Miriam Cates report on RSE

[RPMcMurphy]

Starting a new thread as this report is being discussed in others and I think it needs a thread of its own.

Report available here:
www.newsocialcovenant.co.uk/RSE%20BRIEFING%20FINAL%201631%20(IS)_small.pdf

Lots of media attention around it, even mainstream TV news, and plenty of press.

(Not) to my surprise, there is quite a bit of pushback on social media, of the usual 'it isn't happening, and even if it is it's only in a few schools, and even if it is in a lot of schools who cares you are all pearl-clutching bigots'.

Also unsurprised by the response of head teachers, given the numerous reports here on Mumsnet about their behaviour when parents express concerns:
“Head teachers said they were unhappy about the review. James Bowen, director of policy the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “It is hard to be anything other than deeply concerned by this announcement.”"

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fb68df7c-bdc4-11ed-8959-aac6a1130ac2?shareToken=bf5da7c9d4de81e288a9d29fa865ba99

Please please please write to your MP, ccing the Pm and Gillian Keegan to say you support this review and that it must be quick and independent. Let them know that this is popular!

Do not allow the naysayers to have the loudest voices.

Here you go @Ndd135632 - see this tweet

twitter.com/cforwomenuk/status/1633947033340870657?s=46&t=WHoOZ_3Kv5G6-FyQuvE0LQ

Always check Conservatives for Women or Safe Schools or Transgender Trend. Between them you can usually get a link

Has there actually been any evidence presented about kids being taught about 'safe choking' etc?

I can’t get into Twitter :-(. Sorry x

Sorry but we can't post archive links! You can paste the url into archive (do) is though? Give that a try

(Dot) that should say

Or try the wayback machine

The link that @ResisterRex posted opens the whole article. You don't need a telegraph sub to read it.

That’s excellent practice. I know in Ireland and possibly here, a certain very high profile gay rights/humans rights campaigner who has advocated for adults having sex with 9 yr olds was advising government, schools and RSE providers to keep parents firmly away from their RSE teachings/information.

It looks like this advice has been enacted.

In The Times:

Some sex education has no basis in science, says Ofsted chief

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e5dd1594-bee4-11ed-8959-aac6a1130ac2?shareToken=61ce5ae40beba61a2f7392e2f4958efd

Current top comments:

"So we condemn Muslims and Orthodox Jews from teaching their traditional family values in schools, while allowing the real radical extremists to set the RSE curriculum. Well done Michael Gove and Nick Timothy for your meaningless crusade. Stonewalls Trojan horse was literally underneath your noses.

Why are we waiting for a DoE review by weak kneed civil servants who are too afraid of their shadows, and why is Stonewall being allowed anyone near children in terms of curriculum advice.
The Education Secretary should issue immediate guidance. This needs to be clear that children should only be taught that there are two genders. No amount of radical self identification extremist nonsense can change millions of years of the natural order."

"This will get even worse under a Labour Government.
The Tories need to act now if we are not to have a whole generation that does not know that there are only two sexes - male and female, that you cannot ‘change’ sex, that you are not ‘assigned’ a sex at birth, you are that sex and that you cannot be binary.
As for there being hundred of ‘genders’ where does that tosh come from?
Alison needs to ensure that her inspectors down grade schools who preach some of this nonsense."

Spielman will address the ASCL conference today at 10:50:

https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/bromance-in-paris-hs2-derailed-budget-looms/

"CULTURE WARS: The Telegraph, which Matt Hancock will be relieved to note is starting to splash on things other than the Lockdown Files, devotes page 1 to an interview with Ofsted Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman. She says the regulator is powerless to stop schools giving too much sex education, and some materials that are being used “have no basis in any reputable scientific, biological explanation.” Spielman addresses the ASCL conference at 10.50 a.m.
But but but … This focus was partly spawned by Conservative MP Miriam Cates, who told PMQs pupils had been taught “how to choke your partner safely and 72 genders.” The i’s Paul Waugh has written an unforgiving reality check on her claims, saying the “genders” class was on the Isle of Man, which has its own government, and the “choking” guidance has never been taught in schools."

Politico seems to have its own views on this topic and - when it does cover it - never seems to get it. Anyway, checking the ASCL feed, I note:

https://twitter.com/ascluk/status/1634135346203054080?s=46&t=WHoOZZ_3Kv5G6-FyQuvE0LQ

"We're actually providing an unofficial network of welfare support that goes largely unseen by the public. We step into the breach because we have a moral purpose to look after children."

Moral purpose to look after children.

