DM article - ministers urged to investigate gender ideology in schools

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www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10225249/Ministers-urged-launch-probe-alarming-spread-extreme-transgender-ideology-schools.html

Try messaging Safe Schools Alliance and asking them? They've supported numerous parents on here. I'll try to remember the poster who's in the group - Twofalls maybe?

So, I have looked at the EHR Act on Protected Characteristics.

Also UK gvmnt guidance from 2014 (not sure if there’s an update):
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/315587/Equality_Act_Advice_Final.pdf

Which links to this, on guidance for schools, I kid you not:
www.intercomtrust.org.uk/item/55

• from which this quote:

"It must be recognised that people have their own prejudices. A parent or guardian may not always be the most supportive or appropriate person to assist the young person through transitioning. It may not be necessary for a parent or guardian to provide permission for a Trans pupil or student to take steps to transition as there may be issues raised of Fraser competence if parents will not consent.”

So schools are being coached that they are obliged to enable gender-questioning (which they will automatically accept as the child expressing they are trans), and told they have to do this by the law, massaged by a lobby group to keep confidentiality with the child and not involve the parents??

Truly. Look at it.

@DoubleTweenQueen

So, I have looked at the EHR Act on Protected Characteristics.

Also UK gvmnt guidance from 2014 (not sure if there’s an update):
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/315587/Equality_Act_Advice_Final.pdf

Which links to this, on guidance for schools, I kid you not:
www.intercomtrust.org.uk/item/55

• from which this quote:

"It must be recognised that people have their own prejudices. A parent or guardian may not always be the most supportive or appropriate person to assist the young person through transitioning. It may not be necessary for a parent or guardian to provide permission for a Trans pupil or student to take steps to transition as there may be issues raised of Fraser competence if parents will not consent.”

So schools are being coached that they are obliged to enable gender-questioning (which they will automatically accept as the child expressing they are trans), and told they have to do this by the law, massaged by a lobby group to keep confidentiality with the child and not involve the parents??

Truly. Look at it.

It's worth pointing out that Social Services / the police have to go to court before they are allowed to remove parental rights. The idea that schools can transition children in secret from their parents is against the laws of the land. That any organisation is positioning parents as a threat to their children for holding views about the safety of binders, puberty blockers or a lifetime of drugs, surgery and potential infertility for their child is breathtakingly dangerous. This urgently needs exposing and if it means some school has to be dragged through the courts, then so be it.

So true that parents have more clout than teachers in this. Dd's school are terrified of me, while my school just ignore me.

@DoubleTweenQueen

Have found my people. Thank God.

My 12yr old is affected by this. Nobody thought to let me know. School seem to have been affirming, and bypassed any parental involvement.

Am beyond distressed.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4408895-Chair-of-WPATH-Child-and-Adolescent-Committee-says-schools-should-not-socially-transition-without-parental-involvement

This might help

@DoubleTweenQueen

Looking at school policy, they are stating protected characteristic of ‘gender reassignment’ under EHR Act as early as wishing to change pronouns and go by a different name. So they will argue they must recognise and protect what the child is telling them, due to the EHR Act.

Have looked at the Act - this might be so, but doesn’t seem to mention age, but guidance clearly for adults - no mention of schools/children.

I need legal advice now.

It relates to children also, who want to transition.

But it doesn’t say they should use preferred pronouns- freedom of speech laws (freedom from compelled speech), Forstarter high court judgement mean they can’t make anyone use preferred pronouns. Safeguarding laws are trumped by nothing, so those mean they can not keep it secret from parents.

That’s so serious I’d be going straight to ofsted. If a school fails ofsted inspection on safeguarding grounds it’s an automatic whole school fail. Call them immediately.

Contact ssa also. & yes get legal help.

Children with legally protected characteristic are still morally and legally deserving of safeguarding.

They can’t ignore their legal duty of care to safeguard your child just because they identify as trans.

If the school is using the EHRC Technical Guidance (which desperately needs clarification given the current environment of an exponential increase in adolescents identifying as the opposite sex- please write to the EHRC about this), the EHRC position on the question of whether non binary comes under the protected characteristic is also useful to use with schools:

twitter.com/dt_ni/status/1459550054658756608?s=21

“ The question of whether people who identify as non-binary or gender fluid are included in the protected characteristic of gender reassignment therefore remains a matter of legal debate until the matter is decided on appeal in another case or addressed in legislation.”

So a school cannot claim that a non binary pupil comes under the EA. The most they can do is say that it is currently unclear.

*comes under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment in the EA

Some DfE guidance is out of line with the law because stonewall were advising them.

There’s a blog post on legal feminist site that explains how policies based on stonewall advice may in fact be illegal in themselves. Print off & take with you. Along with the rest of the links I added & ssa, tt resources on this. Bayswater site is good also.

