Revised council guidance for schools on how to deal with trans issues is worse than the “unlawful” existing advice, a parents group claims.
A 75-page legal opinion by a leading equalities KC on Brighton and Hove City Council’s trans toolkit was published in April, which said it breached equality law in at least ten areas.
One of the key points was that it failed to consider safeguarding implications for both trans and non-trans pupils, such as voyeurism in changing rooms and the consequences of affirming a change of gender without medical support.
A few weeks later, the council announced it was undertaking a “routine” revision of the toolkit, which would also take into account the publication of the Cass Review, which said the affirmative model of treatment used by child gender clinic the Tavistock Clinic is built on “shaky foundations”.
The new toolkit went out to consultation on 23 July – just as schools broke up for the summer. It runs until 11 October.
This week, PSHE Brighton wrote to all the city’s schools to warn them that, in their opinion, the new toolkit: “appears to be even less compliant with the law than its predecessor”.
It said: “Governors are not asked to consider safeguarding in the list of responsibilities set out in the revised toolkit and the accompanying consultation.
“This is a key omission, as safeguarding should be one of the central planks on which the toolkit is based.
“Governors will be liable should any risks transpire, particularly as they relate to safety in sports and mixed-sex toilets or residential accommodation.
“The stated principles within the revised toolkit promote a clinical overreach in the presumption towards gender affirmation, the result of which will effectively be clinical decision making amongst schools and local authority services.
“This is beyond the clinical competence of teaching and support practitioners in schools.”
The toolkit is overseen by Councillor Emma Daniel, who was appointed cabinet member for children, families and youth services in May.
In 2018, when a previous version of the toolkit was published while she was the council’s equalities lead, she tweeted in response to online comments about it, saying: “Transphobia is rife. People saying ‘just open a school for them and keep them away from normal kids’ to ‘don’t you care about safeguarding girls’.
“All of which serves to make me more determined to front these policies and prevent trans and non-binary people having to justify their existence to bigots.”
This week, she denied she had been describing people raising safeguarding concerns as transphobic, saying that only referred to the first comment she cited and not the second.
When the consultation was launched in July, she said: “We maintain a commitment to the dignity and safety of trans children in the same way we do for all children and young people in our city.
“All young people deserve safety and respect, and trans and non-binary young people deserve to participate as equals in their school life.”
It really is time for this council leadership to respond to parents’ legal and safeguarding concerns. They are supposed to represent the city’s families, not prioritise a political ideology for personal gain.
In the meantime we need our school Governors to step in and put children ahead of the council’s direction.
Children across the country are being let down and put in danger with the existing and the proposed toolkit. It fundamentally fails to address the needs of gender questioning children who need professional, holistic, whole person mental health support.
The toolkit makes no mention of neurodivergence, or that the majority of gender questioning children turn out to be gay. Most importantly it completely omits that ~95% of gender questioning children straight up grow out of it.
Teachers – which is who this toolkit is for, are NOT medical professionals, they are NOT qualified to make judgement calls about gender questioning children. They should never be put in these positions.
Where is the safeguarding? This new guidance says it’s ok for a teenage boy and teenage girl to share a double room on a school trip, how is that ever safe? How is that ever, ever appropriate?
Throughout – it is assumed that questioning children are mere moments way from a terrible fate if everything about their predicament is not immediately affirmed. This is just NOT true.
The previous toolkit was out and out illegal – google “trans toolkit Monaghan advice” – somehow this one is even worse
Emma Daniel is an ideologue. She is not suitable for her post.
Raising safeguarding concerns is not transphobia.
Converting gay, autistic kids into straight, permanently medicated members of the opposite sex is the worst type of conversion therapy and the only real conversions going on in this country. Protect children now, reject this terrible toolkit.
Unfortunately for those who rely on fact based information and life – there is no such thing as a gay child
Post puberty and brain development a person finds their sexuality and direction in a mindful society.
We should avoid as much mind pollution in schools as possible
I was very much a gay child. Always “drawn” to the same sex even when I was too young to understand any of it. Those feelings are always there. We don’t wake up one day during puberty and have some grand gay epiphany. We struggle with it for years, from a young age, in part because of people like you. You’re not projecting fact, but ignorance. Transitioning gender/sex I personally think shouldn’t be allowed to happen until someone is an adult, but sexuality is 100% something we are born with.
For anyone looking for background, please listen to this Podcasts hosted by Julie Bindel https://open.spotify.com/show/5XK1wTA4PTgvwLvDZcKwP9?si=5hkBl1ASReecEdDJEDbASw
Podcast number five focuses on Brighton
Could B&HN commit to featuring a trans voice on this topic in the near future? Maybe publishing quotes from a parent’s group for those with trans children or a charity representing trans people?
There is a local Bayswater group for parents of gender questioning children, whose members are concerned about evidence based care and best outcomes for gender questioning children and young people, irrespective of whether transition does turn out to be the right outcome or not. They would be an entirely appropriate group to engage with in this conversation.
One that follows English law, NHS standards and statutory educational and safeguarding policies.
No problemo – just keep the 0.1% to their own help. Don’t pedal mind polluting nonsense that is it normal to question your sexuality or gender.. that’s all parents want
Keep it simple
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11302231/Parents-children-used-trans-charity-call-probe-worker-posed-explicit-images.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63137873
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-announces-statutory-inquiry-into-mermaids
Can we make sure we refer to transgender| transsexual| nonbinary people with a bit of respect please? When are we going to stop with the nasty, disrespectful street-slang? (Above by those like “some other guy” above. TG | TS | NB people of both sexes, deserve better. Serious subject deserves serious grammatical language. How else are we to have discussions of any sense?
