Scottish Union for Education – Newsletter No78
Themes: Queer books, The General election
This is the last newsletter before we break for the summer. We will return to your inbox on Thursday 15 August. In the new academic year, we will revisit the Cass review, its recommendations and the implications for schools. We are keen to work with other groups to step up the campaign against the promotion of transgender ideology in schools and other public institutions used by children, such as libraries. We plan to continue researching and writing about reading levels, therapeutic education, the teaching of history, special educational needs, discipline, attendance, standards of assessment, critical race theory, and the ‘decolonisation’ of the curriculum, among other issues. If you have any thoughts or concerns regarding these matters, please get in touch.
In this newsletter we will give a brief analysis of the election outcome and its likely impact on Scottish education. Throughout the election campaign, SUE supporters have continued their own campaigning on several fronts. Although there are many issues to address, the serious dangers of the sexualisation of children keep returning to the top of the agenda. In particular, we have been shocked by the number of inappropriate books that have been cropping up in schools and libraries in the name of ‘inclusion’.
In Portobello, parents and grandparents have been challenging their local library after it organised an event in which the controversial book Grandad’s Pride was promoted to young children and the person leading the event told children they could be born in the wrong body. Grandad’s Pride (‘A Grandad’s Camper LGBTQ Pride Book for Kids in partnership with GLAAD’) is written by Harry Woodgate and published by Little Bee Books. The publisher describes it as a book about an ‘adorable pair’ – a grandad and his granddaughter – ‘motivated by the past to start a pride parade in their small town. Activism and celebration go hand in hand as the town gathers to help “build a world where everyone is proud to be themselves”.’ Who could object to such an adorable pair? Well, many parents object and have been objecting for over a year since they found out that the book contains an image of a man in bondage gear and a trans-identifying young woman with double-mastectomy scars.
Some very ‘tolerant’ parents may think it’s OK for young children to be exposed to images of older men in bondage gear, but many instinctively know this is wrong. We have film ratings, and we talk about things being ‘age appropriate’, because we understand that childhood is a process which takes time. Children grow into the adult world, and in their early years we protect them from exposure to many aspects of that adult world to give them the space to mature without too many worries. We avoid talking to kids about serious crimes, terminal illness and even financial worries not because we are closed-minded but because we don’t want to scare or confuse them. We don’t talk about sex or adult sexual preferences to young children because they don’t need to know, they wouldn’t understand, and in fact, it might upset them.
The idea of ‘age-appropriate’ material and discussions are a central ideas of both child development and education. Education demands that we build knowledge and understanding over time. To talk to a 6-year-old about sexuality is like teaching calculus to someone who doesn’t understand basic maths. However, it’s not just dumb; when it comes to sex, it tends to normalise the idea you can discuss sex with strangers – an idea that puts some children at risk.
The only reason Scottish society is now abandoning this well-established norm is that social justice campaigners wrongly believe that children develop prejudices early, and that normalising things that are not the norm (like bondage) at an early age will put an end to prejudice.
Most parents recognise that Grandad’s Pride is not just unnecessary and inappropriate, but that it and other books like it are normalising the idea that we should be discussing sex with children at a young age and in public. No doubt some people see this as some kind of safeguarding approach, but that idea is wrong-headed and needs to be challenged. It is not healthy or helpful to discuss with children intimate adult issues related to sex and sexual preferences and activity.
We recently got a letter from a very frustrated parent who reported that her friend had been to her local primary to ask that her child was not to be taught transgender ideology but discovered the next day that the teacher was reading Pink is for Boys to the children. Pink is for Boys is not a sexually explicit book, but it is described by its publishers as a ‘timely and beautiful picture book’ which ‘rethinks and reframes the stereotypical blue/pink gender binary’. It was being read by a teacher who believes there are more than two biological sexes and, as such, the parents are right to object. It’s not homophobic to argue that your 6-year-old child doesn’t need to be taught about ‘gender’ or, indeed, sexuality.
