School LGBTQ+ staff survey

[BlackAlys]

The secondary school I work in has had a huge drive towards LGBTQ+ matters for about 2 years now. We have rainbows and flags everywhere, our PSE lessons are heavily weighed towards trans issues and now, a staff survey has arrived asking us how comfortable we are with challenging homophobic and transphobic behaviour.

It also asks whether we understand what deadnaming is and whether we feel confident to address the issue with pupils, would we quietly deal with it or would we report pupils officially on the school system.

Its final 2 questions are about our awareness of the term cisgender and assesses our confidence to discuss these terms with pupils.

I'm really unhappy with the heavy emphasis on this whole issue. I'd have no problem tackling homophobic/transphobic behaviour but I see cis and cisgender as offensive, made up terms that are slowly being shoe-horned into normality. There isn't a space to comment neither so my only option is to not fill it in.

I am anticipating the large (and growing) group of LGBTQ+pupils to want more PSE lessons on trans issues. Id like to be able to say my piece succinctly and to the point but I'm lost for words.

Can you preempt them contacting you by proactively asking why the other protective characteristics aren’t included on an inclusion survey?

Children who really are at risk of exclusion are those from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, children with SEN, children with physical/mobility issues, children with serious, long term illness eg cancer, children who are caring for disabled adults, children from ESL backgrounds (especially those who are refugees and asylum seekers), children in extreme poverty, children on the at risk register, children who are in homeless accommodation, girls who become pregnant underage and girls from orthodox religious backgrounds. All of these children can be further impacted if they are from ethnic minority backgrounds.

So much school time is being eaten up by trans and non binary pronoun people that genuinely marginalised kids are being overlooked.

Personally I'd have a migraine on the INSET day.

If you are a woman, and I don't want to presume anything, it's a fact that migraines become more common among women in their 50s due to hormonal changes in female bodies.

Argh. Sorry.

just read your update.

I’d personally choose an overlooked group and start a similar inclusion project.

If you have to be bored shitless with a two hour session on woke language I would demand two hours back to talk about children with cancer or children from GRT (Gypsy, Roma Traveller) backgrounds.

Sympathies OP.
If you think you're able to speak up, you could have ready some school focused data so when the inevitable tedious gender woowoo is being presented, you've got the pertinent school based data to share / ask questions about in terms of proportionality?

Check the inclusion / attainment data - which groups are underachieving? Is the inclusion / attainment of these groups also being given attention?
Look at the bullying data? Is the school awash with "transphobic" bullying or are there issues of sexist, disability and racial bullying? Have they been addressed? If not, why not?

Having to hand some clear evidence / data re the dangers of social transitioning is helpful - there's some great quotes in this one about the psychological dangers to teenagers - especially given the lack of qualifications in schools in this area:
www.transgendertrend.com/teenager-says-theyre-transgender/

One of the main issues I have with this sort of inset (and we had one) is that its not a qualified professional that is coming in to do the "training". It is likely to be a charity worker that has transitioned themselves (no issue there) but they have no research or data other than that which is from either very biased data from stonewall or mermaids.

It was one of the quietist insets we have ever had.

That's how it always works FrippEnos. A self invested presenter, silencing everyone from the outset by presenting their personal "beliefs" as facts thus placing the audience in the position of being unable to challenge the most batshit, delusional or dangerous statements because they'll seem "unkind" or bullying - especially when words are presented as "literal violence".
The fact that these people have been enabled and allowed to "train" in schools in this way is outrageous. As you point out, they have zero qualifications yet have been allowed to influence all aspects of the curriculum and pastoral care in schools. Their influence on this generation of children and young people has been catastrophic.

Hi OP, I recently left a school which was going this way (although it was about equal shares LGBTQ+/BLM/Me Too).

I think you could raise that surveys should be confidential. If they're not, I'm sure you shouldn't have to fill them in especially on controversial topics. The solution to potential bullying of children is not bullying of adults!

I had to organise a confidential survey on pensions for colleagues at this school at a time when things were very tense because the proposal was to leave TPS with possible 'fire and rehire' if colleagues refused. I used SurveyMonkey as you can make it totally anonymous. Management accepted this was necessary.

Good luck.

I'm a teacher and flabbergasted by the recent surge in trans students (exclusively female identifying as male). This book is a really interesting read based in academic research.

Irreversible Damage: Teenage Girls and the Transgender Craze amzn.eu/29tLhbG

Thank you.
This is definitely worth raising.

We've had patterns of this for about 5 years but always females socially transing to trans boys. They mostly revert back. It's no surprise that all girls involved are either autistic or on our watch list (life changing early experiences and suffering significant trauma). This past year however, we have high numbers (double figures) of teenage boys identifying as transgirls or non-binary. They seem to be gathering momentum. 2 have been very vocal on the school's stance on residential trips (single sex room sharing) and something about a few new staff members makes me uneasy - they are quite vocal about inclusion rights.