@2fallsagain

And teaching children it’s ok for adults to keep secrets for them is grooming.

There are certain circumstances where teachers and safe guarding teams DO keep secrets for children, and where it certainly isn't grooming.

There are some cases where it would put the child in danger to disclose information to parents. Schools wouldn't necessarily disclose a teenager's pregnancy to parents for example. I imagine staff in these situations would very much encourage the girl to tell her parents though, and would only withhold the information if they believed it really was in the best interests of the child.

This doesn't mean that teenagers from stable, safe homes should be encouraged to transition in secret. Just that nothing's ever as simple as "keeping secrets = grooming".

When that happens there is a team of other agencies involved that help make that decision.

When it comes to social transition of children i highly doubt any school will have all the relevant agencies involved and the documentation to prove this was the best decision to safeguard the child.

If the school socially transitions a child then it will almost always get back to the parent at some stage (a child’s pregnancy they are choosing to terminate would remain confidential and not become known socially amount peers) so if the parents posed a risk to the child if they found out the child is trans then the school are collaborating in actively putting that child at risk, because as it will become known socially that the child is trans it will get back to the parents at some point.

That’s a huge safeguarding fail.

@ViceLikeBlip

There are certain circumstances where teachers and safe guarding teams DO keep secrets for children, and where it certainly isn't grooming.

There are some cases where it would put the child in danger to disclose information to parents. Schools wouldn't necessarily disclose a teenager's pregnancy to parents for example. I imagine staff in these situations would very much encourage the girl to tell her parents though, and would only withhold the information if they believed it really was in the best interests of the child.

This doesn't mean that teenagers from stable, safe homes should be encouraged to transition in secret. Just that nothing's ever as simple as "keeping secrets = grooming".

The point about confidentiality in schools is that in the rare event where you do decide to keep information from a parent, it's done after significant thought and usually inter agency discussions. With issues like pregnancy, contraception etc, schools have very different boundaries to health professionals in terms of talking to parents for example. Political activist groups telling schools that parents are a threat to their children if they question the child's decision to change sex are openly attempting to undermine safeguarding for their own political reasons. Medical professionals and teachers having safeguarding / confidentiality discussions about levels of risk to a pregnant girl from an abusive home centre the welfare of the child.

It's why (until with this issue) political activists have been kept outside schools and only able to access children as part of balanced discussions.

@DoubleTweenQueen

Wanted to add you need to print out keeping children safe in education guidance.

It says in there that schools must work collaboratively with parents when deciding how to best support their needs.

Highlight the relevant part/parts and go in with it. They can’t avoid statutory guidance if you’ve put the document under their noses. If they do then - and ensure you have a neutral party minute the meeting or record it- ofsted immediately.

@RedCarpetRebellion

I can’t find that comment in there - all seems to be schools, child, agencies - difficult to find any mention of the parent

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/942454/Working_together_to_safeguard_children_inter_agency_guidance.pdf

Number 14

It seems to have been updated, and parents removed

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1021914/KCSIE_2021_September_guidance.pdf

I got the document name wrong. It’s working together to safeguard children document I linked above. Section 14. And there’s other relevant parts about working with families further down. And about not needing consent from a child to safe information if it’s to safeguard them. Highlight them all and stick it under their noses.

@RedCarpetRebellion Thanks for your support. Feel calmer about going in to school tomorrow.

First recky. See what’s what.

Then ready for further action.

Thankyou to everyone who has pointed me to useful info. It has meant a great deal in my distress.

You’re all s

I will still be writing to the following about my general concerns, to add to the growing voices:

My local MP

Education Minister

Minister for Women and Equalities - particularly regarding the consultation on the ban on conversion therapies, including ‘talking conversion-therapies’ - which is (unbelievably) in serious danger of including psychological support for someone (particularly children and young teens) where the deeper traumas and psychological state which may lead to gender-questioning, as a symptom rather than root cause, may be deemed illegal, and support and talking therapies being restricted only to the superficial affirmation of a trans self-ID. Consultation ends December 10th, I think.

DTQ x

Good luck for tomorrow @DoubleTweenQueen.

Keep mentioning safeguarding and ask why they deemed it appropriate to keep information from you about your own child. Also remind them of the dfe guidance not to reinforce gender stereotypes or suggest a child is in the wrong body.

Yes good luck. And don’t be deflated if it goes badly, that’s what formal complaints procedure is for. And formal complaints stay on record for ofsted to review the next time they are in which hopefully makes teachers take it seriously even when they brush you off first time.

Wow, my son has been coming home from school telling me how he feels like they are being brainwashed, I was literally just talking to my husband about this then saw this thread.

So sorry some people are having a particular hard time with this.

I hope something is done.