Thread by @SafeSchools_UK

THREAD
We welcome @educationgovuk releasing this new guidance. We are pleased to see that our concerns have been taken on board and are beginning to be addressed.
#RSE #PSHE #edutwitter #SLTchat #pastoralchat #UKedchat #pastoralthings #teamenglish #LGBT
gov.uk/guidance/plan-…

We are pleased to see that this @educationgovuk guidance is largely in line with our own resources. We have a selection of factsheets & template letters on our website to assist teachers & parents assessing materials.

safeschoolsallianceuk.net/resources-2/fa…

This guidance stresses the importance of consulting with parents. It is in the best interests of children when schools & parents work together and there is transparency about what is being taught & how. #Safeguarding children is the responsibility of every adult in the community.

We are encouraged to see the importance of #safeguarding clearly spelt out; explicit acknowledgment that #RSE will trigger disclosures; and that adults in schools should NEVER promise confidentiality or keeping secrets.

The advice on outside agencies & visitors is extremely welcome. Schools must do due diligence with all outside agencies, their staff & their materials, even if they believe them to be reputable due to funding or perceived endorsements from government.

We are reassured by ‘You should not reinforce harmful stereotypes, for instance by suggesting that children might be a different gender based on their personality and interests or the clothes they prefer to wear.‘

& ‘teachers should not suggest to a child that their non-compliance with gender stereotypes means that either their personality or their body is wrong & in need of changing, teachers should always seek to treat individual students with sympathy & support.‘

This is a vindication of years of campaigning from @cwknews & others of @Transgendertrd in the face of libel & abuse from Pink News, Stonewall & many others. Our members have also put in many hours of unpaid work to challenge @educationgovuk & individual schools & councils.

We would like to thank each & every one of our supporters, who have shared our materials, talked to friends & written to their schools & MPs. Please continue to do so. There is much regulatory capture still to be undone.
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safeschoolsallianceuk.net/resources-2/le…