t believe kids should be taught to tell lies. I would use preferred pronouns I think, no one wants to see a child distressed, especially when they are distressed because of adults around them feeding them lies, so to protect the child a little bit I would use the pronouns requested. If I got wind of the child telling others that because they play with toys that are stereotypically of the opposite sex, they must be in the wrong body I would not hesitate to step in and say no, thats not how it works, anyone can play with anything and they are still ok to be in their natural healthy body. I just don’t understand how teachers are supposed to teach such conflicting information. As if being a teacher isn’t already hard fs. Let us know what happens op.