DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION GUIDANCE ON GENDER-QUESTIONING CHILDREN – “TRANSGENDER GUIDANCE” or “GENDER GUIDANCE”
This is a call to all who are interested in the welfare and safeguarding of their children and in the protection of their rights to grow up free from indoctrination or exploitation to answer the Government’s call for Consultation on their recent Guidance.
This guidance was issued jointly by the Dept for Education and the Secretary of State Gillian Keegan, and Women & Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch on December 19th 2023.
Press Release:
Guidance:
Many of us working in this field think that this is the most significant and helpful guidance for 5 years, since RSE (Relationships & Sex Education) came into effect in 2019.
By the government’s own admission, that unleashed a tsunami of resources and activists in this field – many paid for by the Department for Education – who have bombarded schools with approaches that caused significant distress and harm to children and parents.
A recent Times’ leader summed it up succinctly:
“Sex Education has been compulsory in schools since 2020, but the obligation arrived without clear instructions as to how it should be carried out. Schools were forced to turn to third-party providers, creating what some described as a “wild west” environment. This left them, and children, at the mercy of companies that suggested children as young as three could be transgender, or that there is a ‘galaxy’ of genders, or that children should be encouraged to make genitalia out of Play-Doh.”
Over the last two years successive government departments have withdrawn from association with campaigns such as those of Stonewall; Educate & Celebrate – a particularly unpleasant campaign group who targeted primary school children –have gone out of business; and the Department itself, having woken up to the chaos in schools, has issued two strongly worded letters warning schools about the danger. Miriam Cates MP has highlighted these dangers in speech after speech in Parliament. The Cass Report highlighted the very real dangers in an unthinking approach to “gender transition”, and the Tavistock Clinic Unit that promoted this was shut down. In hard fought legal cases “gender-critical” views, that is that biology and gender cannot be distinct, have become supported as a proper view in our free society, and religious-based views on sexuality and gender have finally been supported by the law, though not before many faithful Christian and other teachers and staff have been intimidated, bullied and many times forced out of their jobs, purely for holding to their religious beliefs, and putting the welfare of children before any ideology. The extraordinary rise in child-on-child abuse and the spread of STIs has shown the societal effect of this indoctrination.
Therefore, it is critically important that when the government has now shown some understanding of this, and offered Guidance in one specific area – Gender Questioning by children – all those who have a care for this should respond and support.
The larger issue of Guidance on RSE generally is being reviewed, and we may well have a further consultation before the summer is out. But it may well be guided by the response to this one. That is the importance of reading it and responding now by March 12th. We at ParentPower and LCFCPG advise all in any positions in schools, professions, or active in the field, to respond.
Turning to the detailed Guidance, we would advise reading above all the Press Release link, as it is actually very good. It has an excellent summary of the key points, some highlighted:
- Parental involvement in all decisions regarding their children’s welfare
- Recording of Biological Sex: every school must record the name and biological sex of every pupil in the admissions register. It is not accurate to record a male child as a girl or a female child as a boy.
- Pronouns/Names: changing them banned in Primary Schools; no-one COMPELLED to use “preferred” pronouns. Religious views to be protected
- Single-sex Toilets: schools and colleges cannot allow a child to use a space solely designated for use by the opposite sex.
- Protection of other children: where a child questioning their gender requests alternative arrangements, these should be considered but should not compromise the safety, comfort, privacy or dignity of the child, or other pupils.
- Uniforms and clothing – in general, a gender questioning child should be held to the same uniform standard as other children of their sex.
- Physical education and Sport – allowing a gender questioning child to participate in sport with the opposite sex will not be appropriate if it risks safety or fairness.
- Single-sex schools – under the Equality Act, single sex schools can refuse to admit pupils of the other biological sex, regardless of whether the child is questioning their gender.
- Transition is NOT a neutral act; no general duty to allow a child to social transition
“Social Transitioning” has not, it must be noted, been banned outright – and this remains of major concern, allowing, as it does, a possibility that the wishes of parents will be side-lined or ignored. It appears the Government received legal advice that an outright ban would contravene existing law, but it needs to be made clear that no decision affecting a child’s welfare should be made without the full agreement of a child’s parents. Also, the safeguarding of an individual, socially transitioning child may advise adaptations that some think could compromise the whole guidance.
It is up to you to see what you think in reading the guidance. There is much we would argue that is helpful, sound and child-centred, and will go far to stop the intimidatory blackmail practised in schools by such as Stonewall and their supporters, restoring rights of conscience to all – but, at the same time, there undeniably remain significant areas of concern. For the sake of your, and all, children, we urge you to respond.
ParentPower February 27th 2024
ppadmin
