School Video. Words just can’t convey...

[ConcreteUnderpants]

For all those who PM’ed and wanted me to put it on its own thread.
Here you go.

This is the video my year 6 watched at school (without any consultation with parents)
I’m just speechless.

They were also told about Robert/a Cowell and puberty blockers were mentioned, although I’m not sure of those details.

Head and deputy are the safeguarding leads at the school, so where do I start with the Governors? Overwhelmed.

I think they have been circling these pages for a while. OP hope this doesn't cause you any issues.

But also I can't believe they didn't quote the poster who highlighted how this could be a teaching aid for how to look for an critically assess the meaning beneath the Teddy bear.

Hope it doesn't cause issues op.

I can see myself using this video as a teaching tool. I'd use it to teach children to look below the surface of an online video, and analyse the content.

Brilliant idea, Squirrel. As long as they're old enough to understand hidden meanings, and you don't get sacked for failing to toe the Stonewall line.

I was shocked by CharlieParley's comment about girls starting menstruation later after the industrial revolution than during earlier history, because life had become so much harder. That is appalling.

But I never read Mumsnet without learning something interesting or useful, usually both. Thanks, all you wise women who share your expertise or your life experience.

Update:

Well, I had the meeting today. Could have done without the Daily Mail intervention just yet, but hey ho.

To allay any fears, I can confirm that this video is NOT part of the Jigsaw programme, but the brainchild of the Year 6 teachers.

Of course, this allows the HT to completely distance themselves from this debacle and place the entire blame on them.

Which they tried to do spectacularly with lots of apologising and buck passing - “video shouldn’t have been shown”, “not aware”, “dealt with internally”. Blah blah blah.

When I asked what they’d done about re-educating the kids – nothing. Perhaps we should have done something at the time, but it is so long ago not sure what benefit it would be now.
Why didn’t they send out a letter beforehand ? – no idea lesson was taking place, should not have taken place, yes letter should have gone out
Why didn’t they send a letter out afterwards? – yes, perhaps they should have done so.
Have they seen the video themselves? – no, but they know what is in it.
Are they still going to be teaching the gender identity module? They don’t know. Going to look at RSE modules carefully for next term. Jigsaw stuff are just plans and guides and all of the info/vocab will not necessarily be used.
How are they going to marry the idea of GI and biological sex facts? See above.

I can withdraw my child if I so wish.
Tried to explain that I have no issue with them teaching facts and all I ever wanted was for them to adhere to DfE guidelines rather than politically harmful mindfuckery.

Not entirely convinced the gender stereotypes are harmful, born in the wrong body is harmful and total shit etc. sunk in. Felt like the apologising and sympathetic mmm's were more to distract me from the invisible 'please don't tell the Governors' pheromones floating about the room.

Well, at very least they are aware of just how bloody dodgy some of their teaching is. Well done for raising it.

I would tell the governors.

That sounds like they're not really committing to doing anything.
Next step is daily mail sad face governors.
I would be withdrawing unless they can provide more definite proof of what they'll actually be taught. Even if the resources check out, I'd be very suspicious of teachers who would show that or how they'd tackle misconceptions.

Well done OP. It's very hard for Heads to apologise for ideological things like this. They'll be very aware of the possibility of a twitter storm / pile on from the usual bullies.
You've raised the issue, made them aware of the issue of naive staff unthinkingly lifting awful material from the internet and have countered the anti safeguarding / anti women rhetoric that lobby groups have pushed in schools. They won't want this repeated so will look very carefully at these areas in the future. That's a significant achievement. (and they're likely to tell other Heads about what has happened.).
Well done.

This is it, @SunnydaleClassProtector99. I have another 2 children in the school and have totally lost confidence.

I’m a huge believer of mistakes can happen, but it’s how you deal with them that shows what you’re worth.
And sadly not impressed. If anyone wants to do a Daily Mail sad face on my behalf, they are more than welcome. I can only manage appalled and foomin.

Sounds like governors really need to know

I think you should address it with the governors. The head hates you now anyway - there's nothing to lose.

I'm a teacher. I've had parents who loved me and parents who liked nothing better than to jump on my mistakes. I've always been mindful of this and would not be normally advise getting governors involved and would advocate approaching the teachers directly to sort things out.

This, however, does need escalating, if not for anything but that the school lacks a policy and it needs putting in place.
Don't feel bad about that- a school should be used to addressing policy and practicalities. They do it for disability. They do it for Sen. They do it for safeguard.

Just be very cooperative in putting policy in place and finding solutions. Make it a paperwork not personal enterprise.
There's every chance the teachers involved just popped it on in a lull or on a whim without realising. Give them personally the benefit of the doubt by focusing on the curriculum not individuals.

