A reminder that all schools should be doing a parent consultation on RSE before the summer

[ValancyRedfern]

If you are a parent of a school age child, has your school consulted you on the new Rse curriculum yet? All schools should run a parent consultation before the new curriculum comes in September. This is a golden opportunity for all parents to have our voices heard on what our children are taught about sex, gender, gender stereotypes, sexuality etc. If your child's school hasn't contacted you yet about a consultation, I'd recommend asking them when it will be. This may be easier than going straight in all guns blazing if you are reticent about raising your head above the parapet.

I am so worried. As a teacher I am seeing special schools doing lessons where children create pronoun badges, teachers adamant that they should keep a child's pronouns secret from parents, teachers teaching gender stereotypes as indicators of trans identity, that homosexuality is same gender attraction...the list goes on. Please do chase schools up on the consultation if you have your own concerns.

@FrancesGumm Glad it helps a bit, anyway.

It's so frustrating isn't it? DD is pretty forthright at times, shall we say 😬 When they had the lesson, she took part a fair bit and even bought up de-transitioners and the negative medical affects of cross sex hormones - I know how that sounds (things that never happened etc!) but we talk so much about it at home and she wanted to bring it up in the lesson. I think the teacher was surprised.
But afterwards, the kids were all talking about their pronouns, never previously mentioned of course, and when she said she didn't need to specify pronouns there were a few raised eyebrows& negative comments - they had already taken on board wholesale the idea of stating pronouns and accepted it as the norm, after one lesson. In year 6. This is why it should NOT be taught this way. For my yr6 child to already feel she is being judged for not conforming to gender identity politics is crap, tbh. She's non judgemental herself, kind and empathetic but that doesn't count apparently, just pronouns.

I must add, throughout her school life I have noticed a preponderance of parents really heavily into gender stereotypes and gendered clothes, much more so than when I was a kid. They are mostly younger than me (old gimmer) and very much into the princess/footballer way of strictly categorising their kids. Out of two forms, DD is one of only two girls to sometimes wear trousers and even then she is asked why she is wearing 'boys trousers' ffs. So I think the environment these kids have grown up in is already strongly gender conservative.

I miss the 80's, when people had personalities instead of gender identities.

ASkyPaintedGold - ha - you sound just like me. Always discussing with DD at home. She knows all about puberty blockers, hormones , the surgical operations etc - Keira Bell detransitioning.
Had to start talking about it as they had trans stories on CBBC!
My DD may well say ‘even if a man has his winkie cut off, he’s still a biological man, just without his winkie’.
Well done to your DD for speaking up.

I’m mid fifties myself, had her late, so also much older than many parents.

I found in the govt Relationships and Education statutory guidance Pt 31, it says that schools should not tolerate gender stereotypes.
So what are they going to base gender identity on - if not gender stereotypes, dress, activities etc. ?

I've just had the consultation notice/request for feedback. I've read the policies online but there is no mention of teaching about gender identities etc. It's all very broad brushstrokes sort of info.

What should I be asking for/to see? My child is only in reception atm but I will not have her being taught that you can change your sex. I don't give a monkeys about not being allowed to withdraw her, if that's what they're intending to teach then withdraw her I will.

We teach kindness, respect and inclusivity at home, regardless of how people choose to live their lives. I am not anti trans. I am anti children being taught bad science, anti girls being taught that if you like 'boys things' then you must be a boy, and anti erosion of women's rights.

redheadonascooter
Maybe ask if they're using materials from any organisations and if so, which?
Also ask for specific examples of whether they will be teaching about gender identity and if so, what will they be teaching children?
In my experience, much of the primary materials are very good and age appropriate. It's only when they get to the gender woowoo that things can fall apart - as this thread shows:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4265989-DS-teacher-told-him-boys-can-be-girls

Thank you @MrsOvertonsWindow. I have asked exactly that.

DDs school is in the main sensible, and I do trust them. They're a C of E school and generally quite conservative. But it's always worth asking the question isn't it!

Following on from the Maya Forstater judgement this morning her lawyer has blogged on the wider implications:

"Education authorities will want to review their policies to determine whether a cohort of pupils and students are being miseducated by the presentation of a contentious and doctrinaire view of sex and gender as being a matter of settled fact."

www.linkedin.com/pulse/forstater-judgment-what-next-peter-daly/

redheadonascooter
That's great. It's incredibly important that parents challenge schools about this. All the teaching unions (including Heads) have been captured and so many young teachers are straight out of university where they have been indoctrinated into TWAW and threatened into silence if they raise any obvious safeguarding or accuracy concerns. So it's up to parents to challenge this and insist on accuracy and safeguarding being prioritised.
There are also some very courageous teachers in the system, quietly prioritising safeguarding and ensuring that the vulnerable children caught up in this have access to 3rd spaces etc.
Parents are the last line of defense now - although hopefully the EHRC statement, the Maya result and the Stonewall lies about the law and women only spaces are making some Heads think twice.

Yes, yesterday via zoom all parents invited, two options to attend morning or evening.

@hiredandsqueak

Yes, yesterday via zoom all parents invited, two options to attend morning or evening.

See ours haven't don't this. Just sent a letter out to all parents explaining the changes to the curriculum and asking us to contact with any questions and complete a survey.

Ours is a small independent specialist school so 51 children in total. They have tended to continue as they would pre covid so where there would be meetings and consultations they hold them anyway on Zoom. Because many parents live a good distance away (we are out of County) having virtual meets makes sense I suppose even if we ever escape Covid.

One of my DCs schools has done this, by online survey, I hadn't realised it was mandatory. No mention of anything concerning, it is a fairly traditional school, but there was a box for "anything you do not think should be covered". I completed that in some detail and included a link to Safe Schools Alliance.