Please help! Gender not sex on a school 'protected characteristics' poster, just spoken to the Head!

[Vebrithien]

Good morning,

I started this thread before Christmas

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4684558-today-i-found-my-bravery?page=1

The overview is that my DD's primary school is displaying posters by No Outsiders, which are supposed to show the 9 protected characteristics, but shows gender, not sex.

The (male) deputy head I mentioned it to, before Christmas, has not got back to me. The posters are still there.

I summoned up my courage this morning, and spoke to the Headteacher. She seemed surprised, as I said I'd already mentioned it to one deputy head, and that I'd picked up on it due to my school expecting Ofsted, and reissuing our equality training.

The Head said that it was surprising, as No Outsiders were an organisation whose specialism was equalities.

I replied that the EA2010 says sex, not gender. I also mentioned that there were some concerning resources produced by them, including an assembly where a dad wants to offer violence to children who do not accept his trans child. (I know no more than this)

The Head is going to talk to her other deputy head, whose responsibility this is, and to try to put us in contact.

Where do I do from here?

Can any one help me with evidence? What particularly is dodgy about No Outsiders?

Is there anything that states that schools mustn't misrepresent the EA?

Is there any DofE (or whatever it's called now) guidance for schools on the resources they used or how they represent the EA?

And, how should I go about finding out if the school uses other No Outsiders resources?

Please help, I want as much evidence as I can.

Still shaking with adrenaline from speaking to the Head!

It's not good enough to outsource these things to potentially political organisations. Which is what the Head is doing 'oh well, they're supposed to be experts'. Not good enough, the Head is in charge and holds the responsibility for safeguarding and providing children with an education. It's not ok to just outsource this without due diligence which clearly is lacking in this case as they've used the wrong protected characteristics.

Also shocking the deputy Head has not got back to you.

This is the guidance on political impartiality from DfE:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools

No Outsiders by substituting sex - the protected characteristic in EA 2010 - with gender, which is part of a contested political movement - are showing they are not politically impartial.

Personally if No Outsiders can't even get the EA2010 right I'd suggest they've given compelling evidence they're not experts but ideologically driven and the school shouldn't be outsourcing to them on RSE.

I'd also ask how much money they've spent on No Outsiders.

Okay, thank you.

To give the Head her due, I spoke to her, on the hoof, just as the school day was starting.

The (female) deputy head who has responsibility for this, I know reasonably well, and with some evidence about my concerns, I would hope take this seriously.

The (male) deputy head, I don't know as well.

Gender is not only fine, but preferable. Calm down.

But it is not the law.

Sex is protected by law.

Gender is not.

Words matter.

But not legal or factual, which is the point.

Shall we make up a list of other characteristics to put on the poster to represent feelings?

Oh yes please do calm down dear. 🙄

Well done OP!

Why do you think that gender is preferable to sex?

Sex being reality and gender being an ideology

As a PP pointed out on my earlier thread.

If a poster on the 9 protected characteristics missed out race, or religion God forbid it.missed out gender reassignment then that would be accepted as a huge oversight, misrepresenting the law, and potentially insulting many people.

Why would that be any different, when the protected characteristic is sex?

Preferable to whom?

Gender is not only fine, but preferable. Calm down.

No it isn't. "Gender" is a woolly term without a clear legal definition. It might be referring to sex, personal expression, gender identity, gender reassignment.

If they include gender on the poster why not include star signs? They hold about the same weight in real life i.e none whatsoever.

You can't rewrite an Act of Parliament just because you think it's wrong. The Equality Act 2010 is an Act of Parliament. It takes the whole of Parliament to change the wording of an Act.

So, do I initially go along the "incorrectly stating the 9 protected characteristics", and that schools have a responsibility to promote/represent (?) the characteristics lawfully (?) Is there anything in law or guidance I can quote?

If this doesn't work, or I find out that they use other No Outsiders resources, I think I'll need more evidence against them.

Vebrithien

Safe schools alliance have resources regarding talking to schools which may be useful

safeschoolsallianceuk.net/schools-resources-and-policies/

Or you could perhaps contact them via their website to see if they have any specific info on No Outsiders

Yeah? Nah. Undefinable language is absolutely useless as a protective category.

And the category is sex which is very definable and scientifically provable.

Where is the school?

Where I work, we have just been given some updated transgender guidance (dated September 2022) which credits safe schools alliance, transgender trend and sex matters in the acknowledgments. Its terrific, but not very widespread yet, I think - if you DM me I shall email you a copy.

It was very very useful when the school received a complaint about me for being anti trans - from an anonymous email account - and I was asked to attend a meeting with one of SLT and HR. I pointed out how all my views align with the guideance, and in fact many posters, signage and some class materials don't. He ended up asking me for feedback and a list of all the issues around the school.

Good job OP.

At least you get the discussion happening with the head and surely they are going to need to go with what is actually the law and not anything else.

Otherwise it starts to qualify as propaganda and not information.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/3858425-Andrew-Moffatt-No-Outsiders-online-lessons

There's quite a lot of info in this thread.

South West, England

Well done OP.

Thank you, I shall have a read tonight.

I've mostly lurked on this board for a couple of years. Have had a few, quiet conversations with friends.

Some just didn't want to know. One signed the EA and sex petitions, as soon as I told her about it.

But this is the first time I've come across it in DDs primary school. They have a newish, Mx, presenting as a man, HTLA, who is covering a maternity leave as the class teacher. I wondered if the two were just a coincidence.

I'd begin with the fact that the author of No Outsiders says it is designed to teach about the Equality Act, but that it gets the most basic (and easily checked) facts about the Act wrong. Whether that is accidental or deliberate, it is impossible to say, but if it is wrong about that underpinning fact, how can you trust anything else it says to be true?

If you want, tou could then delve into the background of the programme (Gendered Intelligence, queer theory), whether it actually takes an equal look at all aspects of the Act (it doesn't), and whether it is skewed towards presenting certain beliefs (gender being assigned, and being more important than sex) as fact rather than as things some people believe.

For the second part, you'll find some useful discussion points in www.transgendertrend.com/no-outsiders-queering-primary-classroom/

😂
Good come back!