Baroness Nicholson invited lesbians, parents and a teenager to a meeting at the House of Lords. They all gave evidence on Conversion therapy and the danger of lesbian /gay erasure. There were some very inspiring women. I cried listening to some experiences. It was attended by cross party peers and MPs. But it’s the usual suspects who are open to listening who attend. Joanna Cherry, Miriam Cates sadly no Labour MP. And here’s the problem. People give can give evidence to the highest in the land (House of Lords) and certain MPs and the Victoria Derbyshire’s of this world don’t listen. Don’t want to listen. Can’t believe that they could be “on the wrong side of history”. It’s incredibly hard to stand up and talk about the kafkaesque experience of dealing with schools that are determined to affirm a child without any MH training and a multitude of issues. It’s hard to question schools who cannot see anything wrong with certain sex Ed lessons. And it’s even harder to get schools to even question the concept of gender identity. Many parents from both the state and independent sector have battled with schools and written to MPs and they don’t listen. I’ve emailed Gillian Keegan (won’t go into too much personal detail but my child has desisted because we didn’t affirm and MH massively improved not the opposite, we’d been blackmailed to affirm or our child will attempt suicide- couldn’t have been more wrong) any way Gillian just trots out a standard “listening to both sides” email but emphasised the importance of listening to a “transgender child” without addressing the social media grooming of mine or any other child and the influence of activist teachers. She like all the other MPs will not listen. Another parent I know has never even had a reply from Kier Starmer. One of those giving evidence in the House of Lords has had no support from Wera Hobhouse. So on every side of Parliament parents are not being listened to but are patronised with a “we must listen to both sides” As I said to Baroness Nicholson the MPs are not listening. She assured me with a “but we are listening “ so the Lords might be but MPs generally aren’t. And they will all be to blame for the MH time bomb of 000s of kids believing in nonsense of 00s of genders and allowing schools to affirm only. The 000s on the GIDs waiting list is the tip of the iceberg. Teachers like mine pushed us to get a referral. Thank god I never did. And that’s coming from an atheist. I say this because contrary to the belief that those who reject the gender id are right wing Christian zealots we’re not. But then they won’t listen to that either. And despite Newsnight “breaking” the Tavistock scandal the real scandal is that it took them so long. And Victoria Derbyshire’s patronising performance last night sums up the whole problem. They don’t listen to the parents.

So pleased to hear about your DD @tinkerella1 - I don’t think outsiders see how much a new trans ID can affect a child/teens mental health - they tend to assume that it’s only a miserable experience if the child is rejected or bullied, whereas IME it’s the fight against material reality (wanting to be perceived by others as the opposite sex or as having no sex) that causes the tanking affect.

Sounds like a really important meeting, even if no new people are listening.

I used to be very critical of the HoL but I can now see the benefit in having an unelected second chamber who aren’t afraid of the electorate.
It could do with a bit of tinkering to ensure that new appointments are from a broad set of backgrounds, professional and cultural, and there should be a minimum attendance to retain voting rights (exceptions for long term illness but no more Andrew Lloyd Webber types turning up once a decade or less for their personal interest bills) but otherwise a group of people who don’t fear the mob are a very useful thing to have in the era of cancel culture.

Plus a letter signed by a Baroness just sounds more impressive (we used Baroness N’s letter about the rights of the child to make my stepdaughter’s school back off when they wanted to transition her on the register).

I'm just glad I did email Gillain and cc'd Miriam and in the end I forwarded to Baroness Nicholson too just to confirm the point that she is one of the few who listen. I also managed to grab a quick word with Miriam Cates at the meeting who reassured me that although I'm not a constituent she IS archiving the responses. So even if we don't feel like our own MP's aren't listening Miriam is creating a formidable case load of evidence. It's unfortunate the MP on Newsnight wasn't briefed on this.

Going back to this. Just seen Baroness Nicholson's tweet:

https://twitter.com/baronessnichol/status/1634172274604400643?s=46&t=WHoOZZ_3Kv5G6-FyQuvE0LQ

It feels like Tory women won't let this review get dropped. I hope now anyway. There's barely any time for it as it is before the next election

@2fallsfromSSA
This is his tweet from yesterday after the show.

twitter.com/TomSwarbrick1/status/1633876146357157889?s=20

Looks like someone has mentioned SSA and linked to one of your tweets but v difficult to read and would probably be better coming directly from you

Thanks, what was his "this is agony" in reference to?

He'd been cringing with embarrassment at trying to rephrase some of the very graphic terms into language suitable for broadcast on afternoon radio.

He gets it, I think, but is still learning. His request for evidence of what M Cates was asserting is fair enough, I think.

