By Steve Beegoo, Christian Concern’s Head of Education 

The UK Department for Education has released new proposed changes to its Keeping Children Safe In Education guidance on how gender-questioning children should be cared for in schools, but it may change nothing.

While the new draft guidance has some major and helpful clarifications, it remains that children as young as four could be socially transitioned to the opposite sex in UK schools.

That’s without any clinical advice being required, and on some occasions, without parents being notified.

Socially transitioning a child is a major intervention in which the school community starts to use different pronouns for them, to allow the opposite sex’s uniform to be worn and often to call a child by a new name.

SCHOOLS ARE BEING PUT IN AN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION

There is no minimum age at when this can be allowed to happen in schools.

No child should be lied to about their identity as a boy or girl, which is what social transition does.

But schools are being put in an impossible situation by this guidance.

If social transition is to be allowed in any cases, schools are being asked to adjudicate which pupils can or cannot change gender.

GOVERNMENT MINISTER ENCOURAGES CHILD TRANSITIONS

This is not something schools are equipped or qualified to do.

And the government is not actually encouraging them to take a cautious approach.

Education Minister Bridget Phillipson recently told London radio that boys should be allowed to wear dresses at the nation’s schools.

Christian Concern warns that politicians and schools should not be encouraging primary-aged children to change their gender.

WHAT WOULD HELP SCHOOLS

Schools would be helped by guidance that clearly stated that children cannot socially transition.

Failing that, there could at least be the requirement for an independent psychologist to assess the child.

The guidance does suggest that full social transition in primary schools should be very rare:

“Primary schools should exercise particular caution, and we would expect support for full social transition to be agreed very rarely.”

“TRANS CRAZE HAS BECOME A SOCIAL CONTAGION”

However, without objective measures, there will always be parents and pupils who will put schools under pressure to allow them to transition.

Every child will be treated as if they are the very rare exception.

The ‘trans craze’ has already become a social contagion among our children and young people.

We need much more than the tone of increased caution used in this draft guidance.

This guidance still allows for this contagion to spread, even if less quickly.

ONE POSITIVE SIGN FROM THE GUIDANCE 

It is encouraging to see that the draft guidance clearly states that children should use toilets and changing rooms “designed for their biological sex.”

This is an important recognition that we can’t escape from biological reality. The guidance states:

“Schools must not allow pupils into toilets, changing rooms, or boarding or residential accommodation designated for the opposite sex, with no exceptions.”

The guidance is also refreshingly clear on single-sex sports being biological:

“Similarly, where schools have implemented single-sex sports as being necessary for safety reasons, there should be no exceptions and pupils must not be allowed to participate in sports designated for the opposite sex.”

KEEPING PARENTS ‘OUT OF THE LOOP”

There is helpful increased reference to the need to talk to parents when considering a request to transition.

However, there is a chilling statement allowing schools to keep parents out of the loop:

“In the rare circumstances where involving parents or carers would constitute a greater risk to the child than not involving them, the school or college should involve their Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) to determine what action is needed to safeguard the child, before the parents are contacted or any decisions are taken.”

It is easy to see how Christian parents, who believe their child is born either male or female, and knit together in their mother’s womb by God, would be labelled as risks and not told what is going on with their child.

ADVICE ON AVOIDING HAVING TO USE PREFERRED PRONOUNS

The draft guidance marks a step forwards in allowing for staff or pupils who do not want to use preferred pronouns, stating:

“The school or college must also be conscious of the rights of pupils and staff in relation to their religion or belief. However, schools and colleges supporting social transition might consider discussing options with pupils and staff such as using names instead of pronouns.”

This concession is somewhat vague with the use of the word “might” rather than “must”, but it is still a positive step.

It is also encouraging to see that the guidance recognises the possibility that a child would want to “fully or partially reverse” a transition — and the need to provide support for them.

This is the first time the possibility of de-transition has been explicitly mentioned and supported in guidance.

“TIDE TURNING ON TRANSGENDERISM”

With significant wins for the Darlington Nurses and London nurse Jennifer Melle this year, we are starting to see the tide turning on transgenderism.

There is still a long way to go.

But the absurdities of allowing people to change their gender have been exposed by these cases and others, and they are very hard to ignore.

Quite obviously women should not have to change in front of a man.

Quite obviously too, no one should be forced to refer to a man as a woman, particularly if he is a convicted paedophile who was mistakenly misgendered by Ms. Melle.

Anyone can see this.

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