Finally, this week the Scottish Family Party produced a video highlighting the fact that Kinlochbervie High School has been promoting sexually explicit books and transgender literature including Queer:A graphic history in the school library. Kinlochbervie High is a remote 30-pupil school in Northwest Sutherland, which forms part of a larger campus for 2–18-year-olds. Headteacher, John Naples-Campbell, is a drama teacher and a drag artist, is active in the LGBT-inclusive education campaigns and has worked alongside the generously funded quango Time for Inclusive Education which promotes transgender ideology and helped the Highland Council develop staff teacher training in ‘LGBT-inclusive’ education. In 2021 parents at Glenurquhart High School, where he then worked raised some concerns about Naples-Campbell’s behaviour in school, after which he left the school and transferred to the Highland Council, and then Kinlochbervie.
This week, apparently Naples-Campbell reported the Scottish Family Party to the police for a hate crime or harassment. Naples-Campbell is rumoured to have a track record for reporting people to the police if they question his teaching. If parents and campaign groups are no longer allowed to raise concerns about the sexualisation of children in schools without being labelled homophobic or transphobic and referred to the police, then we are in serious trouble.
SUE is keen to hear from teachers about what they want to see happen in education in Scotland. If you have time over the summer, please get in touch with our teacher members by emailing teachers@sue.scot.
Grandad's Pride (A Grandad's Camper LGBTQ Pride Book for Kids in partnership with GLAAD)
Education and the general election
Education didn’t feature much in the general election campaign, it seems that politicians don’t understand the seriousness of this issue or don’t imagine that there is a political solution to this problem. SUE will be working hard between now and the Holyrood elections in 2026 to ensure that indoctrination and falling academic standards are central issues.
Whatever your political persuasion, it’s clear that this general election is going to mean change. For the first time in decades, the majority of MPs in Scotland belong to the same party as the Westminster government. Scottish politicians can no longer divert local complaints towards London. Even though education is a devolved issue, we can expect Labour MPs to play a more active role in Scottish education. Education policy developed in Westminster is likely to have an impact on the Scottish system.
What could this mean? Labour didn’t talk much about state education in their election campaign, but the new education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has been in the shadow education role since November 2021, and her thoughts are on the record. Like many of Labour’s cabinet members, she went to comprehensive school, which is seen as a badge of honour, something that distinguishes her from the Tories. She has suggested that because Sunak went to the private school (Winchester), he was not personally invested in the state system.
The focus of her early work is likely to be Labour’s election promise to remove tax relief for private schools. On election day the front page of the Scotsman reported that 52 per cent of Scots support this policy, according to a poll by Savanta. Labour argue that its critics are just well-heeled privileged parents and that the state sector needs their tax revenues, but as Julie Sandilands reported in Substack No70, the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) says the policy will have significant negative effects on the Scottish sector. It will certainly reduce choice for those with money, but it may also lead to the closure of small educational concerns which have been established to help children with special educational needs.
Labour’s hostility to independent schools is not encouraging. Labour may need to be reminded that the state does not have the monopoly on education. When in 1944 the state stepped in to provide free secondary education for all pupils, it was on the understanding that parents were the ultimate source of authority in the education of a child. Under current conditions, it’s understandable why parents, churches and other organisations might want to do their own thing, but will taxation undermine this independent activity?
The issues that Phillipson has focused on in opposition are attendance, the attainment gap, and mental health issues following the Covid pandemic. She also talks about academic excellence. Any education reform is likely to be driven by her belief that the Conservatives have created ‘a curriculum that narrows, not broadens our children’s experiences and opportunities, where the pursuit of high standards has become too often synonymous with joylessness’. That she talks about excellence is encouraging, but it’s important to remember that the Labour Party was the architect of the much-criticised Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland, which was organised around the idea of broadening and personalising the core of education. Phillipson talks a lot about social barriers to education. She has described ‘barriers to learning’ as the ‘growing legacy of Tory rule’. She says, ‘child poverty’s effects don’t end as the classroom door closes. The good night’s sleep, the space to do homework, the quiet undisturbed time at home, missing from far too many of our children’s lives.’ While this is very true, education funding should not be used to fill gaps left by failures in the welfare system. One of the main weaknesses of the SNP’s policies aiming to address the attainment gap is that they have failed to invest in training teachers in maths and sciences and instead used the money to run breakfast clubs. We really need a government that understands that raising school standards demands improving the quality of teacher training and attracting good subject teachers.
