Schools ‘let pupils switch gender without informing parents’ - Policy Exchange Report

[rogdmum]

There’s a raft of coverage in the Times and the Mail today:

<a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/2023.03.30-014418/www.thetimes.co.uk/article/schools-let-pupils-switch-gender-without-informing-parents-pppbphkgq?shareToken=a982976ca8c81a3e9ea0e21ee76f3364" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.ph/2023.03.30-014418/www.thetimes.co.uk/article/schools-let-pupils-switch-gender-without-informing-parents-pppbphkgq?shareToken=a982976ca8c81a3e9ea0e21ee76f3364

Half of schools turn to outside agencies for sex education:

<a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/2023.03.30-015239/www.thetimes.co.uk/article/half-of-schools-turn-to-outside-agencies-for-sex-education-zzqqsmgb0?shareToken=111ada6e40d464c85ba4f6d11703fbd8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.ph/2023.03.30-015239/www.thetimes.co.uk/article/half-of-schools-turn-to-outside-agencies-for-sex-education-zzqqsmgb0?shareToken=111ada6e40d464c85ba4f6d11703fbd8

The magnificent Rosie Duffield:

<a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/2023.03.30-015234/www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rosie-duffield-schools-are-failing-in-their-duty-to-protect-gender-distressed-children-9zzsk06j9?shareToken=fbad1f25d0a39dad9cb1bc35292664d7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.ph/2023.03.30-015234/www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rosie-duffield-schools-are-failing-in-their-duty-to-protect-gender-distressed-children-9zzsk06j9?shareToken=fbad1f25d0a39dad9cb1bc35292664d7

Rosie nails it:

”Iis universally accepted that safeguarding is fundamental to a responsible society. These principles are well-established, enshrined in law, and applicable to all organisations and functions relating to children. There is never a good reason why safeguarding should be compromised, especially within school, where children spend the majority of their time outside of the home environment.”

”The rising number of children reporting gender distress, and the treatment of those children within clinical settings, is rightly being given the attention it deserves. In an NHS-commissioned independent review, Dr Hilary Cass found the Tavistock clinic to be adopting an “unquestioning, affirmative approach” without exploring other factors causing these children’s distress.
Affirmation as a one-size-fits-all solution has been discredited.

Thankfully, the clinic is being shut down. However, Policy Exchange has revealed something even more concerning: the same approach is being facilitated in schools, which breaks every safeguarding rule in the book.”

The report is here:

https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/asleep-at-the-wheel/

Argh, did that all wrong using archive links! Here’s share tokens:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eaf16a74-ce5e-11ed-9a78-fca06b87e87b?shareToken=0977d6d1b7db790f2a40f85b6435a5b4

Outside agencies:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/7197ed74-ce4a-11ed-9a78-fca06b87e87b?shareToken=55de3dfdda136a2e1b803719cf6e1564

And Rosie:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/07ab0042-ce61-11ed-9a00-73fd2b90e22e?shareToken=d941ae1747c2394d7b29777a4845504a

....while a school in Cornwall used transgender guidance contributed to by the police amid fears over “discrimination”.

Is this with the intention of terrifying children into compliance for fear of being dealt with by the police? I understand that teachers are in a difficult position but this is appalling.

Thank you rogdmum, I just spotted these. Scanned them and they look very comprehensive, going to read properly now.

Rosie Duffield is a Queen.

These reports are horrific, but not surprising. Lots of do good young teachers desperate to be noticed, fresh out of their equally captured training institutions.
Older teachers are too afraid to say anything as it could impact their jobs - just look at Kevin Lister for that example.

The situation is terrible right now in schools.
Schools and teachers were never qualified to make these decisions in the name of safeguarding.

A devastating report. All happening in plain sight with schools acting outside the law. Only the courts can remove parent's rights. In the absence of action from this useless government we need some poor parents to drag a school into court to get this stopped

Before I share this with my Head, can anyone tell me anything about the Policy Exchange? Is she likely to dismiss them as right wing? (And therefore evil, obvs). I will still share, just want my arguments ready.

Lots of reading here! Woke up to the Times article and very happy to see the sunlight. Now on to the report - thanks for the links.

On Radio 4 now

Valancy the Policy Exchange is right wing, yes, but you could point out that The Times says Baroness Morris, a former Labour Minister for Education supports the report.

Rosie Duffield has written this knowing what Labour would do to her, like SSA she is a responsible citizen.

Vulnerable families have always been abused by these services, modelling bullying to each other and students, gossips who fabricate and induce hardship in others lives at work as they do in their private life.

They got to show everyone who they are. Maybe everyone else will delude themsleves, pretend it's a one off and lessons will be learned never to happen again.

Headteachers and department heads don't tend to be in their early 20s. People in management positions tend to more likely to be personality disordered, yet safeguarding deems this type of character acceptable. Safeguarding leads at these schools are inept at best, most likely willing and knowledgeable abusers who are also in other areas. Every family they had dealings with should be reviewed.

Valency the foreword is by Labour MP Duffield

Teachers require Mother's with abusive partners to give up their home and income to safeguard children, if these people can't safeguard at work they can't in their home.

Children at their work and in their homes deserve to have assessments to see if they can be sent elsewhere and adults who can safeguard them properly can be brought in.

There are systems in place for staff to report safeguarding concerns and toxic workplace norms.

There should be no sacred caste or double standards.

Described as a 'radical ideology ' - I only caught the end of it, was that the schools minister? Can't believe I just heard that on Radio 4!

Come on sunshine!!!!

However, quick question - someone is quoted as saying they were struggling to make the right decisions without any guidance from the government. I thought DFE had recently issued a load of stuff which was pushing back against je born in the wrong body / gender stereotypes?

True. A child in my school has just changed her gender. Mum did not want this to happen (as recently as last week) but school have put a lot of pressure on and now it has. I am very concerned.

Interesting how what Rosie Duffield and Miriam Cates have been saying for months (and what Stephanie Davies-Arai and Transgender Trend have been saying for years) is suddenly “explosive” and “shocking” (according to R4) now that men at Policy Exchange are saying it.

But at least people are listening now.

Excellent news thanks for sharing. And Rosie Duffield once again shows what politicians with real scruples can be like. Keir Startmer should take note (but we all know he won’t).

I was talking to a friend who’s a senior teacher about this at the weekend. She said her school, like many others, has quite a few kids identifying as transgender and she feels her hands are tied in what she can say about it.

Following our chat about SRE resources and Stonewall thought she is going to look at her school’s resources and SSA.

This is precisely how it is and why I left in the end.

Schools are ignoring this.

So glad to see this being discussed. The report is excellent and exposes everything we have been shouting about for years.

Yes, the ACSL is blaming a lack of government guidance, but according to the report 25% of schools are breaching the guidance that does exist by teaching that children are born in the wrong body.

And how has this happened when safeguarding failures mean an automatic Ofsted grade of Inadequate? Do both schools and Ofsted consider government guidance to be optional on this subject?

Excellent coverage!
My only criticism of the Times piece is this - and it will be the bit that gets the be-kind folk up in arms. Of course children should be allowed to do traditionally opposite-sex sports! Just not 'with' the opposite sex (assuming rugby, hockey, lacrosse, etc). The Times not thinking about connotations again 🙄

Like a Mother leaving an abusive relationship.

There is no punishment so the abusers carry on, building their pension pot as they go.