Still Asleep at the Wheel: A Further Examination of Gender and Safeguarding in Schools - Policy Exchange

[IwantToRetire]

A new report by Policy Exchange reveals that secondary schools in England are still heavily influenced by gender ideology. Too many secondary schools are socially transitioning gender-distressed children without reliably informing parents, failing to adhere to their safeguarding responsibilities and compromising the rights and interests of other children in school.

The report includes FOI research assessing schools’ policies, replicating an identical round of FOI research carried out for Asleep at the Wheel: An Examination of Gender and Safeguarding in Schools in 2023.

Despite some progress, particularly regarding the provision of single-sex toilets and changing rooms, we found that many schools still lack adequate policies. In a minority of schools, it appears that contested beliefs about gender identity remain embedded: staff support children to begin a social transition in the school environment and teach contested ideas as fact. In other schools, staff are failing to uphold their safeguarding duties, as they do not reliably involve parents, the Designated Safeguarding Lead, or a medical professional. The interests of other children are often compromised, as all children are required adopt a transitioning child’s new name and pronouns.

Moreover, many schools permit a child to self-identify as a different gender and participate in sports activities with opposite sex. We found that:

• 70% and 73% of schools maintain single-sex toilets and changing rooms.
• 43% of secondary schools reliably inform parents when a child discloses feelings of gender distress.
• 58% of schools reliably involve a safeguarding lead or medical professional in these cases.

More than one third of schools do not maintain single-sex sports.
The report calls for the Government to amend the draft statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, on which it is currently consulting.

As Baroness Falkner of Margravine, former Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said in her Foreword to the report:

“Schools require greater clarity and authoritative guidance, consistently enforced. They carry a significant responsibility and must be supported to understand how to discharge their duties lawfully, consistently, and with confidence.”

https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/still-asleep-at-the-wheel/

Absolutely.

use the right language.

dont lie

dont obscure

That's likely because kids from thkse backgrounds wouldn't socially transition in any sort of discernible way until they are able to be safe or at least free.

I know of a child, a relative, who researched autism on the internet and presented herself to the sendco.

First thing that had to happen was to tell the parents.

1/ too much free internet use

2/ self diagnosing what she categorically doesn’t have.

Just don't let children socially transition at school. Then there is no concern about whether to tell the parents or not.

I dont think refraining from always telling the parents means that you automatically have to encourage transition.

You know, i can think of cases where telling the parents might mean that because they are likely to encourage transition themselves.

That's pretty much my line of thinking.

Absolutely. Which is way I say if you socially transition in school parents MUST always be told. This could involve SS as part of that process.

You may have misunderstood my point.

There should be no element of self diagnosis allowed here. This isn’t a harmless step with no consequences - it is a serious and huge change to make, especially for a child.

We don’t let children self diagnose with any other condition that would require future medication or surgery. Why this?

You know, i can think of cases where telling the parents might mean that because they are likely to encourage transition themselves.

So you’ve moved on from justifying schools keeping secrets from parents in case they punish a child for self diagnosing as ‘trans’ but now that’s been highlighted as a serious safeguarding issue that doesn’t warrant secrets, you’re trying to justify the secrets where the parents would be so pro trans they will now help push the child into it?

I fail to understand why you are so determined to have rules that allow schools to keep secrets from parents.

If a school thinks a child is trying to self diagnose as ‘trans’ they need to inform the parents and if there is fear of violence to the child, also invoke proper safeguarding protocols.

If a school thinks a parent is pushing a child to be ‘trans’, they should also invoke proper safeguarding protocols.

We all know the harm created when adults keep secrets with children - why would you want to have rules that explicitly allow it?

‘Trans’ is an adult concept that needs to be taken very seriously for the individual.

There should be no ‘trans’ for children, social or otherwise, as they are not capable of making such a life changing decision. Support for kids with distress around their body or sex, yes.

Any form of ‘transition’ - no.

At what point should parents be informed?

