Unnecessary data

[stargirl1701]

I've just been to the library with my DC to sign up to The Summer Reading Challenge.

I feel this is unnecessary data collection about gender given the age range is 5-12. Surely the data required is sex based given the disparity between the reading attainment of boys and girls.

What do you think?

The scheme is organised by The Reading Agency not the local libraries. The cards have come from them.

Did you mean to attach a picture? I can't see anything in the browser version.
If it looks like they've put 'gender' to mean 'sex' then that's fairly common especially re things for kids.

I did. Sorry.

It asks how they would describe themselves: boy/girl/ another way/ prefer not to say. And it's optional.
Personally I would assume they are asking for sex, and put that, and for people who don't like acknowledging their sex they can write anything they like. It doesn't ask specifically about gender identity.

Well it is asking about identity, hence the "how do you describe yourself" with the option to write in "another way". If it was sex, it would be asking Are you a boy/girl? Or Male/Female.

As it's optional I'd leave it blank. If they want to collect useful info about the reading habits of each sex then this isn't the way to go about it.

I guess that is the crux of it for me as a teacher. There is a gap between boys and girls. In order to analyse that, they need robust data.

Last year it was worded something like "what gender are you?" so I crossed out gender & wrote sex.
I'll probably leave this one blank

Other: a potato

😆 tbf one of mine would say she's a bunny if asked...