Guardian: Involve parents before pupils ‘socially transition’ at school, says NHS England

[rogdmum]

The Guardian has picked up on the new NHSE MindEd modules for healthcare workers and educators which emphasise the potential seriousness of social transition and the caution which schools should take when a pupil expresses a wish to socially transition.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/21/parents-should-know-if-school-pupils-socially-transition-says-nhs-england

The link to the modules is here:

https://www.minded.org.uk/Catalogue/Index?HierarchyId=0_59819&programmeId=59819

Forgot to add, Geoff Barton has come out and welcomed the NHSE modules which must have been hard for him given his refusal to listen to parents who have been saying to him that there is a big issue around schools supporting social transition without parental awareness:

”It’s helpful that the NHS is providing guidance as this is obviously a source of information in which educators can have a high degree of confidence in navigating this complex and sensitive territory,” Barton said.”

Thanks for the link, I'll have a look at the modules this evening

That's a policy I can certainly get behind.

Having looked at the first module a few things stand out:

It's pretty heavy reading if this is all new to you - the module was aimed at parents. It expects a much higher reading age than a lot of people have

It is very balanced and there is a lot of emphasis on there not being evidence to support transition

Most striking - at the end there are some links and suggestions for further reading:
All the further reading is books on communicating better with your child eg How to talk so kids will listen
All the links are generic child support or about internet safety

Not one link to Mermaids or any other trans charity!

How things have changed.

That's really good to hear. I signed up for access to the professional section but lots of other stuff going on at the mo so not done it yet.

For anyone who doesn't know these look to be really promising. Well worth sharing in schools if you work in one

This seems eminently sensible.. and quite the shift for the Guardian.
Fingers crossed that this bodes well for further shifts towards supporting children properly in all of this 🤞🤞

The Telegraoh have run a piece with a bit more detail about the risks around keeping social transition secret from parents:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/21/nhs-guidance-transgender-schools-change-pronouns-parents/

(also in usual archive place)

”An online module for people working in education states: “Supporting a social transition without the involvement of parents or carers can create complex difficulties within families and is not recommended.”

“The guidance adds: “Secrets between parents or carers and their children are problematic and are likely to create further issues in the future.”

”When parents discover that changes have been made without their involvement, “this can increase risks and alienate parents and carers from their children”, it states.”

That's really good.

I have been reflecting recently that there can sometimes be a bit of a "we know better" culture in some schools.

And that can come from years of working in areas where parents can struggle and there is a lot of child protection involvement for neglect.

I few times I've found myself correcting colleagues for being snooty about parenting with alternative views on the context.

If teachers they the same mindset about gender ideology , it's very dangerous.

https://www.minded.org.uk/Catalogue/Index?HierarchyId=0_59819&programmeId=59819

Thank-you for sharing that link to a brilliant set of resources rogdmum

I've been working my way through them all and had so many 'yes' moments whilst reading, including;

. Simply referring to a child as male or female, no silly AMAB or AFAB

. Highlighting that key safeguarding policies stress the importance of working with parents or carers

. An acknowledgement that gender distress can lead to many different outcomes, not just transitioning.

. Stating that online forums and resources can funnel children to a one sided simplistic view

. Lots of links to Cass

. Saying the suicide statistics need to be taken with caution then linking to papers debunking them

As has been said many times before, I feel the grown-up are back in the room.

I think this has been coming for a while.