All girls' school - safeguarding and boys issue

[wejammin]

My daughter has just started year 7 at a girls academy school. It appears (although this is only what she has told me and what I have seen for myself) that there are at least 2 boys attending who identify as girls. When I say I have seen it - one of the boys is visibly male.

The school's equality policy says "the school may exercise discretion in allowing admission of both male and female transgender students and supporting transgender students at any stage of their education at the school." I admit I hadn't read this until this week.

Given it's a girls school, I'm worried about safeguarding re sports, changing rooms, toilets and residential trips. I have an older teen boy - I know how big, and strong, they get, and how hormones kick in. I presume there are no boys toilets or changing rooms, but I don't know for sure. There are definitely no boys sports clubs.

Does anyone know the best way to approach this with school so that it is taken seriously? I mean no ill-will towards the male children. I just want my daughter to be safe.

Anyone who thinks girls are automatically safe in a mixed school is having a laff.

I’m calling bullshit because this isn’t allowed
I work in a single sex school

The difference with the many mixed schools is that they will have single sex spaces, seperate sports and accommodations in place for residentials

OPs very warranted concerns is that this is a girls school so
a. Where’s the toilets snd changing rooms for those who are biologically male
b. Will OPs daughter be playing sports with the boys.

c. So far OP has seen two boys, will they play rugby and hockey together? Just the two of them?
d. What protections are put in place for residentials

OP
fid you get a tour of the school? Did you spot seperate facilities
The school MUST have them

Male people have never been allowed in female spaces - hasn’t stopped it happening though.

OP doesn't know whether the school plans to have separate spaces for the trans children. to change or not. We can't assume there's any safeguarding fail.

Girls' school have male toilets and changing areas. It's perfectly permissible for them to cater for male staff and visitors.

Lying to the girls and their parents that there are male children in the school is a safeguarding fail in and of itself. It’s deception.

Not sure why you’re conflating male staff and visitors with male children in your other reply to me.

You are commenting about a boy who will be physically different to the OPs daughter.

So a boy of the same physical size can have a physical advantage over a girl of the same size

The UK associations who have done studied decided that mixed sex contact sports should not happen at or after puberty.

The school staff should also not field female players to mark bigger players in a dangerous way in any sports where size and physical strenght matter.

No it is not.

Student provision in the UK must not be mixed with adult (non-student) provision.

If the school are doing that they are breaking the law and have no safegiarding in place.

Maybe ask the school first what the arrangements are before going off half cocked…

There are boys in a girls school by deceit. You don’t really get much worse than that.

Thank you for your opinion….

I am an experienced teacher and have worked in a single sex girls' school.

We had a girl who identified as a boy on roll. They took hormones so that they had the appearance of a boy - facial hair and so on - and did indeed look convincingly male, but they did not have any surgery to otherwise alter their appearance or genitals. As their biological sex was still female they were legally entitled to attend the school and could not be excluded for their choice to transition. The school provided a separate toilet for their use. I should add that the child transitioned in Year 10 so they had already been at the school for several years.

If this poster is genuine, I would imagine that is the scenario here - that girls who were already on roll have decided to identify as boys and are taking hormones to alter their appearance.

I would find it very hard to believe that an all girls' school has accepted boys who identify as girls. They will know that for many parents the choice of an all girls' school is very deliberate, and for transparency the presence of male students identifying as girls on site would have been made explicit to all parents applying for a place into Y7. I simply don't believe that this scenario would be real, having worked in schools as long as I have. Any school doing this would be on very dodgy ground and I don't see any headteacher wanting to invite the ensuing hassle by deliberately welcoming biologically male students into an all girls' school.

Can’t assume either way.
That’s why OP needs to ask if there are seperate toilets and changing rooms for different sexes

Dont bet on it

This poster has no problem arguing that girls who are raped/sexually assaulted by males are a "fair price" to pay to allow males into any single sex space which should be female only.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5400030-give-us-the-freedom-to-risk-rape?page=1

Children can’t change with adults in this scenario

It’s not an opinion. It’s a fact. It’s a girls school that has boys pretending to be girls in it. That is clear deceit.

Transactivist centred schools can't have it both ways. The SC judgment is very clear. They can become a mixed sex school and admit boys and girls. But they can't call themselves a girls' school and admit boys - no matter how sad, how mentally unwell, how prettily they dress etc.

Ask away OP and ensure that your DD is safeguarded from the presence of young males in her changing rooms etc.

It sounds like a complete mess. Basically they are suggesting that as long as you identify as transgender (no matter what your sex) you are eligible to join the school.

Agree with the first posts - Supreme Court ruled that women only spaces are not for men who identify as women only those born women. Therefore the school as a girl's school is breaking the law. I can't imagine you are the only parent who is concerned, find the group that is no doubt discussing this and start there if the school is being obtuse. It is illegal.

Absolutely, that's why I was asking for advice on how best to approach the school. I'm not saying I'm starting a picket or anything. It seems such a loaded issue.

Although I thought 'going in half cocked' meant being ill-informed, which is the opposite of what I'm trying to do in understanding the wider context.

I have to say though, the phrase 'going in half cocked' made me properly laugh given the situation.

No, I'm commenting about a girl who is markedly bigger and stronger than OPs daughter, and asking if OP would attempt to stop her daughter playing Rugby against them.

The school staff should also not field female players to mark bigger players in a dangerous way in any sports where size and physical strenght matter.

Lol.

You choose to hide the word boy and then go with bigger and stronger girl.

That ignoring that the boy could be smaller or the just same size and still have physical advantage.

If the boy was the same size as the "bigger and stronger girl" he will likely have much more physical advantage as benchmarked against this other girl so the OP child is still at a higher risk when playing a contact sport against males.

And LoL indeed to the idea that the staff in the school should professional and not be risking the OPs child suffering life changing harm while taking part in school sports.

They are breaking the law if they are saying it is a girls's school and admitting transgirls (transgirls means boys, btw) because they are discriminating against boys who are not trans identified. Sex discrimination straight up.

The OP has an excellent point about safety because 2 transgirls i.e. boys have been admitted into a girls only school which has no facilities for boys afawk. In a mixed sex school boys and girls do not play in mixed teams, nor do they share changing rooms etc (except in benighted Brighton - and its fellow-travellers - which hopefully will soon gets its comeuppance on this lack of safegruarding). However, in an all girls's school where are these 2 boys to change, what sports are they to take part in, where will they sleep on residential trips? They are all matters of safeguarding and the loss of safety will increase as these boys get older and stronger.