Primary schools given advice on children who want to change gender (supposedly now agreed)

[IwantToRetire]

The government had been planning to introduce an outright ban on social transitioning, under which children can change their names, pronouns and uniforms.
However, Victoria Prentis, the attorney-general, said that an outright ban would be unlawful under the Equality Act and would require new legislation.

The guidance will instead urge schools to proceed with caution and allow pupils to identify as the opposite sex only in limited circumstances.

Schools will be urged to take particular care with younger children amid concerns that social transitioning could have a more significant impact.

The guidance will also ensure that nearly all parents are informed if their children tell staff that they want to change their gender identity, except for children with safeguarding issues. Campaigners have raised concerns that many parents are being kept in the dark.

Ministers had weighed up putting the legislation on a statutory footing. However, Prentis said that a blanket ban would be unlawful because the Equalities Act states that gender reassignment is a “protected characteristic”, regardless of age. She gave the same advice when ministers asked whether there could be a ban on social transitioning for primary school children.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/primary-schools-children-change-gender-caution-new-guidance-9fzhbp66z

Also at https://archive.ph/XuEfX

All that is what I'd expect to happen in a well run school on a good day.

No fucking clue how it could pan out in others.

It's going to take time unfortunately for it to become good practice.

There's a lot of de programming to do.

We’re really up against some heavily invested TRAs and organisations

Poor children let down by adults on this. These bad laws and our inability to safeguard properly

Because sometimes for safeguarding reasons it isn't appropriate.

Someone withdrawing their child from school is not in itself a safeguarding risk. And if schools didn't transition children without parental consent, parents would not /be/ withdrawing them to prevent them being transitioned without consent.

Barry Wall's link to mermaid's awful shite:

x.com/dwindlinggravy/status/1736672695981412419?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

Wouldn't be home schooling, and many can't. Parents need to be questioning and pushing back as much as they can.

(For children generally, if my child were actively being indoctrinated and also wanting to transition I might withdrawal. And consider legal action)

Thank you @GrammarTeacher but I am aware of safeguarding issues and that schools must have processes in place for cases where this is considered a risk. But these appear to be teachers who have - reportedly - stated that they're not willing to inform parents in any circumstances, almost as if their starting point is an assumption that parents would always have malign intentions. It's a completely different scenario and I hope it's a case of lazy reporting because if not, that would be outrageous, no?

We’ve had plenty of threads here where children have been socially transitioned at school and parents not informed, even though there is no safeguarding protocol in place. I think we all recognise that, sometimes, sadly, children are at risk from their parents. That doesn’t make it a good starting assumption

I hadn't seen this thread; the Reddit teacher comments are very concerning.

Unfortunately the guidance is as far as the gov can currently go.

My hope is that with a growing evidence base to refer to it can become statutory within KCSIE. It will take some time though.

The action against the dfe by some parents (10 I think) may help?

School Guidance out Tomorrow www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4965446-school-guidance-out-tomorrow

As @Floisme pointed out, it's never up to individual teachers to make decisions about confidentiality. Safeguarding children takes precedence over trans demands and the school must work within the national safeguarding framework - Keeping safe in Education.

Those trying to persuade adults in schools they can individually make those decisions are professionally dangerous.

The problem is that KCSIE had previously mentioned the key work "transphobia" - keeping children safe from bullying eg homophobia, transphobia etc (or something like that.)

I can't remember if that's still there this year or not.

some teachers could think that that is what they're doing by not informing parents.

There were a few changes to the document here and there in September.

Wow. A children's sex change charity with paedophile / adult porn scandals involving trustees and staff is openly undermining proposed government guidance on mentally vulnerable children confused about their sex?

Why are they so determined that this cohort must be exempt from national safeguarding guidance?

How do these Reddit teachers know so much about children who've left, that they know if their parents have stopped them going on social media? How do they know this?

🚩

Honestly, I do think some teachers exist in a holier than thou bubble.

All the safeguarding training I've ever had has always had case studies to illustrate where things went wrong and why.

This needs to be in KCSIE with worked case studies.

🚩

What really horrifies me is that truly vulnerable children with send and / or autism or histories of csa show up more highly in stats for teens being referred to GIDS.

Teachers NEED to be getting their heads around this stuff as it's these children that appear to get targeted the most by trans activists.

Green party's Man in a dress being the most recent case example.

It's like moths around a bloody flame.

The guidance, many experts and DSLs and other relevant professionals don't agree with many of the people on this board. I would ALWAYS encourage a student to speak to their parents. I wouldn't out a student to their parents. This isn't Florida.

Given that you've said in an earlier post that you don't have safeguarding responsibilities, surely the first step would be to consult the appropriate lead? Why would you even be thinking of taking such a decision on your own?

I wouldn't. The DSL would. So I certainly wouldn't tell a parent! I would encourage the student to speak to the parents at the point they told me. I would then inform the DSL and the notes from the conversation would form part of my recording on our system. As is the correct procedure.

"Outing" is the wrong analogy and term here.

How would you approach pronouns?

By using them for a child you'll be essentially diagnosing the child without the child's parents knowing and without medical supervision. We are not allowed to do that for any other condition. We aren't even strictly speaking allowed to say "we think your child may be autistic." It's all about working with parents to establish a bigger picture and referring the child on.

If teachers have concerns about a child's behaviour or learning they have a duty of care to discuss with the parents. This is a behavioural change. It could also indicate contact with older people who could be influencing the child irl or on line.

The whole point is that this should be seen as something serious enough for all adults in the child's life to be aware of. It's not like coming out as gay.

It could also indicate contact with older people who could be influencing the child irl or on line.

Which could involve inappropriate contact and communication/ grooming

There's no parallel with being gay. Being gay does not involve changing your name, saying you "need" access to opposite sex facilities and opportunities, or being set on a medical pathway or any of that. It's not an indicator of sexual abuse either, which a trans identity increasingly looks to be a response to (see: Cass). None of it. There is no parallel and there never was.

Exactly. You would follow safeguarding procedures. You wouldn't promise confidentiality, you wouldn't keep a secret & you would behave professionally. I haven't seen any posters on here disagreeing with that.

Re encouraging a child to tell their parent - it depends what it's about. I've been a DSL in 3 different schools and know that suggesting a child should talk to their parents (without prior agreement from the DSL) could put that child in danger.

The whole point of KCSIE is to protect children by ensuring that the adults around them act in role as teachers and refer children at risk to their DSL. The current onslaught on schools from transactivists trying to persuade them to step away from KCSIE and treat these children outside safeguarding procedures is both shameful and dangerous.

There's no parallel with being gay.
There is no parallel and there never was.

Don’t most children with gender dysphoria or who say they’re trans turn out to be gay?
Why is that, what’s the connection?

It's not an indicator of sexual abuse either,
You’re not aware of any connections?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535560/