That's fair enough, Sunny. But at least one teacher must have watched that video with the children. And done nothing? Or answered their questions in accordance with the video, or what?
Is it okay to teach creationism, too?

Appalling lies and propagandist pitched at young children who are too young to be taught about such things away.
I would be hopping mad!
To say that doctors tell lies!
Children must be so confused.
Who CAN they trust?
No wonder some children will grow up to question themselves.

I talked about these issues with my son when he was nine, to make sure something like that can‘t confuse him. He understands that changing sex is not possible and gender is a silly but powerful invention by society to press people into norms.
I also told him that he might come across kids who want to be treated and regarded as male though they are female and vice versa, and he should be kind and play along, cause it is hard for them to navigate this condition, but that doesn’t make their conviction true. He got it, I think.
I will say that his school did a good job on clarifying the difference between boy and girl when the kids were seven: they got black and white cartoons of a nude boy and a nude girl (front and backside) that both looked almost identical (even the hair cut was similar, with hair cropped at barely chin length), and the only real difference was the genitalia region as visible in the frontal pics.

I do get that. But there's no gain going after the particular teachers. The school will likely close ranks and become uncooperative.
Much better that misinformed teachers are shown their mistake through policy. Prevention of it happening again at that school or another.

Brava @ConcreteUnderpants!

I agree that this is something that should be discussed at governor level, but agree framing less about this is a total cluster fuck, and more about ensuring they are all aware of the pitfalls of gender identity teaching. And really importantly to keep Stonewall out.

Some suggestions to stop this happening again:
Any video on the RSE topic has to be watched by a member of the senior leadership team before it is shown?
Any video on the RSE topic to be explicitly mentioned to parents, with a link for them to watch, before it is shown?
Both of those seem pretty easy to do and would have avoided this issue?

Can you suggest a 'visitor' like a parent doctor to talk about how sex is fixed and some non stereotypes based difference?

I don't agree that the school can close ranks. They should have a complaints policy that you can follow through the various stages and this should include one stage that goes to the chair of governors and then a next stage to more governors (and hopefully an independent person). If the governing body is doing its job properly it certainly won't close ranks with the school.

Perhaps, but in my experience schools don't respond well to witch hunts. I'm not saying don't complain, I'm saying keep it proactive and not personal.

@SunnydaleClassProtector99

Perhaps, but in my experience schools don't respond well to witch hunts. I'm not saying don't complain, I'm saying keep it proactive and not personal.

I agree Sunnydale. Heads have to balance pupil / staff / parental needs and as we repeatedly see, they're under immense pressure from groups determined to force children to accept these adult narratives.

There are so many different resources around - I'd be making sure that Heads have access to the following:

safeschoolsallianceuk.net/
sex-matters.org/posts/updates/schools-guidance/
www.transgendertrend.com/schools-resources/

Lindz Amer who created this video, has created another one for toddlers including 'Pan' and 'Ace'
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4258509-Ace-Bi-and-Pan-grown-ups-you-see-Blues-Clues-Nickelodeon-Junior-Lindz-Amer-childrens-video-ages-2-5-yrs

This TED transcript by Lindz www.ted.com/talks/lindsay_amer_why_kids_need_to_learn_about_gender_and_sexuality/transcript?language=en includes the same ideas as FWRs such as 'tell them it is OK for boys to wear dresses and for girls to speak up'. I'm trying to get my head round how people on both sides of the debate think the exact same things and what the precise difference is.

From a linguistics point of view I'd say they've ended with tell them it is OK for boys to wear dresses and for girls to speak up because it's a moderate reasonable position, the start as well, against homophobia, is a moderate statement too, albeit with Qt+ squashed in, this means that the dubious stuff (suicide statistics in hyperbolic argument, telling kids about sexuality) is less obvious. There's also a hell of a lot of unsaid stuff as well. You'll notice people focus on pronouns and not surgery because the former is partly benign and the latter extreme. Interesting about the threats. They sound very 'macho' and not the sort of thing feminists say at all. I've no doubt that the far right really do hate trans people, yet it's always presented as a 'with us or against us, wrong side of history' type thing. Equating people who have genuine concerns about medicalising children with genuine trans and homophobia works short-term when people are misinformed but won't survive public scrutiny.

It reminds me of when they aired 'Butterfly' a few years back and the focus was on puberty blockers as a totally harmless pause button. Which it's not, but it absolutely was presented as pause or die.
It'd be interesting to see how tactics have changed since then because I remember at the time it was chock full of stereotypes and me and DH were just a bit like, just let the kid wear nail varnish and pink, boys can like those things too.
It set me up on a GC path so I can't imagine that was the desired effect.