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The Department for Education (DfE) has issued a call for evidence on updating Relationships and Sex Education guidance as well as Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) for primary and secondary schools in England.

*PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS SURVEY!*

It is very important that the DfE is made aware of opposition to the teaching of gender identity ideology in schools, so please do fill in this survey, it is a great opportunity to have our voices heard. There will no doubt be many responses from supporters of transgender teaching in schools and we need to show that there is also strong opposition amongst parents. This is our chance to influence, and every voice is crucial.

You can access the survey at this link:

https://consult.education.gov.uk/life-skills/pshe-rse-call-for-evidence/

*The deadline is Monday February 12th at 11.59am.*

Please use our responses as a guide and write your own concerns in your own words. It does not have to be perfect! You might want to emphasise issues such as toilets and changing-rooms or sports, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes, the experimental and irreversible medical treatments, freedom of speech, or indoctrination and brainwashing etc. Whichever aspect you feel most strongly about, please let the DfE know your concerns.

The online survey is composed of seven questions, with a maximum word count of 250 for each answer, including links to any evidence, so it was difficult to include all the information we wanted to. Our response is below and you can also download it here.

1. Thinking about relationships education in primary schools, what do you believe are the three most important subject areas that should be taught for different age groups/key stages and why. Please include any considerations or evidence which informed your choices

Primary school children should be given clear factual information about biological sex, sex differences between boys and girls, boundaries, respect and privacy.

ONE: Biological Sex. Accurate language is critical for the safeguarding of all children, in particular girls, eg. a man is a biological male with a penis, a woman is a biological female with a vagina. Biological differences between boys and girls and different body parts should be named accurately to demystify sex differences, reduce shame and embarrassment and equip children to name reality.

TWO: Our bodies. Children should be taught safety, bodily integrity, respect, the concept of consent, the right to assert boundaries and the right to privacy, themes which can only be built on accurate language. Children should be given information on healthy interpersonal relationships to enable them to recognise and speak out on issues such as inappropriate touching/looking/intimacy, sexual abuse and sharing of images etc.

THREE: Gender stereotypes. Children should be helped to understand how gender stereotypes work to limit both boys and girls and are particularly harmful to girls. Teaching children that no qualities, personality traits or interests are exclusive to one sex or the other fosters self-esteem, respect and equality between the sexes as well as respect for difference and diversity.

2. Thinking about relationships and sex education in secondary schools, what do you believe are the three most important subject areas that should be taught for different age groups/key stages and why. Please include any considerations or evidence which informed your choices.

Work in the primary years should be built on and extended into a wider societal perspective.

ONE: Sexual consent. The right to have and assert personal boundaries with the opposite sex. Coercion, manipulation, gaslighting, emotional abuse and control, everyone’s right to their own boundaries and the right to say ‘no.’ What makes a respectful, healthy relationship and how to recognise grooming techniques. Awareness of online pornography which encourages boys and girls to think that abusive sex is normal.

TWO: Sexual orientation. Sexual orientation should be defined accurately as same-sex or opposite-sex attraction and not same or opposite ‘gender.’ Influence on gay and lesbian young people to conceptualise their gender non-conformity as being ‘trapped in the wrong body’ rather than common feelings or a normal response to homophobic bullying. Teachers should be aware of the unprecedented spike in teenage girls identifying as boys and that the overwhelming majority are lesbians, as well as being informed about the current coercion of young lesbians to accept ‘transwomen’ with penises as sexual partners or be seen as ‘transphobic.’

THREE: Gender Stereotypes. Understanding the way that harmful gender and race stereotypes are reinforced through pornography and the sexual objectification of women which creates a culture conducive to violence against women and girls. The deification of gender stereotypes of behaviour, appearance and interests within ‘gender identity’ ideology which encourages children towards irreversible medical alteration and mutilation of their healthy bodies in the service of an ‘identity’ based on gender stereotypes.

3. We are particularly interested in understanding views on Relationships Education and RSE which are specific to the digital context. Are there important aspects of ensuring safe online relationships that would not otherwise be covered in wider Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education, or as part of the computing curriculum?

It is crucial that teachers are informed about the online encouragement of young people to identify themselves as ‘transgender’ across social media platforms, YouTube, Tumblr and Reddit. Trans online forums which encourage vulnerable adolescents towards off-license hormone treatments with irreversible effects, binders with serious health consequences, and irreversible surgeries such as double mastectomies, should be viewed in the same way as pro-ana and self-harm sites. Educators must be much more aware of ‘tranny’ and ‘sissy’ porn and the links between trans activism and pro-prostitution groups.

