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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions
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6
MrsPurpleFly · 02/05/2024 10:29

That’s my DC school - it’s like social contagion. I’m sure there’s loads feeling pressure to change pronouns & names just to fit in (according to DC)

INeedAPensieve · 03/05/2024 09:28

It's been in the Times now; Joanna Cherry tweeted about it. Hopefully this scandal starts to break and more stories come out showing how deeply this is embedded in schools.

I'm so glad Dr Cass has shone a light on this.

Telegraph - Scottish school transitions child behind parent back
rogdmum · 03/05/2024 09:30

In the Times today but I’d like to point out that despite the first sentence, we’ve not had so much as a peep of an apology from that school.

Not that one would be sincere anyway and that’s not what I’m after. I want proper discussion to understand why staff behaves the way they did- why did they lie to us. Why did they lie about us. Why did they make so many false accusations.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0e3d2b58-2bf1-4d12-be75-0c76db05587b?shareToken=d6ea93dd06353d20fb7a025b7503c849

School reported parents of ‘trans’ child to social services

George Watson’s College in Edinburgh alerted social workers in 2020 after the parents asked the school to adopt a ‘watchful waiting’ approach to their child

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0e3d2b58-2bf1-4d12-be75-0c76db05587b?shareToken=d6ea93dd06353d20fb7a025b7503c849

INeedAPensieve · 03/05/2024 09:32

@rogdmum sorry you have had to go through this.

Also can you contact the Times and get that amended? Ie point out that actually the school hasn't apologised? There needs to be accountability here.

I just can't believe what they did to you and your family! I hope everything is better now. X

AGlinnerOfHope · 03/05/2024 09:40

I’m so shocked they’d call in SS against you. Couldn’t SS act against the school? It was shocking.

How is she? Any light in sight?

rogdmum · 03/05/2024 09:41

Oh it’s OK, I’m not that fussed about what is in the Times- I can go around correcting it. It’s technically correct. The PR statement from the school includes an apology for distress caused for those involved. It doesn’t say that’s an apology to us and given what has been said to Watson’s parents yesterday, I suspect it’s aimed more at the staff involved than us!

WeMeetInFairIthilien · 03/05/2024 09:53

I stand in awe of your fight, @rogdmum

I've read what you've posted here, over the years, and your words have helped so much, with challenging the policies and attitudes at my DD's school.

I hope that your daughter is doing well, and feels a d know the love and support that you have for her.

Teentaxidriver · 03/05/2024 09:58

rogdmum · 02/05/2024 07:02

Unfortunately for the school, I have many many years left in me to talk about what they did.

I’m determined to get it fully documented so that we don’t lose sight of what parents were put through as inevitably schools will eventually row back from this and try to sweep it all under the carpet.

The individual teachers who piloted this also need to be taken to account. Yes, at an institution level there is culpability but my concern is that the individuals who drive the ideology and process melt away only to pop up later perpetuating the same BS. One day, hopefully they will be successfully sued in their personal capacity and ruined.

polyglotter · 03/05/2024 12:07

rogdmum · 03/05/2024 09:41

Oh it’s OK, I’m not that fussed about what is in the Times- I can go around correcting it. It’s technically correct. The PR statement from the school includes an apology for distress caused for those involved. It doesn’t say that’s an apology to us and given what has been said to Watson’s parents yesterday, I suspect it’s aimed more at the staff involved than us!

What did they say to the parents?

OP posts:
BonfireLady · 03/05/2024 13:09

rogdmum · 03/05/2024 09:41

Oh it’s OK, I’m not that fussed about what is in the Times- I can go around correcting it. It’s technically correct. The PR statement from the school includes an apology for distress caused for those involved. It doesn’t say that’s an apology to us and given what has been said to Watson’s parents yesterday, I suspect it’s aimed more at the staff involved than us!

Grrrrr. But yes, these apologies are never heartfelt.
Even if it was directly to you by name, you can bet it would be of the non-apology type, as demonstrated by Rachel Parris:

(Irrespective of Nish Kumar's woeful understanding of the impact of gender identity belief, this is still a good piece of hard-hitting satire about public apologies IMO)

Huge respect to you @rogdmum for having the strength to support your daughter and navigate the school's public and private approach to all of this 💪💐

A handy guide to making a public apology by Rachel Parris. The Mash Report

A handy guide to making a public apology by Rachel Parris. The Mash Report

https://youtu.be/c_ZgqpGB9iI?si=XqNCJ-LjcGyQO3zq

TheBanffie · 03/05/2024 13:26

The information sent to parents about the media coverage is so vague that if it wasn't for Mumsnet I would have ignored it. Nothing to say the topic or publication. Pretty poor in my opinion and I've replied saying that.

