Thread by @MrsRogdMum

📣 Day 12: Exploring Gender Ideology in St Mary's in Cambridge @StMarysSch 🌈

Continuing our Pride Month journey, let's uncover the influence of gender ideology in St Mary's School, located in Cambridge.

Thread Alert!👇 #PrideMonth @educationgovuk

St Mary's School, located in Cambridge, England, is a prestigious private Christian institution that follows the Catholic tradition. The school provides both day and boarding options and caters to girls from the ages of three to eighteen.

Mrs. Charlotte Avery, a Cambridge-educated leader, has been Headmistress of St Mary's School since 2007. She also served as president of the Girls' Schools Association and held senior positions at other prestigious institutions such as South Hampstead High School in NW London.

In 2022, the school celebrated LGBTQ History Month by spotlighting their history and achievements. Activities included discussions in the Inclusivity Club and an art exhibition featuring inclusive icons. This initiative aimed to promote understanding, empathy, and inclusion.

In History, Year 9 students studied the 'Glamour Boys', a group of gay and bisexual MPs who opposed Hitler but were overlooked by history and the Year 10 lessons will explore the persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals in Nazi Germany.

While the school's status as a Stonewall champion is unclear, their Relationships Education (RE) and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Policy aligns with the following guidance and advice: rb.gy/0pkju

This Stonewall guidance 2019 disregards biological and scientific facts and instead promotes the idea to children that their inner feelings are more important than their biological sex, allowing them to choose their gender as a personal decision.rb.gy/by830

The guidance asserts that every individual has an inherent, internal 'gender identity' that determines their classification as either male or female.

It further suggests that biological sex is a mere assignment at birth and can be altered at one's discretion.

The guidance's endorsement of an ideology and perpetuation of sex stereotypes, along with its support for compelled speech and imposition of beliefs, pose significant concerns in an educational setting by limiting freedom of expression and hindering independent thinking.

The school aims to provide unbiased and factual curriculum content, fostering open questioning among students. However, the lack of scientific evidence supporting Stonewall's claims raises doubts about the school's adherence to its own guidance.

In a rather unexpected move, parents were recently invited to a parent workshop webinar by the school featuring none other than Claire Harvey from the Schools Inclusion Alliance. It seemed to be an enlightening session intended to educate these "pesky" parents on Gender Identity.

I assume the workshop was the advertised LGBT webinar, with a strong emphasis on gender identity (T) and limited coverage of the LGB aspects. Fortunately, we obtained a recording and slides for further examination. 😃

Before we proceed though, let's quickly recap the company. SIA was co-founded in 2018 by Helen Semple (Deputy Head of St Paul's Girls School) and her partner Claire Harvey (former CEO of Diversity Role Models)

In a 2021 Times article Semple stated "when dealing with parents who may not be accepting, she believes that often they have not been exposed to the same educational resources, training, and knowledge that teachers have had" rb.gy/rg5de

So let's get educated. Expect some vague language, but according to Harvey, don't worry about language. Thankfully, the webinar provided a safe space for parents to ask questions, as long as they were mindful of others' feelings. 😳

Erm so let's erm start off erm by thinking erm about erm what it is erm we're actually talking about, because this can feel like a very difficult subject erm at the moment erm. 🤨

Right so we will just skip Lesbians Gays and Bisexuals because meh, we don't need to worry about them.

"We’re also talking about our FEELINGS – who we are, who we’re attracted to, those things that are perhaps less tangible, the last piece of course, is one that often goes unnoticed but is very important – expression – how do we present to others" 🤔

And this slide is interesting....

Throughout the session, which was rife with ideology, falsehoods, and irrational statements, Harvey consistently referred to 'young people' despite addressing parents of an all girls' school. Young people were mentioned 85 times.

During the session, a concerned parent raised a question regarding the language used by Harvey.

This particular slide is quite intriguing. It emphasises the significance of expressing opinions without causing harm, while also suggesting that we need not delve into the reasons "why" young people are exploring their gender identity.

Parents do not need to worry about all these things.

Of great concern was her nonchalant attitude towards transgenderism and its potential implications, including surgery and various other aspects (presumably referring to medical treatments).

Parents heard from Mona, who faces assumptions based on their assigned sex at birth. Misgendered and labeled as a lesbian, Mona's journey included embracing a tomboyish identity and exploring their gender. After a decade, they found solace as non-binary/transgender.

When a parent pointed out that sex is not assigned at birth but recorded as a fact, their observation was met with a condescending and dismissive response, despite the supposed safe space for conversation.

A parent inquired about the lessons learned from the Cass Review and this was the response. 😕

The webinar lasted approximately an hour and briefly touched upon detransitioners, albeit with limited discussion. The closing remarks by the assistant head used the term "daughters" despite initially referring to "young people." 🙂

Following the enlightening workshop, parents' understanding of gender ideology has significantly broadened. As a result, their concerns about the content being presented to their children have escalated further.