Yes, the new wave of natal boys identifying as trans has been observed by orgs such as Genspect.

BlackAlys

We haven't had this yet.

But you could respond with that sex and belief are protected characteristics, and if you have Muslim girls that they are also protected under religion and the inclusion of males in female only spaces will exclude them.

BlackAlys it sounds grim, but as the parent of a teen who is nearly captured by all this I really want teachers like you to stick it out. Could you raise the aspects that aren't so obviously trans? Paedophiles in Mermaids must raise issues of safeguarding, the Cass Review stressing the importance of mental health, a PSHE session on detransitioners perhaps? You're providing the best care for trans kids and being inclusive

I don't have an answer to what you should do, as it's an impossible situation. I do think that schools seriously need to consider what children are being taught and at what age. My DD(12) understood about homosexual relationships and about people that choose to transition before she went to high school. I have many friends and family that she knows that are gay, so she understands and knows that myself and DH don't hold any prejudices.

Within a few weeks of starting high school though, she had decided that that she was bi-sexual. At the start of year 8 she literally introduced herself to strangers as 'my name is ...and I'm a lesbian' She then decided that we were all raging homophobics because we didn't think announcing your sexuality to people that you don't know is appropriate or a good idea.

She's 12! She's never had an intimate relationship and got a bit icky in a brief discussion about how lesbians have sex.

I just don't know why they all have to fit into a box with a label, why can't kids just be what they want to be and not be forced to grow up so quickly when they're not mature enough to do so.

Would you feel confident/safe to ask for a meeting with the head to discuss your views? I've reached a stage where I've decided this is too important to keep my head down and I've had meetings with the Head and SLT where I've surprised myself with my capacity to stand up for myself and challenge them (normally I'm a shrinking violet). I've decided this is the hill I'm willing to die on as I don't want to be complicit in harming teenagers. It's terrifying and I'm lucky I have a partner who works full time so we could cope (in the short term) if I were fired (and crowd-funded to take them straight to court!). If I were a single mum without back-up I'd be more afraid.

ValancyRedfern

The thing is that it shouldn't be for staff to put their jobs on the line for this. The parents really need to be standing up and saying something.

The problem is parents are kept in the dark about what is happening in schools. One of the things I'm currently challenging is a policy not to tell parents if a child transitions. Everyone who can needs to speak up.

Yes, I've challenged the Head over this at the end of the second lockdown. We returned to find our large toilets changed to mixed sex toilets. I was furious and this, amongst other angles, was one I came from.

I think boys are identifying out of (being seen as part of) toxic masculinity. Society views males very poorly currently and developmentally boys seek status.

I agree with all of the, and your second paragraph is particularly pertinent.

This, not the

WOW OP!

Out of all of that you have an issue with "cisgender" 🤦🏻‍♀️

Ok, latin lesson: trans means going across: transatlantic, transgender..... Cis is the opposite prefix, it means staying in the same place

In case that was unclear:

I'm cis: I was born a woman, with XX cromossomes and.everything that it brings with it. And I am still a woman, I'm not a man. i dress like a woman, I look like a woman, I use she/her probouns. I stayed on the same side. I didn't jump across to being a man

I think you can also shift the focus of your concern in your appeals, and place them on the back foot a little. Remember you are only asking for a non-hostile environment for your philosophical beliefs, which is something that should be protected by law.

Be explicitly helpful to management, from your senior, experienced position. So, point out that the survey isn't anonymous. Point out that the survey, as constructed, is hostile to anyone with gender critical views. Such views are protected under the Equalities Act (cite recent case law). Point out that this is leaving the school open to being accused of creating a hostile environment in an Employment Tribunal. Point out a vaguer concern that there is a risk of the balance of consideratuon of different protected characteristics being skewed within the school more widely and that they are leaving themselves open in other ways (this would, i think depend on the actual characteristics of your school population). You can suggest ways to improve this specific survey by making it truly anonymous, allowing free text boxes, giving the option not to answer questions disagreed with philosophically due to the terms used - I would specifically used the term philosophically or belief as this is the language of the Equalities Act).

You could also point to the new guidance, but this is, I think, a separate point and I would leave it until the Guidance actually comes out.

If they aren't stupid, this will scare the shit out of them that you are gunning for an Employment Tribunal. It should light a fire under their asses. Whilst you are being polite and respectful, and supportive of the school as corporate entity. Even if you don't claim those beliefs directly, it will be viewed as outing as GC and you need to be prepared for that. But from what I can see you are ready to do that.

You dress like a woman? What does that even mean? I was in worn jeans, ancient Tshirt, not a trace of make up and I doubt I brushed my hair at all yesterday while spending a few hours digging holes for my new apple trees. Does that mean I temporarily "jumped across to being a man"?