SwordToFlamethrower · 03/05/2024 14:01

Well, this happened to me.

Signalbox · 03/05/2024 14:15

It must only be a matter of time before a school is sued by a parent. It’s such a betrayal of trust to be doing this to children against medical advice. You would think turning a blind eye to a youth experimenting with “identity” whilst simultaneously not going along with the fantasy would be the perfect stance for teachers to take. Put it back in the youth culture box where it belongs.

polyglotter · 03/05/2024 14:26

Signalbox · 03/05/2024 14:15

It must only be a matter of time before a school is sued by a parent. It’s such a betrayal of trust to be doing this to children against medical advice. You would think turning a blind eye to a youth experimenting with “identity” whilst simultaneously not going along with the fantasy would be the perfect stance for teachers to take. Put it back in the youth culture box where it belongs.

Having been there, it's harder than you think. @rogdmum has only spoken out now her daughter has left.

We went through 5% of what she had, and that was bad enough. But you're in a situation where you are trying to support an upset teen and negotiate a truce and not rip them away from their friends, it's incredibly hard. One of the gender critical charities offered to support us in a prosecution, but we still would never have done it. She's still there, closer to desisting (hurrah) and doing really well in sixth form, so we're still stuck.

I am going to ask for an apology once she has left. I will then also name the smug Labour activist English teacher who was mostly responsible. He was, of course, male.

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rogdmum · 03/05/2024 17:19

polyglotter the email to parents basically said, as you’d expect, due to the current political environment there’s a lot more to the story than what is on the press, we and our regulator spent ages investigating and nothing of note was found wrong, we’re in the clear, thanks for your support.

I mean yes, there is a lot more to the story but does the school really want me to start highlighting that my son was told “in confidence” that his sister was now a boy at school and how they lied to the regulator saying they’d tried to get us to meet to discuss the clinical advice/social services decision but no luck, when in fact there’s an email trail of us (multiple times) agreeing to meet and just being ignored. It’s a shame the regulator didn’t have any issues with the school’s processes (he doesn’t investigate individual cases, just the underlying policies) and went with the fact that the school follows the ScotGov guidance (which was not in place at the time).

They can spin however they want but I have a war chest of documented evidence.

BonfireLady · 03/05/2024 18:08

Just saw this in the replies on X...

Is the deletion of their X account a recent thing?

https://twitter.com/Jo_Roseate/status/1786385084972478723?t=fa669XhRRSluzpRcI1DhJw&s=19

If I were a prospective parent looking at this school, I'd be looking in to whether it really did support families well, the moment I came across anything in the press about the school.
Although they are clearly trying to suppress this as much as possible, including in their comms to parents by the sounds of things, they are creating a slowly snowballing Streisand Effect.
People talk when it comes to choosing a school. They are starting to come across like a political advisor who clings to the idea that everyone will believe that a short trip out to Barnard Castle is a perfectly reasonable way to test your eyesight.

https://twitter.com/Jo_Roseate/status/1786385084972478723?s=19&t=fa669XhRRSluzpRcI1DhJw

BonfireLady · 03/05/2024 18:09

Oops, I meant to add this screenshot:

Telegraph - Scottish school transitions child behind parent back
rogdmum · 03/05/2024 19:06

Yes, they deleted their X account within the past 24 hours. They had not used it since last summer though after their latest draft transgender policy was leaked to the press (nothing to do with me, have no idea who did it) and people started commenting on their posts.

TheBanffie · 03/05/2024 19:09

If Watson's have any common sense they will listen to concerned parents - with likely VAT on private schools the competition for new pupils in Edinburgh will increase notably. Nothing focuses the mind like money and bad publicity. They have acted terribly in this specific case, and well done to the family for getting press attention. I hope this empowers other gender critical parents and pupils to speak up

polyglotter · 04/05/2024 09:50

The Twitter thing is quite funny. If you have to delete your account, you're probably not winning the argument.

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