As for the ideological issues that are dogging Scottish education, the prospect is not looking good. Labour leaders share many of the prejudices of the SNP regarding transgender ideology, critical race theory and the environment. If you were hoping that the demise of the SNP might lead to a more tolerant and open-minded society in which social justice activism is kept out of schools, you may be very disappointed. SUE is certainly preparing for further challenges.
Editor, Penny Lewis
News round-up
A selection of the main stories with relevance to Scottish education in the press in recent weeks, by Simon Knight
https://archive.is/vAFte Alex Ward, Boy, 12, is referred to counter-extremist Prevent officers by his own school after declaring there ‘are only two genders’ and ‘I’m gay not queer’. 28/06/24
https://maggiemellon.com/social-work-consultancy/david-tennant-and-the-fear-of-truth/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2eefVFkzZflsl5r4P09WauSaamVrYdF7VTNWcRuxjBtzPL8gS75-IFp6Q_aem_THjLXWwL6wpqqX0-G_Xm-Q Maggie Mellon, David Tennant and the fear of truth. 27/06/24
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24414413.kate-forbes-tennant-row-women-not-told-shut-up/?ref=ebln&nid=1220&block=article_block_a&u=3113c1b3a77b3e25e409aaa02c22166f&date=270624 Jody Harrison, Kate Forbes on Tennant row: ‘Women should not be told to shut up’. 27/06/24
https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2024/28-june/comment/letters-to-the-editor/letters-to-the-editor?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2pB9fQYD8De_4dRzoTyb4sVkAw2GGThFpdAOinEzCgwNJMeUtbTI7cTz4_aem_R2sWGBwXj9AMGW6U-v7RvA Letters to the Editor. 28/06/24
https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/06/25/its-time-for-gay-people-to-turn-our-backs-on-pride/?utm_source=spiked+long-reads&utm_campaign=edfaa3225f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_06_30_12_55&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-edfaa3225f-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D Andrew Doyle, It’s time for gay people to turn our backs on Pride. This month-long orgy of virtue-signalling, fetishism and gender ideology is taking gay rights backwards. 25/06/24
https://archive.is/vSYP6 James McEnaney and Andrew Learmonth, Scottish Labour splits with UK party over ‘gender ideology’ in schools. 30/06/24
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-trouble-with-david-tennant/ Julie Burchill, The trouble with David Tennant. 27/06/24
https://cieo.substack.com/p/its-not-just-private-schools-that-ca2 Joanna Williams, It’s not just private schools that Labour has in its sights. Starmer’s promise to ‘modernise’ the curriculum will turn schools into sites of social engineering. 27/06/24
https://substack.com/home/post/p-145963691?source=queue Sarah Phillimore, The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. The Act comes into force in August 2024 and promises some useful and cheaper routes as an alternative to court to compel Universities and Student Unions to respect the rule of law. 24/06/24
Christina Buttons, Pediatric Gender Medicine Is Led by Activism, Not Science, New Documents Show. WPATH is a fringe activist organization that should be categorically excluded from clinical decision-making. 01/07/24
Seen in Publishing, In Defence of Confidentiality. 02/07/24
https://archive.is/WXqSYAmy Gibbons, Trans women don’t have the right to use female lavatories, suggests Starmer. Labour leader says biological males who have transitioned should not enter areas for women amid confusion over party’s trans policy. 01/07/24
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