Local Education Authorities withdrawing damaging 'trans' guidance.

[TERFLurve]

The Safe Schools Alliance have just successfully helped (via raising funds through Crowd Justice!) a teenager launch a legal challenge against Oxfordshire County Council for their damaging transgender school guidance. As a result of this, a number of other Local Authorities are also withdrawing similar guidance. The details can be viewed here:

safeschoolsallianceuk.net/get-involved/write-to-your-local-education-authority/?utm_source=sendinblue&utm_campaign=Update23312078onHelpmechallengedamagingTransgenderschoolsguidanceinOxfordshireJuly072020&utm_medium=email

They are encouraging parents and carers to check their own county council’s trans policies, check them against the SSAs Equality and Diversity ‘Red Flags’ factsheet, and contact their LEA's if they are concerned.You can use the Safe Schools Alliance template letter to write to them if you are concerned.

I checked with my LA and there didn't seem to be a policy? Not sure whether that's a good thing or not?

Thank you for the info.

Omg...I literally downloaded Sheffield's trans-etc policy an hour ago to bring it up at the primary school I'm a governor at. Skim reading shows it protects gender rather than sex. Quelle suprise...Was bringing this all up at school level next week, but looks like I might be able to complain at city level now..happy days!

I checked with my LA and there didn't seem to be a policy? Not sure whether that's a good thing or not?

Same.

Previous threads about this. I think there is a list on one of them of which LEAs have withdrawn their guidance.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3902606-Oxfordshire-CC-withdraws-transgender-toolkit-after-girls-legal-challenge

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3908239-Shropshire-County-Council-has-withdrawn-the-toolkit

Thanks OldCrone.
Always good to keep reminding people as there are so many new people on this topic since the JKR revolution.

One poster on the previous thread posted this helpful summary of LEA's that are likely doing the same:

If you look at the Warwickshire one (which has supposedly been withdrawn, but is still available):

headsup.warwickshire.gov.uk/assets/1/r0566_trans_inclusion_toolkit_for_schools.pdf

And go to the Acknowledgements section, you'll see the following:

"The following local authorities and organisations have contributed to the creation of this toolkit: Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Birmingham City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Kent County Council, Leicester City
Council, Leicestershire County Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Sheffield City Council, Warwickshire County Council, the Young Transgender Centre of Excellence at the Leicester LGBT Centre, and
Joe Butler at SEND Support (Special Educational Needs and Disability Consultancy and Training).
Special thanks go to Brighton and Hove City Council and Allsorts Youth Project for allowing some of the content of this toolkit to be based on their ‘Trans* Inclusion Schools Toolkit’, and
to Gendered Intelligence for commentary on the final draft."

All those councils are using the same guidance, with minor variations.

I see that Oxfordshire are paying most? much ?of the girl's legal fees. That's a great achievement.
It's long overdue that organisations adopting these anti women and girl dangerous policies without thinking get hit where it hurts - financially. They may not care about safeguarding girls and children but they will notice it as the compensation / legal fees start mounting.

Do academies have to follow LEA policies in these issues, or do they set their own?

Academies usually set their own - but most are part of multi agency trusts and they've been rich ££ pickings for the lobby groups

Same nothing on lea, can someone let me know what I should be asking the school, especially concerned about outside providers teaching the topic called gender/sexual orientation.

All that money wasted. And these groups aren’t just going to shrug their shoulders and go away. I worry for why else they will be plotting.

Our school - thank goodness - uses an outside lesson planner. It’s heavy on the trans (for such a small minority they do discuss it a lot) and is generally factual although it does use the C* word in its glossary (I am weighing up whether to contact them an complain - is rather be called a ct than c*).

Gloucestershire is heavy on Stonewall and the Trans Inclusion Schools toolkit.

I need to get writing don't I?

In addition, Andrew Moffatt's training services are heavily promoted to education leaders across Warwickshire and Birmingham. Leaders who have influence over policy in their region and those who work within academy trusts.

AM works for an academy trust himself and their accountability sits within their governing body (and DfE).

My son's school is in a trust and they use Stonewall and Diversity Role Models

@Ducksurprise

Same nothing on lea, can someone let me know what I should be asking the school, especially concerned about outside providers teaching the topic called gender/sexual orientation.

The template letter that the Safe School Alliance provided laid out the points that should be made to the LEA, which could also be addressed to schools:

I have reviewed the [name] guidance issued by the council and I believe that this contains many of the same flaws as the Oxfordshire toolkit: [delete where not appropriate]

• It misrepresents the Equality Act 2010 by replacing ‘sex’ with ‘gender’ and omitting to refer to the single-sex exceptions contained in the act.
• It fails to fulfil the Public Sector Equality Duty by prioritising one protected characteristic (‘gender reassignment’) over others.
• It fails to meet basic safeguarding requirements by promoting mixed-sex changing rooms and residential accommodation, and the use of harmful practices such as breast-binding.
• It treats concerned parents as a safeguarding risk.
• It disregards the rights of all pupils to safety, privacy and dignity in single sex spaces.
• It disregards the rights of teenage girls to compete in sports on a level playing field.

DaVinyl thanks, problem is I can't find out what they are using. The school just says they will be teaching gender/sexual orientation. I keep drafting a letter but it sounds crap.

@Ducksurprise

DaVinyl thanks, problem is I can't find out what they are using. The school just says they will be teaching gender/sexual orientation. I keep drafting a letter but it sounds crap.

Do they have an Equality/Diversity/Gender Equality Policy buried on their website? All schools are required to publish these on their web pages.

If they are an academy, they will have their own. If they are a maintained school, they will follow the LEA's guidance (if they have any!).

Otherwise, email the school directly and ask them to let you know how where on their web pages the school policies are published.

Shit, I've just checked everywhere but whilst there is no policy they are Stonewall champions, I will email them.

How do I find out who is providing the material, ie are they using the dice?

I think they usually mention it when they are using organisations like Stonewall. If they are Stonewall champions, they are also likely being advised by them. You could ask the school in your email to them whether that is the case?

Thanks, I'm newly aware of this so feel out of my depth but not willing to just ignore it.

Ducksurprise
Check the Academy website if they're part of a chain of websites?
And have a look at their equality policy - some schools put trans policies as as sub set of the overarching equality policy.
If not (especially given they're a Stonewall champion school so are unlikely to have the confidence to challenge the incorrect stonewall versions of the law) I'd email and ask for a copy?