No more government funding for an LGBT scheme in schools

[Chersfrozenface]

I wonder what's behind this?

More specifically, I wonder whether it's because some / a lot of dubious and even harmful materials and training have been getting into schools.

Obviously the BBC is framing it as taking money away from anti-bullying projects, as you would expect these days.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-54988187

Part of the story reads:
"The Government Equalities Office had funded several well-received programmes costing at least £4m, which specifically targeted LGBT bullying, since 2014. Many had been extended and given further government support.

Initially called The Homophobic, Biphobic and Transphobic Challenge Fund, the government programme was not compulsory for schools, but it allowed teachers, staff and students to receive free training and workshops.
...
But the BBC has learned that the government quietly ended its funding of LGBT anti-bullying initiatives last March."

Why can't they just tackle bullying in all its grisly forms?

It's the problem that never seems to go away.

Disingenuous framing there by Ben Hunte, "axed" = funding ended on a specific date which was known months in advance by recipients.
Lying about easily found information doesn't do your cause any favours.

Hasn't Ben Hunte got form?

One provider of LGBT inclusion workshops, who wanted to remain anonymous as they feared that speaking out would jeopardise any future possible funding, said schools and programme providers had been expecting a further extension.

Her organisation was waiting for another funding announcement at the beginning of November, inviting new applications for grants.

She said she felt "sick" that schools would not be able to continue their work, and claimed her organisation had been "ignored" and "shut out" by the government, even though its programmes were well-received.

Anyone know who the previously-funded organisations are?

I have been ignored and shut out of government funding. They axed the million pounds I wanted them to give me. I feel sick that the government isn’t paying me large amounts of money.

Gravy train ending.

@CatsCantCatchCriminals2

Why can't they just tackle bullying in all its grisly forms?

It's the problem that never seems to go away.

Exactly. Surely special initiatives for LGBT pupils only is going to enhance their differences to the bullies?

@CatsCantCatchCriminals2

Hasn't Ben Hunte got form?

Does he ever!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3450973-BBC-appoints-first-LGBT-correspondent

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4064345-BBC-Staff-could-be-suspended-if-they-attend-pride-events

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3718466-Testosterone-levels-for-TW-athletes-to-be-lowered

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3689614-Ben-Hunte-Reporting-for-the-BBC

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3943783-Yet-another-inaccurate-BBC-article

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3739104-bbc-reply-to-complaint-about-ben-hunte-analysis-or-article-about-trans-atheletes

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3943692-BBC-again-Ben-Hunte

The example they use of the consequences of reducing the funding is someone who has a son who came out four years ago. And was fine to start with, but now gets bullied.

But the funding only ended in March. How can he be suffering from the ending of the funding?

And can someone explain why you need training and workshops? And £4 million worth of money? I'm not disputing you don't, I just can't understand why it costs so much.

What's wrong with a government central website, where you can download instructions and guidelines on how to tackle bullying? Do they change all the time?

Anti-bullying measures is one of the areas they use to sneak in gender ideology. Parents are less inclined to question an anti bullying workshop.

Bullying affects children with SEN, sex, race, disability etc. At one stage the previous Labour government issued schools with files of how to tackle all the different aspects of bullying - reams of information were issued.
The Tories binned the lot and then, as they realised that a couple of sheets of paper saying 'don't bully' was inadequate, started commissioning (again) organisations to rewrite guidance and training.
LGBT organisations were at the front of of the queue for this gravy train, promptly self identifying as the anti bullying experts and essentially accessed the majority of the funding. The civil service had of course been Stonewalled so they handed over all the cash to them ignoring countless other organisations representing the other protected characteristics who had some excellent approaches to anti bullying.

It's good news if these funding streams are being cut as long as schools return to using materials that represent the complexities of children's lives, rather than the Stonewall approach.

Something I often wonder with these programs is whether they can actually show that what they are doing is effective. The use phrases like "well-received" but that's not really very meaningful.

and claimed her organisation had been "ignored" and "shut out" by the government, even though its programmes were well-received.

Doesn’t matter how well received the training is if it teaches fiction as fact and wilfully misinterprets equalities law.

My stepdaughter’s deputy head told us he’d ‘been on a training course’. I don’t know exactly what he was told but we were able to successfully challenge his assertion that her name and sex could be changed on the school register without permission, using Baroness Nicholson’s letters.