We had drilled into us at teacher training college:
“Every teacher, a teacher of English and Maths.”
#HappytoHelp
Oh dear, reason why I say gender questioning is that many young people who say they are trans desist. If they persist and undergo transition with appropriate care and assessment under specialist care then that is a good outcome. But many who consider being trans for a period of time may turn out not to be. That is why Cass recommends an approach based on watchful waiting! I passionately want integrated care services that look at the whole child and don’t push kids down a path of lifelong medicalisation, complex risky surgery or complications that can impair health and shorten life, if there is really something else going on and this is not right for them. Brain development continues to the mid 20s, and consideration needs to be taken as to why trans identification is prevalent amongst autistic children, lesbians, those who have experienced trauma (including sexual assault) or who are care experienced.
I’m very careful about the language I choose because I support all children and young people whether they end up trans or non-binary (although there are only 2 biological sexes, irrespective of DSD) or not.
My first concern is about evidence based care and I won’t use language that implies a conclusion that anyone outside the most specialist teams is not competent to make.
If you think that hateful, so be it.
The article is discussing safeguarding in our schools, any thoughts on that?
Typically individuals that move the focus of a discussion onto “allowed terms” because of “their authority” etc without addressing the topic being discussed, are only doing so from a defensive political position.
Another example of a teacher who is overreaching. There are two sexes, no genders and a million personalities. Despite what activists say, gender-affirming care is harmful. We need to go to a therapy-first approach. Gender studies is a pseudo-science. Some alternative causes of gender dysphoria are depression, anxiety, trauma, abuse, autogynephilia, autism, body discomfort, internalised and externalised homophobia, and there are many more. We shouldn’t be medicalisation and affirming the sex change activists’ lies. THERAPY FIRST.
Clare B Dimyon⁸ MBE LGBT
Can we remember everyone is a human and we should all show respect. Singling out groups is so wrong.
Schools should teach the 3 R’s, remember that one ? The amount of people coming for jobs who can’t read or write is surprising, however they know Johnny down the road identifies as a tree.
Yes we need education on such subjects, but seriously it’s getting beyond a joke.
To quote directly from the TIT, here is a sample of its directives to schools:
3.3 Social Transition
‘Some trans children and young people will need support in developing scripts and responses to questions they may be asked about their transition. This may include phrases such as “It’s none of your business…” “I have always been a boy / girl”. ” Non binary means …” This support can be done with a trusted adult at school.’
This clause encourages clinically unqualified teachers to give a vulnerable child a script to shut down conversations with parents and carers, damaging the attachment relationship and family bonds, and contravenes DfE guidance on teaching politically partisan views. “I have always been a boy / girl” encourages a child, including those with learning difficulties, to believe that it is possible to change sex.
3.4 Timing of Transition
‘The right time to transition will be when a child or young person feels they are ready.’
So social transition should be available at any age irrespective of mental health. There is no mention in the TIT that a significant majority of gender-questioning children and young people are on the autistic spectrum, have ADHD, are usually gay and often have a history of trauma, or that: ‘Those who had socially transitioned at an earlier age and/or prior to being seen in clinic were more likely to proceed to a medical pathway.’ (See the Final Cass Review, p 31, point 76).
4.7 Name and Pronoun Changes
‘Where staff become aware that an adult or child is deliberately calling someone by their name registered at birth, after they have changed their name, or misgendering them (using the wrong pronoun or referring to them as their previous name) then appropriate challenge and if necessary action may be made with reference to the setting’s equality and anti-bullying policies.’
This clause denies students’ legal right to believe that biological sex cannot be changed, and teachers’ legal right to refuse to socially transition children on safeguarding grounds without being disciplined.
Think the fact that many people,if not most realise they’ve made a big mistake and want to detransition, and then realise they’ve ruined their lives, should come into this conversation. Which is why children at school should not be brainwashed by these idealogues.
That would be a really good point, if it were true. Unfortunately it’s hogwash. https://www.gendergp.com/detransition-facts/
GenderGP. Yet another one. Can you see the safeguarding pattern yet?
“Unregulated online clinic gave teen dangerous hormone dose”
“A 15-year-old child was prescribed dangerous levels of hormones by an unregulated online clinic without speaking to a doctor, a court ruling has revealed.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68944273
More safeguarding reality from the “experts”:
“NHS issues urgent warning for discredited transgender clinic”
“GenderGP is said to not provide physiological or psychological support to its patients”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/28/gps-transgender-clinic-urgent-safety-warning-nhs/
I am wondering what the legal liability the council has exposed council tax payers and schools to by encouraging teachers to launch this woke war. Many kids will be able to justifiably claim significant compensation from the mental health issues these policies have caused.
It’s bottomless, it’s the reason parents have been unable to legally enforce their legal status with BHCC schools, social services, Sussex NHS and so on.
These organisations have an endless pit of out money to use against us. To eliminate safeguarding. For their own personal gain.
“the Cass Review, which said the affirmative model of treatment used by child gender clinic the Tavistock Clinic is built on “shaky foundations.””
Pot meet kettle..
If you believe the Cass review is built on shaky foundations then I highly recommend never getting any NHS evidence based healthcare and use affirmative healthcare provided by Google/Facebook/Tiktok instead.
Your choices are your choices, the ask here is not impose your choices on safeguarding.