Young women in particular should be taught about the common gaslighting tactics of online trans activists and the emotional manipulation and abuse of women who assert boundaries. Use of the word ‘TERF’ to dehumanise gender-critical women, accusations of ‘transphobia’ for speaking up for women’s rights and rape and death threats are being used to scare and silence young women online. Older male trans activists and some transgender organisations actively encourage vulnerable young people into their ‘rainbow’ and ‘glitter families’ and encourage them to turn away from their families if they are not ‘supportive’ of their transition. Young people need to be educated about the common tactics of cult and radicalisation groups and understand the manipulative tactics of adults in this area.

4. We are also interested in understanding more about how schools communicate with parents on Relationships Education and RSE and are able to make informed decisions that best meet the needs of their children. This includes a right to withdraw their child from sex education within the RSE subject but not from sex education in the national curriculum for science. How should schools effectively consult parents so they can make informed decisions that meet the needs of their child, including on the right to withdraw? For example, how often, on what issues and by what means?

Children have a right to information about biological sex, their bodies and healthy relationships for protection and safeguarding purposes so we oppose the exemption of faith schools from SRE. It is important that parents are given clear information about what is taught and why. It is also right that schools are aware of the possibility that some withdrawals of children from sex education may be an indication of risk. However, parents have a right to withdraw their child from the teaching of gender identity ideology as fact; parents who withdraw their children on this basis would be acting responsibly to protect their children from anti-science dogma which encourages them to harm their bodies. This should not be viewed as ‘transphobia.’ Children can be taught about bullying and discrimination towards minority groups, including transgender people, without telling them they must believe the idea that ‘identity’ is what makes you a boy or a girl and not biological sex.

5. Thinking about PSHE in primary schools, what do you believe are the three most important subject areas that should be taught and why? Please include your reasons for choosing each subject area or evidence to support your suggestions.

The three subject areas we have specified can be extended further in PSHE lessons, including the digital context. Children in primary schools are accessing online pornography and the older age-groups need information about how it portrays abusive coercive sex and sexual abuse and violence towards women. Girls and boys both need to know how porn sex (especially anal sex) can cause injuries to girls and that girls are feeling coerced into ‘performing’ sex acts they don’t enjoy, or are painful. The dangers of sexting also need to be explored. Schools need to tackle the high rates of sexual harassment and abuse in schools and make the link to pornography and wider cultural sexual objectification of girls and women.

Mental health issues should also be covered and schools should be aware of how increasing sexualisation of girls has been linked to self-harming, self-hatred and low confidence and self-esteem in girls. These young people, along with ASD children and those who have suffered previous trauma are especially vulnerable and susceptible to the idea that medical ‘transition’ will solve all their problems. Today, schools need to be educated on the effects of ‘blockers’ and cross-sex hormones just as much as recreational drugs and young people need to know this information, which is minimised or misrepresented by transgender organisations.

6. Thinking about PSHE in secondary schools, what do you believe are the three most important subject areas that should be taught and why? Please also include your reasons for choosing each subject or evidence to support your suggestions.

As well as the issues above, all boys and girls need to be taught feminism, but this must be real feminism, not ‘liberal’ or ‘intersectional’ feminism which is linked to Queer and Identity politics and teaches that objectification, pornography and ‘sex work’ (a euphemism for prostitution) is ’empowering’ for women. Actual feminism (now sometimes referred to as ‘radical feminism’) examines structural oppression and views pornography and prostitution as violence against women and girls, and ‘gender’ as a hierarchy which places women as inferior to men. It is critical for girls today to be taught an awareness of their rights and protections as a sex and to be taught the history of the fight for women’s rights.

Rates of mental health problems for girls are sky-rocketing and the gender gap is increasing. Sexism and misogyny must be tackled as a matter of urgency. Feminism also tackles the toxic male stereotypes which are detrimental to boys’ emotional health so this is an important topic for all young people, both girls and boys would benefit.

Equality and human rights, discrimination and bullying are important topics in secondary schools and all students should be encouraged to be critical thinkers; to question, engage in respectful debate and tolerate difference of opinion.

7. How much flexibility do you think schools should have to meet the needs of individual pupils and to reflect the diversity of local communities and wider society in the content of PSHE lessons in schools?

PSHE lessons which are rooted in local community issues and demographics, and then related to wider society, can be more engaging for young people. In particular, experts and role models from the local community should be invited to talk to students and schools should be flexible in responding to issues affecting individual students or those within the community which students can relate to. However, schools’ responsibility is also to broaden students’ awareness and understanding of different communities and this is especially important in areas where there is a lack of local ethnic diversity.

*Deadline February 12th at 11.59am*

Thank you!

Read our full response to the government PSHE consultation here.