School have so far avoided answering questions on who provided the training and what ‘toolkit’ they were basing policy on. School is a ‘Bronze Stonewall Champion’ but there are scores of little LGBT orgs and the staff seemingly have no expertise beyond being one of the LGBT themselves (most often T/NB).

That's a good question Goosefoot
There's an irony that when you do anti bullying (or similar) training in a school there will inevitably be an increase in reported incidents. Does that mean success? What if you've just looked at one aspect of bullying, eg cyber bullying. Does that mean there are no problems with disableist or racist bullying?
If there's a culture of children not being listened to and staff failing to spot and intervene in bullying then you have to change the school culture. Changing institutional culture is a major challenge, not achieved by one off 'virtue signalling' training sessions, which is what the government has been funding these organisations to produce in recent years.

Agree BettyDuKeiraBellisMyShero
In my experience, much of the trans / LGBT training (and trainers) come over as self important, self obsessed and ignorant of child development, education theory and practice, school culture, peer dynamics and the rest. The fact that activists use it to sneak in their personal ideologies about removing legal sex segregated spaces etc just adds to the toxic nature of it.

This is really interesting. The reason for this must surely be the fact that loads of this anti-bullying money was going to some very dodgy organisations like Mermaids and the Proud Trust.

I think it was more that the funding project reached it’s planned end and wasn’t renewed rather than cancelled, presumably because it had done fuck all to actually fix the bullying that happens in schools.

In my experience, much of the trans / LGBT training (and trainers) come over as self important, self obsessed and ignorant of child development, education theory and practice, school culture, peer dynamics and the rest.

Yes, it’s more of a personal show and tell by an LGBT person, rather than substantive expertise that teachers and pupils can benefit from.

I suspect some of these little orgs are magicked into being precisely because there is a pot of government dosh to divvy up.

The coalition/Tory governments have outsourced stuff that should’ve been centralised and where they needed clear policy and rigorous safeguarding they’ve ended up with nothing more than LGBT magic beans.

The GEO says this isn’t quite true:

twitter.com/geogovuk/status/1329424658622517248?s=21

Text: “ This is misleading. The Government continues to fund anti-bullying projects. @educationgovuk announced £750k funding in June for three anti-bullying organisations, including a project for victims of hate-related bullying”

The three organisations are listed here: questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-07-27/HL7400

“ These include the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust. “

annefrank.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/

diana-award.org.uk/anti-bullying/

www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/aba-our-work

Well, they certainly seem to have much wider remits than just LGBT related bullying.

Hopefully they have the necessary expertise, as well as being more inclusive.

That sounds positive . Unfortunately the once much respected Anti Bullying Alliance has been Stonewalled so are not immune to advocating anti girl measures. Hopefully as the message is slowly starting to get through that the law must be upheld no matter how much Stonewall dislike it, the ABA will regain their previous respected independence and stop parroting TWAW etc.

@rogdmum

The GEO says this isn’t quite true:

twitter.com/geogovuk/status/1329424658622517248?s=21

Text: “ This is misleading. The Government continues to fund anti-bullying projects. @educationgovuk announced £750k funding in June for three anti-bullying organisations, including a project for victims of hate-related bullying”

The three organisations are listed here: questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-07-27/HL7400

“ These include the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust. “

Stonewall? Spreading misleading information? Surely not

“ his assertion that her name and sex could be changed on the school register without permission“

I saw something on the government website that said a child’s name could not be changed without the parent’s permission and it made me wonder about the things I’d read about parents going into school to find out their daughter Jane, was now a boy called John at school

@EyesOpening

“ his assertion that her name and sex could be changed on the school register without permission“

I saw something on the government website that said a child’s name could not be changed without the parent’s permission and it made me wonder about the things I’d read about parents going into school to find out their daughter Jane, was now a boy called John at school

Parental rights and responsibilities naming the child and agreeing to any change of name

www.gov.uk/parental-rights-responsibilities

That’s an interesting and potentially very handy snippet of info.

The trans storm seems to have passed in our family, but I have book marked that page for when it inevitably comes up again for another family. I say inevitably, because this is what teachers have been ‘trained’ to do by Allsorts/Gires/Mermaids etc.