Happy Christmas from the Scottish Union for Education
12 Views on Scottish Education
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At the Scottish Union for Education (SUE), we spend a lot of time discussing what is wrong with our schools and colleges. However, while not wanting to get carried away with the Christmas cheer, there are several reasons to feel optimistic about the coming year. It was certainly good to see the Scottish government held to account in the general election this summer, but perhaps the most significant reason to be cheerful is that in April we saw the long-awaited publication of the Cass Review, the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People, commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
The Review not only debunked the claim by transgender rights activists that so-called gender-affirming treatment reduces the risk of suicide in gender-questioning children (p. 187) but also found inadequate evidence to justify the potentially harmful use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in adolescents (p. 194). Subsequently, following advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, Wes Streeting announced just last week a UK-wide indefinite ban on the use of puberty blockers for transgender-identifying under-18s. This is excellent news, as it marks a significant step towards a more cautious, clinical evidence–based approach to the care of gender-questioning children, rather than one that has been criticised as being ideologically informed and driven by pressure from activist groups.
This landmark decision might never happened were it not for those campaigning against ‘affirmative’ approaches to ‘gender transition’. It is thanks to all the brave nurses and doctors, the women’s rights campaigners, gay rights groups, psychologists, churches and other religious organisations, civil rights campaigners and parents who raised their concerns about the social transitioning of children, and the irreversible damage resulting from subsequent hormonal and surgical interventions, that common sense won out.
The battle is not over though; many Scottish local authorities, LGBTQIA+ lobbyists and others seem to want to carry on telling children that they can be ‘born in the wrong body’. However, if we keep campaigning, we can ensure that transgender rights activists are no longer able to direct the provision of NHS services or education policy.
The promotion of gender ideology to children is just one strand of a whole range of imported ideologies that are being taught to school children as fact, when in truth they are highly contested. Our children don’t need political indoctrination on issues of gender, race, climate or history; they need to be taught to read and write, and to think for themselves.
This year, SUE decided to produce another Christmas Special Substack. We picked 12 of the most important articles on education, standards, curriculum content, teaching and discipline that reflect SUE’s core values. You can read about league tables, modern languages, library books, censorship and decolonisation. We’d be grateful if you would share this newsletter with the members of your parent council, union, or friends and family.
Although SUE organisers are increasingly optimistic about the possibility of mobilising parents and teachers and students to demand better education, we recognise that there may be trouble in schools and universities in 2025. Labour’s government in Westminster is promoting education reform that is aligned with the disastrous approach adopted by the SNP in recent years. We need an education system that exposes our children to the best of our culture – one that is optimistic, demanding and stimulating, as opposed to therapeutic, ‘child-centred’ and risk-averse.
SUE is run by volunteers, so we are always looking for help to run parents’ groups and public meetings or to support parents or teachers looking for advice. We need people to help us to raise funds so we can produce more pamphlets and hold more events. Our editorial and research group could do a lot if we had many more people willing to do investigative research and writing. If you are making new year resolutions, please add supporting SUE (financially and organisationally) to the top of the list.
Download the Pamphlet, 12 Views on Scottish Education.
Penny Lewis, Editor
Please donate to SUE to allow us to continue our support, campaigning and research work throughout 2025
News round-up
A selection of the main stories with relevance to Scottish education in the press in recent weeks, by Simon Knight.
https://www.thetimes.com/article/65077373-4656-4e4a-8d62-0e55af04de2a?shareToken=e682a5cc9fe774ead8c73843288f27e0 Georgia Lambert, GCSE English is too male, pale and stale, says exam board. School courses should be more diverse and include more spoken language to keep students interested, Pearson tells a government review. 08/12/24
https://archive.is/2024.12.08-063149/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24778604.classroom-assistants-suffer-tsunami-violent-attacks/ Neil Mackay, Classroom assistants suffer tsunami of violent attacks. 08/12/24
https://archive.is/saGg7 Nicola Woolcock, Free speech now more limited, say self-censoring academics. Students are said to ‘increasingly dictate what they want to hear in lectures’ as a survey reveals less tolerance of diverse viewpoints on campus. 05/12/24
https://www.compactmag.com/email/64f0ba5f-09ed-4408-b9af-6e5a2a3d470b/?ref=compact-newsletter Mark Bauerlein, Stop Apologizing for the Past. 10/12/24
https://archive.is/tjqYo Rebecca McCurdy, Teacher numbers fall as additional support needs hit record levels. 11/12/24
Joanna Williams, Pupils should not be fasting for Gaza. Why do so many schools have links to NGOs? 11/12/24
https://archive.is/bwXYs James McEnaney, ASN in Scotland - what do the official statistics tell us? 12/12/24
Andrew Doyle, The ban on puberty blockers is long overdue. The medical and political establishments have failed vulnerable children for long enough. At last, the tide is turning. 12/12/24
https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/12/11/the-fight-to-stop-puberty-blockers-is-far-from-over/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1TgeoHEivG66UECAqPlh-ZikAPbigPOtibhsH1kVxR-9_XupPPym8D7XU_aem_JDbmLTKNbZCNu7_NjG_LiQ Carrie Clark, The fight to stop puberty blockers is far from over. The NHS seems determined to start doling out these drugs again, despite the clear evidence of their harms. 11/12/24
https://archive.is/h3BXw Dani Garavelli, SNP must tackle the disturbing 'vanishing' of pupils from classrooms. 15/12/24
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7r579z0x5o Vanessa Clark, Plan to register children not in school takes shape. 17/12/24
https://archive.is/2024.12.16-081343/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24796200.church-claims-proposals-erode-catholic-identity/ Kevin McKenna, Church claims proposals could erode Catholic identity. 16/12/24
https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/12/14/making-education-relevant-fails-working-class-kids/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3FiHhGBXFhTgvu64amHIEf0himhPcq8bJW4F2O8EVNF7CQisDAkhh6bi8_aem_Rcw0BD-WVOrjmgtSKzlmwQ Neil Davenport, Making education ‘relevant’ fails working-class kids. Education should challenge young people – not patronise them. 14/12/24
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