BBC on gov guidance for schools - points that need to be considered

[Hagosaurus]

BBC article on gov guidelines for how to treat transgender pupils in school

Generally balanced article including input from Tanya Carter, highlighting the difficulties teachers are facing and including the issues around informing parents, changing rooms and toilets, although not pronouns.

One thing mentioned by the school used to illustrate the article was that trans(umbrella term!) children are allowed to change for PE in a private area - not clear whether that’s a third communal space or, more likely, individual changing cubicles. I know my dd would jump at the chance to have a private changing space, and would be perfectly happy to declare herself trans/NB/a dragon to access it. There was also a question at the end about whether schools would get extra funding to support trans children.

It is really important imo that the guidance ensures that, whatever support is offered, it does not (inadvertently?) offer inducements to children to transition or to schools to encourage transition

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-65473198

It links with the current thread on charities.

It is becoming apparent that followers of queer theory and identity politics are safeguarding trained, but that their beliefs fundamentally conflict with safeguarding.

In those situations, staff are choosing to follow their personal faith in the belief of it holding greater righteousness instead of safeguarding practice and policy.

It is a straight forward question of where is the accountability and consequences for using a position of trust to push personal religion and politics on vulnerable people, particularly children. Bearing in mind that many of those doing it are doing it with good intentions, have been told that they are righteous in the sight of Judith Butler and the kingdom of stonewall shall be theirs, and been fed a lot of false and emotive information so that they would do so with warnings of dire consequences if they didn't.

But we know in a court room, those who did the feeding will shrug and say they can tell schools/nhs/police any old shit and if someone's daft enough to believe them and do what they advise then on their head be it. We've seen that one play out. The inquiry will have to come eventually on how this massive safeguarding disaster was allowed to happen and by what failures of the system that were exploited - much of which will be human goodwill and trust. But for now, what will stop it, is very clear messages to schools and teachers that there are boundaries to their job, and that their own beliefs and politics are set aside in doing their job even when it is a TQ related issue .

And there will need to be consequences. It won't take many for schools and staff to change direction fast.

I can vouch for this. My autistic son told his teacher that he watched me hit his older sister. The safeguarding lead rang to tell me we were being referred outside of the school. Never been so terrified of losing my kids. The fact that he makes stuff up and is diagnosed autistic didn't really feature when reporting a safeguarding breach.

I'm so sorry @Hoardasurass.

I didn't mean to imply any criticism of you in any way. I was clumsily trying to explain the dilemma for several parents that I know who considered and rejected court action. I shouldn't have linked it to your powerful post.
I'll ask MNHQ to delete my comment.

@@MrsOvertonsWindow there's no need to do that it was a valid response and it may be the case for many parents, just not in my case.
I also have asd and can take things a bit to literally sometimes. Asd can be helpful sometimes like school situation as I can be a bit like a dog with a bone when I know I'm right 😁

Thank you. We need parents to be like a dog with a bone over this

In any other situation, if the school was so concerned about violence / abuse at home that they felt they couldn't involve the parents, it would be an immediate, urgent referral to social services and looking at having the child removed
This is so true and so well said. I'm saving it for use with my school slt. They tried to justify not telling parents because children weren't necessarily sure yet. To which I responded that if they aren't sure we shouldn't be socially transitioning them in school. They didn't have an answer to that funnily enough.

Precisely.

The child very likely would be leaving the school site with a social worker on the way to a foster home before the end of the school day and before social services rang the parents to explain the child was the subject of an emergency order.

It's exceptionally rare and the thresholds are extremely high. Otherwise, yes, if you take action re safeguarding you contact the parents and inform them of it, regardless of how horrible that conversation may be on both sides.

I would like to know how many of those who have trained schools in 'here's what you do re safeguarding in these cases' actually have any safeguarding training. At all. Even the basic level, never mind the repeated and higher level training those in the position of being safeguarding leads advising staff on actions and writing policies have. I suspect the answer could be quite, er, startling.

Unfortunately nilsmousehammer the teacher who said that to me was our designated safeguarding lead.

That's horrifying. And a rather grim illustration. This feeding of false information has compromised safeguarding, and it's been done intentionally.

Absolutely, she'd attended Stonewalll training and was trying to win an award (aka protection racket) from Equaliteach and had outsourced her thinking to them.

(She has also been promoted way beyond her abilities, which is a wider problem in teaching where bright eyed 20 somethings with 2 years' teaching experience become SLT)

which is a wider problem in teaching where bright eyed 20 somethings with 2 years' teaching experience become SLT

Yep.

Another reflection of the situation where the 'old and past it' have been pushed out, yay for new blood -

except this misses that it's the people with life experience, in depth knowledge and years of skills that have been pushed out, and many of them weren't pushed, they jumped because they knew better times first hand, had a lot more understanding of what was going wrong, knew how serious it was, and they couldn't be fooled with nice sounding aspirational fluff as the more innocent can be.

Yes - take Shereen Benjamin, very experienced early years lecturer who was demoted at her university. She knew full well that gender stereotyping is explored by young children as part of schemas etc and the ideas behind gender ideology are both stupid and dangerous. But she was a heretic.

No idea if any link but @ prof_curiosity1 on twitter regularly writes threads all about children's early development and how gender ideology pathologists normal play and developmental stages into indicators of transexualism.