Mermaids have appointed a new CEO

[Birdsweepsin]

mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/mermaids-appoints-interim-ceo/

Lauren Stoner - this is from her 'hello team' letter:

Key areas for me to focus on are ensuring that we understand our future direction and have the right people, right culture, right systems and processes to enable us to achieve that.

These are all big challenges and change can’t happen overnight, but I’m positive that as a team, and with support of our board, we can achieve our goals. We’ll share our progress and the lessons that we’ve learned openly.

I’m not going to promise to resolve all of those challenges between now and the end of March. Instead, in 100 days’ time, I want to know that we’ve identified the root causes of our challenges, have a clear plan in place and are starting to address them in a prioritised way.

Interesting point: If TWAW and TMAM, why is a transperson necessary as CEO?

I think a charity that supports parents of gender questioning children is badly needed. These parents need a lot of help. Mermaids was trying to be that pre-SG. If they can get back to their original focus maybe it can be rescued. This women seems to have the experience needed to sort the organisational stuff out and I wish her well in doing that.

Meanwhile the trustees need to take long deep look at what they want to achieve - is it transitioning children or is it supporting parents? I hope it's the latter and they leave everything else to the professionals in the new GIDS services, with their promised focus on psychoanalysis.

If they bow to pressure and go on to appoint a trans person to appease the TRAs then I think they'll fail. Allowing ideology to dictate practice is what got them in to this mess. They need a family support focussed CEO.

I’m sort of going to disagree with him. Safeguarding is not stand alone. You need a functioning organisation. You need HR policies and recruitment policies and whistleblowing policies and policies for residential activities and so on, as well as functioning management structures, financial controls and transparent policy making processes. Safeguarding is a core part of all of this. An obvious example is proper DBS checks when recruiting. Or indeed proper protection of personal data. Safeguarding is not bolt on.

My own experience of achieving Sport England Clubmark compliance in a voluntary organisation is that doing things properly leaves little place to hide. Going in and requiring enhanced DBS checks could result in some staff leaving. Requiring proper financial control and audit might result in some staff leaving. Requiring clarity of the separate roles between staff and client, including in chat rooms, might lead to different behaviours. Safeguarding, for staff (eg anti bullying policies) and clients, should be fundamental and integral.

I think she is right not to highlight or prejudge any particular aspect of what is assumed to be a dysfunctional and unprofessional organisation. The CC will have given her some pointers, and hopefully the Trustees will as well. It looks as if she is also doing her own informal research. If she is good, problems will become apparent and are best resolved by applying good practice. Whether she can do that fast enough or in a way that will retain founders or attract new ones is a different matter.

To me the biggest problem is around Mermaids core aims. Is it a an affirmation only vehicle which justifies decisions made by both parents and younger staff. Or is it a broad church support organisation for parents and children which allows for a watchful waiting and detransition, as well as transition. Support for all affected by gender dysphoria or confusion is needed but would need, at minimum, a name change and a pretty wholesale change in approach.

While she does actually have relevant experience in the sector, it's in fundraising.

I don't envy her.

My thoughts completely! We ALL know what the root causes are and what should be done to address them!
She’s read a how to be a great manager book hasn’t she? And the trustees of Mermaids have fallen for it - they must have read the chapter on what to look for when appointing a great manager from the same book.

I think a charity that supports parents of gender questioning children is badly needed. These parents need a lot of help

unwashedanddazed There are already support groups for parents- eg Bayswater and Our Duty.

I don't think so. I am a turnaround leadership and governance practitioner. It would take at least six months in ordinary times to set something up, and the career history would be explicit.

It may be that what Trustees think they want is a fundraising expert to keep funds flowing in. They may not realise that this only the start of their problems.

I don’t know if there are templates for youth sector charities and organisations, but the Sport England Club Mark requirements are not a bad place to start. Initially they seem overwhelming but as you go through, you realise that everything in the many pages: insurance, evacuation procedures, core training requirements for staff and volunteers (including safeguarding), equalities, is important. My best guess is that Mermaids are some way away from being a professionally run organisation.

News on Mermaids potentially trousering £250k

grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/are-mermaids-about-to-receive-a-quarter

Or 'skirting' - please don't be so exclusionary towards skirt-wearers. Who can be men or women, of course, or neither.