'Ideological capture': Education experts press government on concerns about trans schools guidance

Last month educational psychologists and social workers from the campaign group ScotPAG told how they had been pursuing a meeting with education secretary Jenny Gilruth.

Rather than offer a meeting with the minister, the group was given an online audience with civil servants.

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More than a month following that meeting, ScotPAG has now received a response to concerns it raised during the exchange.

However, the group claims the government is not engaging in meaningful discussion over issues it raises.

Carolyn Brown, ScotPAG Convenor and retired Depute Principal Educational Psychologist, said: “It was a response highlighting textbook ideological capture wrapped in bureaucratic waffle, and an excellent example of gaslighting.

“The Scottish government reply completely deflected our concerns about the harms caused by gender ideology, gender affirmation and self-ID for children.

“We had hoped for an intelligent and informed dialogue with education representatives who understood about research design and the parameters required for effective safeguarding.

“We were sadly disappointed.”

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ScotPAG members who met with the government representatives included a Professor Emerita from Queen Margaret University, a Senior Social Worker; a retired NHS Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist), a retired Director of Education) and Ms Brown.

They have tried repeatedly, over the past three years, to engage with the Scottish government.

The meeting was only offered after pressure from opposition MSPs and repeated requests over the past 12 months.

ScotPAG’s experts assert it is wrong for the government to prioritise gender identity affirmation for young people in schools over biological sex.

They say the government guidance“has failed to acknowledge or respect parental rights, it has breached key principles of child safeguarding and it is visiting various psychological harms on Scottish pupils”.

In response to the group, civil servants said in a letter: “We are committed to advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex people, and all gender identities and sexual orientations and promoting, protecting and realising the rights of every LGBTQI+ person in Scotland.”

ScotPAG representatives raised concerns with the government about safeguarding, privacy and and say the guidance promotes “secrecy” from parents.

The civil servant response said: “Ideally, a young person will have discussed their concerns with their family prior to raising these matters with their school.

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“However, it is known, through schools’ experience, that young people do not always do so.

“This leaves everyone concerned in a very difficult position.”

New research from Finland, published last week, studying children and young people who say they are questioning their gender identity found those who were referred for treatment already had significant psychiatric needs.

After two years of affirmation treatment, the majority of these children’s mental health had become significantly worse.

Ms Brown added: “The Scottish government needs to wake up to the fact that they are wrong and have been listening to the wrong advice.”

The government’s Supporting Transgender Young People: Guidance for Schools in Scotland was first published in 2017 by LGBT Youth Scotland.

Following the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling last year, which set out the definition of “sex” in law, the government said it would revise the guidance for a third time.

When approached previously by The Scotsman, a Scottish government spokesman said it would be “wrong to suggest” that the government is “ignoring the group on this issue.”

He added that the Transgender Young People in Schools guidance “helps schools create safe, supportive environments while respecting all pupils' rights”.