So tomorrow I have CPD... LGBT++...teacher

[Theghostofchristmasarse]

It's 'the be you project', with lots of 🌈 they're NHS funded, they offer services for youths, I work in an all boys school, there are girls in the 6th form and we mostly escape all this shit, although there's one girl who identifies as a boy. We have lots of gay pupils/staff of course, and mostly the boys are very accepting. As it should be.

They've brought in these people before, it was ok but very patronising and at one point 'they' (not plural, unfortunately) referred to us all as Cis men and women..I think they might have even mentioned frigging two spirit bollocks 😂

Amazing the amount of staff who had issues with a lot of things said, but didn't speak up at the time. There's lots of very gender critical women on the staff, and we know the local girls schools have an epidemic of trans stuff. It's mostly tolerated but in a 'what a load of bollocks' way.

I can just see myself getting really bloody angry and annoyed, I'm going to have to try to control my facial expressions very hard. It's an hour and 20 mins I have to sit through. The pshe lead isn't the sharpest tool in the box, he probably got offered it and thought that'll tick a box.

As background, I have been peaked by my own ASD daughter insisting on her friends calling her by a boy's name and secretly going on discord etc to announce she's a boy. She's 11. She is no more a boy than I am. She's just a confused kid going through puberty with Autism recently diagnosed and she wants to find a reason she's different to her friends. I banned the internet and she's doing ok, but it's always there. I'm secretly delighted when she asks for earrings, chooses to wear perfume and wears girlish clothing, but basically she's a bit of an emo and a bit of a tomboy and that's fine. But the services for young people with autism are full of this shit and I'm not letting them get their claws into her. She's got no social skills and is a very young 11. She mostly identifies as a cat ffs.

I half want to present her 'case' to them and ask what they'd do. Just to see what I'm up against.

Wish me strength and non eye rolly thoughts please. I might mutter ffs under my breath quite a lot. And order the transgender trend info for the pshe lead straight after.

Good luck, you might get away with "cultural appropriation" if they do bring up two spirit stuff. Unless they are first nation....
You could ask them, why they do this? In an "aren't you marvellous" way, I'd love to know.

Keep turning it onto the other protected characteristics. Why are you having this again? Have you had a session on disability in the meantime? If not, why not?

I wouldn’t even argue with their crap, just with the focus on this to the detriment of understanding and supporting people with other protected characteristics as well.

Oh and argue when they say anything that isn’t true especially about the law. How can they teach you if they are lying?

I’d be bringing up the interim Cass review report and quote the fact that it says that for social transition “ it is important to view it as an active intervention” and “ better information is needed about outcomes.” so if the NHS is saying better information is needed, should social transition really be promoted at schools? Particularly by an NHS funded group?

I wouldn't do anything or say anything. Just look stern and take notes. Answer any questions with, 'I'd have to think about that' and 'I couldn't tell you.'

Then when you have identified why the training is inadequate given recent changes, take it verbally to the HT.

Defo pull them up if they get things wrong, eg gender instead of sex in equalities act.

They'll do a 'What is gender' open question & will agree if you say that it's a set of cultural roles and stereotypes that change in different times and cultures.

And then they'll show you the gender bread person and you can say 'hang on. Didn't we agree that gender is a set of cultural rules? This looks like a safeguarding issue to me.'

Etc

“Be you” indeed if kids were allowed to really be themselves without fear of bullying then a lot of this trans stuff would disappear. Because they wouldn’t feel wrong about who they are, they’d know it’s ok to be autistic and/or not conform to gender stereotypes.

Please let us know how it goes OP.

I will. Wearing my Dino necklace as provocation 😂