Supporting trans-identifying children in school: Rebecca Bull in TES

[ColdTowel]

This is a really clear article:

“As the number of school students identifying as trans continues to rise, many school leaders will probably have paid keen attention to an interview with Suella Braverman in The Times at the end of last month.

In it, the attorney-general said schools were under no legal obligation to acquiesce to children’s requests to be referred to as members of the opposite sex, and that girls’ toilets and changing rooms had special legal protections as safe spaces.”

continues

www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/general/trans-students-legal-risks-schools

Wow that's a great article.

It’s an excellent piece and is in such glorious contrast to my daughter’s school who in their rejection of our appeal, outlined in great detail why they believed they were legally obliged to support her social transition (initially behind our backs) to a boy.

Personally. I don’t have much faith in the govt coming up with anything other than unhelpful vagueness and think it’s going to take a court case to determine the legal position. In the meantime, the EHRC Technical Guidance to schools is a massive issue as it out and out states that to not support a trans identity is discrimination under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. This article should be sent to them.

I want to send that to every Head in my local area. Just yesterday I was told about a kid at a local secondary being given detention for accidentally "mis-gendering" another child who'd only recently identified as trans.

thank god.

There was a boy who IDed at DS school. Apparently they were ‘cool about it’ and used the boys facilities (thankfully because it was a boarding school and they boarded) and wore trousers and white shirt/ tie (girls cold wear trouser or skirt) and didn’t attend the LGTetc clubs and events - it was all cool gallies (girl allies) who attended these.

They just got on with it and didn’t make a whole hoo ha.

Delighted TES have published this. Identifying as the opposite sex does not remove your actual protected characteristic of sex. Let’s say you, as a school leader, send a young adolescent female who identifies as male into a changing room with young adolescent males, even if that female says she wants you to do that, one day you could be legally liable for the harm you did.

Hallelujah!

This needs to be sent to every.single.school.

So important that this excellent article is in the TES. Teachers who have been captured are so much of a threat because of their lack of critical thinking and due diligence.

To complement this, here's a regretful article on Transgender Trend from a young male gay teacher who set up an LGBT club in a school and now regrets the harm that he inadvertently caused.

" Without meaning to, I was contributing to the confusion they felt about their bodies and, without realising it, was encouraging the belief – widespread on the social media they were accessing – that says removing body parts and taking hormones is a good way to deal with a mental disorder "

www.transgendertrend.com/school-lgbt-club/

Re the Transgender Trend article from the gay teacher, I thought this quote was very insightful, setting the scene. I know it has often been said that one reason so many kids have been referred to GIDS is due to the massive waiting lists for general mental health support.

I want first of all to say that most teachers are out of their depth in this area specifically, and mental health generally. The main concern for teachers is (and should be) teaching kids a particular subject, be it history, art or physics. Their job is not (and should not be) counselling them through mental health crises. However any good teacher will unavoidably find themselves dealing with a teenager who is struggling with their mental health. Given we became and remain teachers because on some level we like kids, this can be a challenge. We have no proper training, and yet we are confronted with unstable, hormonal teenagers, who often have no hope of seeing trained professionals for months, if not years. This is the context teachers and schools are currently in

It's a good insight. Pastoral care training offers an insight into how to deal with many issues and most importantly maintaining professional boundaries - knowing what's for a teacher and school to deal with and where our lack of expertise might make things worse.
Trans issues have been thrown at schools with trans activists in Mermaids, GIRES, Stonewall etc allowed to make demands, insisting on curriculum and pastoral changes with zero knowledge / insight into what's best for children. Just an insatiable desire to influence children into adopting their ideology.

An excellent piece by Rebecca Bull. The message is finally getting out.

It's a great article ColdTowel, thanks for sharing.

Judging by the TES twitter account, they're getting a lot of flak for publishing it.

Even if you're not on Twitter, there are ways to assure them that there are many people who value they've done so by writing to them off Twittersphere.

Particularly from a teacher or parent point of view -

Letters to the Editor: [email protected]

Or really old-school!:

TES
26 Red Lion Square
London
WC1R 4HQ