1. Child is overheard discussing with friends that they're not happy with their sex

2. Child is overheard discussing with friends that they think that they're trans

3. Friends heard referred to child with different name

4. Friends heard referring to child with different pronouns

5. Child discloses to teacher that they think they may be trans

6. Child discloses to teacher that they are trans

7. Child requests that teacher uses different name/pronouns

8. Child requests that the school changes their name and pronouns

The updated KCSIE guidelines would put the point of parents being informed at 8. Is this too late?

I would want to be told at point 3/4

I dont think it's safe for all parents to know certain things about their children for a range of reasons. For instance, I dont think it's always safe for a teenage girl to disclose a termination to her parents. I think there is nuance with these things.

You can't stop people from self diagnosing. You can't disallow someone from believing that they have or are something. Sure you can refuse to use what pronouns they want or refuse to call them a boy, but you can't control their self diagnosis. You can only hope they see things differently in time.

That's beside the point. We are talking about how things happen, not how they should happen.

No it’s not. This thread is talking about what should happen and what is right but may not be happening yet.

We’re not talking about abortion though - that’s an entirely different conversation.

Re self diagnosis, if you mean that schools should ignore it in terms of how they treat the student then I agree (the safeguarding issue around mental health or radicalisation by trans ideology is slightly different).

So no announcements to the class that Jonny is now Julie, no wrong sex pronouns, and correct toilets and changing for their sex to be used.

What sort of attitude is that for an adult to have when it comes to helping children develop. Is this the "It'll be alright on the night "parenting style or something.

You can't stop people from self diagnosing.
You can if you give the right sort of help at the right time, talking things over with a child is a good start, helping them see things from a different perspective so they have more information to go on than what little information they might be basing there self diagnoses on.

You can't disallow someone from believing that they have or are something.
You can point out what the believe is a complete fantasy, and help them find something more solid and real to believe in.

You can only hope they see things differently in time.
Or a parent could see it as a cry for help and take steps to help their child with figuring out what going on because that's what parents do.

Teacher should be bringing such things to the parents attention so they can do just that, not stay quite and 'hope they see things differently in time'.

I think I agree, point 3/4 is basically social transition, their friends are around these kids far more than any school teacher.

So if a child is socially transitioning themselves, it's a possible symptom of other issues given how often this coincides with things like poor mental health and/or neurodivergence.

This point should probably be made in response to the KCSIE consultation which closes on Wednesday.

Yes.
It's worth remembering that Looked after Children (ie those in care of the state) do terribly in terms of all life measures. Academically, work related, more likely to be homeless and all other measures. As a result there's a major focus on these children which is why we're so clear about the damning data.

It seems a form of thoughtless cruelty, repeatedly promoting "parental alienation" and secret keeping in the face of what we know about how seriously children are affected when estranged at a young age. In my experience, responsible professionals work hard to help parents and children maintain their relationship and overcome the challenges, only intervening via safeguarding and the courts to break the parent child relationship in the face of abuse.

If a child is at risk of being pulled towards irreversible physical harm, parents should be informed.

If the school believed that the child was at risk from the parents, prior to the child exploring the idea of gender identity, this should already have been reported in to Children's Services. If there had been no prior concerns that the parents were a risk to the child, the parents should be told the moment an adult at school becomes aware that the child is considering the idea of social transition.

That's likely because kids from thkse backgrounds

Please could you clarify what backgrounds you're referring to here?

safe or at least free.

Safe or at least free from what?

Schools maybe are the number one place where the twin failures of suicidal empathy and kindness at all costs are both most likely to happen.
Gender distressed kids must be protected at all costs, kindness the only attitude to demonstrate.
Of course, those other kids most put at a disadvantage/at risk by this are totally ignored, they must also show total empathy with those other kids, kindness towards to those other kids now in very short supply.
Proving that talk of empathy and kindness is just that, talk.

The child would be at risk because of their questioning. Before that, they wouldn't necessarily be at increased risk, just perhaps from a background where things like homophobia aremore prevalent.

Backgrounds where culture and/or religion encourage pretty extreme and even illegal consequences for failure to adhere to rules governing sex and sexuality. This is definitely more of a problem in some cultures than others.

I think staying quiet and not telling the parents might be a better decision in some cases.

This. If there is that much danger from parents, this should be reported to social services.