Long article in The Times. Very worrying. Including this:

"The curriculum review is already under way and will lead to a consultation in a few months, and changes are expected by the end of the year."

Consultation in a few months?! How much longer can they possibly need? It's been going on years. This looks like the DfE is kicking the can down the road to the election. I cannot conceive of a plausible explanation for the new delay.

Parents shocked by graphic sex education in school

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/9590cede-bf64-11ed-8959-aac6a1130ac2?shareToken=604ea28ca9a6ee19a60be7473bcef12c

@ResisterRex
8 March on another thread, wrote important additional information in relation to the “Association of Headteachers” mentioned in the news report which people may want to be aware of - after all the A of HT sounds very worthy.

Quote from the report

"Head teachers said they were unhappy about the review. James Bowen, director of policy the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “It is hard to be anything other than deeply concerned by this announcement.

“The overwhelming majority of schools are doing nothing more than following the government’s own statutory guidance when it comes to relationships and sex education. The current curriculum was subject to extensive consultation before it was introduced.

“We have seen no evidence to suggest there is a widespread problem with pupils being presented with age-inappropriate materials and if this were the situation, we would expect it to have been picked up on a case-by-case basis.

“There is a real concern that this is a politically motivated review, rather than one based on the reality of what is happening in the vast majority of schools up and down the country. Our appeal to government is to ensure this review is now handled with the care, sensitivity and impartiality it requires and to listen carefully to the voices of education professionals and pupils.”"

ResisterRex
Oh, THAT National Association of Head Teachers. Got it:

www.naht.org.uk/About-Us/Organisations-we-support/Diversity-Role-Models

safeschoolsallianceuk.net/2020/06/18/love-has-no-age-a-letter-to-asda/

Good to see more of the press picking this up with major articles. Hopefully the publicity itself with make some schools stop and think before funding therse grim organisations.

Yes @ScrollingLeaves that was me. I'm despondent at the shrugged shoulders and eyes wide open "and?" from people who are supposed to care about children. I refuse to believe they don't know.

The NAHT and the like dismiss this as a 'manufactured culture war' by the 'right', but actually its them that's manufacturing a culture war. They are so attached to their self image as self-righteous progressives fighting the good fight against the forces of darkness that they just can't acknowledge any need for safeguarding or oversight.

The NAHT & all the other teaching unions (and Ofsted) all signed up to Stonewall. They're all complicit and are no doubt busy erasing all history of their dangerous pronouncements for fear of future criticism / litigation.

Oh look

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11846821/Headteachers-call-safeguarding-guidance-transgender-issues-soon-possible.html

"The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) union piled more pressure on Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to publish the advice 'sooner rather than later'.
It comes as the chief inspector of Ofsted told school and college leaders there was a need for 'clearer and more specific guidelines' on relationships and sex education (RSE) in the wake of concerns from some Tory MPs about controversial content being taught to pupils."

But I thought it was all made up by Miriam Cates? No? That not right now?

That especially, but even with other topics, it's very easy to get poor quality or biased materials.

Increasingly I find myself thinking, why are schools teaching on these subjects at all? There is a significant % of children at my kids school who can't do math near grade level. Many also don't get the chance to do music education, and they read very few novels even in high school, no serious literature, they are graduating without basic knowledge of literature and history.

I don't see that they need to be talking about any of these kinds of contentious political/social topics. I'm not convinced the schools and teachers themselves have any real expertise.

Here is our quote the daily mail asked for but didn't publish

We were approached for comment for this article, our comment was: “It is simply beyond belief that schools are still waiting for a clear steer from
@educationgovuk
on how to deal with trans identified children. We do not understand what is so difficult..
about clearly instructing schools to deal with gender distressed children under the existing #safeguarding frameworks, as they would any other child. All children are entitled to safeguarding, this means schools must work closely with parents for the benefit of
making referrals to outside agencies such as social care &/or police where necessary. All children are entitled to the privacy & dignity of single sex spaces & to be protected from bullying & harassment. We are alarmed at the widespread lack of professional curiosity regarding what children may have been looking at online, prior to adopting an opposite sex identity.” #edutwitter #Safeguarding #LGBT #RSE #PSHEPeeps

It is way, way past time for unions such as
@NEUnion

@NAHTnews

@ASCL_UK
to stop with the false & damaging rhetoric that they are ‘under attack’ from people who are ‘anti-RSE’ & ‘anti-#LGBT’. We are neither. We are raising serious #safeguarding concerns. You need to engage.

twitter.com/SafeSchools_UK/status/1634519586857992194?s=20