Scottish Union for Education – Newsletter No126
Themes: civilisation, democracy, and the coming challenge to transgender ideology in schools
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WORK by donating to SUE. Click on the link to donate or subscribe, upgrade to a paid subscriber or ‘buy us a coffee’. All our work is based on donations from supporters.
I’ve become a little obsessed by the idea of civilisation lately, in part because it feels like a dividing line that situates people in one of two camps. As with most categories, the meaning of this term is highly disputed, and in reality we can rarely find something that can easily be used to find solutions to all modern-day problems. So, my preoccupation with this idea may well be overplayed and perhaps wrong, but I thought it would be worth throwing it out there to see what you think and to encourage people to write something for us about this issue.
Part of my interest in this issue relates to a concern I have about democracy and my attempt to think about what values – if any – a school should promote. At one level, my liberal self thinks that education should be about knowledge, subjects ... and that’s essentially it. But that leaves the question of values, or ‘virtue’ perhaps, up in the air. Without something else, it is hard to know what headteachers would use assemblies for, or what ethos expresses what the school, or indeed the school system, should be about.
The modern take on values appears to start from the idea of the individual, or the isolated individual, seen through the idea of being the ‘real you’. Joe Biden, for example, when President of the United States, spoke about the ultimate value of everyone being free ‘to be their true selves’. When this comes as part of the celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility, however, this seemingly unproblematic idea suddenly takes on a very different meaning.
Curiously, the idea of being the real you, when expressed today, is often used to question the norms of society. Hidden (although not that well hidden) within it, is a promotion of the individual who is represented as being oppressed or limited by society’s norms and values. So, ‘transgender’ children are being limited by the ‘cis’ community, apparently, and black people are being limited by whiteness, while women and girls are being victimised by toxic masculinity, and so on.
Part of the problem with what I would call a promotion of hyper-individualism is that it leaves children to themselves, or it gives us plenty to be against but nothing much to be part of as a people or society. Without this, some of the virtues of the past, like a sense of duty, a connection to other people that encourages bravery, temperance, liberality, generosity and a sense of justice, become either confused or simply disappear.
I raise the matter of democracy partly because when studies are done on this subject, it is the younger generations who are least concerned or supportive of the idea itself. What this means, or will mean in practice, is difficult to predict, and while one does not want to create dogmatic schools that attempt to churn out ‘little democrats’, the relative openness and questioning minds that liberal democracies encourage should at least make us think about the values question.
How this all fits into the idea of civilisation, if at all, is open to debate, but I do think that when you ask yourself if something – some course of action, outlook or idea – is helping to create a civil or civilised society, you tend to at least be asking the right question. Ultimately, the beauty of a democratic society is that this, in the end, is a question that we collectively have to find answers to, and we hope that, as we do this, those in authority will listen to the concerns being raised.
To segue into the article below, part of the development of civilisation has been in both liberating people and also finding fundamental truths about humanity – one of which is the ‘idea’ of biological sex. Thankfully, it appears that after a decade of losing a sense of this reality, we are now starting to get back to an understanding that there is a presocial biological reality that cannot be imagined away. That the Scottish government continues to drag its feet on this issue looks set to cause it all sorts of problems in the coming months, partly helped by the legal challenge about their inaction when it comes to promoting transgender ideology to children.
Here at SUE, we are proud to have played a small part in the pushback against this confusing ideology and also proud to have worked with some of the best people and groups in Scotland who have helped to turn the tide on this illiberal and regressive trend. As I write, it looks as if there may be another, different legal challenge to come regarding the forced language being adopted in some schools. Hopefully we will have news about this in the coming weeks, and if you have anything happening in your schools about this, let us know info@sue.scot
Stuart Waiton, Chair of SUE
Scotland’s schools: has the Scottish government undermined public trust completely?
Carolyn Brown is a retired Depute Principal Educational Psychologist.
Along with others such as the Scottish Union for Education, For Women Scotland, and Women’s Rights Network Scotland, I have written on several occasions, with various hats on, to the Scottish government cabinet ministers and MSPs to raise my concerns as a psychologist about the impact of schools and social services responding to the demands of activists who promote the concept of gender ideology, including gender self-identification. My concerns have been repeatedly denied and ignored by our political leaders and key civil servants. One of my long-term concerns registered with the Scottish government has been its failure to withdraw the guidance Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools.[1] Because of its lack of action in response to the UK Supreme Court ruling, pressure has continued to build on the Scottish government. Most recently, For Women Scotland have initiated formal proceedings against the Scottish government for failing to withdraw its gender self-ID policies, including the guidance for schools.[2]
It is clear that the Scottish government guidance for schools is unlawful, but my concern is that not only is the guidance unlawful but it is positively harmful to all children and their families, and poses significant risks to the psychological and physical safeguarding of all Scottish pupils. This is because the ‘trans’ schools guidance promotes the false concept of gender identity. All definitions of gender identity are predictably circular. For example, a common explanation is, ‘Gender identity describes how a person feels about their gender’. Such an explanation does not tolerate scrutiny; no wonder, given that no human can change sex. For at least the last five years, our Scottish government has been invested in our schools teaching a huge lie to our children.
There are usually many reasons for a child or teenager stating that they are ‘trans’; examples include autism, anxiety, abuse, bullying, bodily hatred and social contagion. These are the issues that should be being addressed regarding any child struggling with anxieties about their perception of identity and sex, but the ‘trans’ guidance does none of that. The guidance assumes that the ‘born in the wrong body’ narrative and ‘transgender’ status are well-evidenced concepts when they are not. No child is born in the wrong body, and no child is ‘transgender’. The term transgender is a rebrand of transsexual, the term describing an adult, usually male, who believes that they would be better off psychologically as the opposite sex. This form of delusional thinking requires psychological support. It is not within the competency, and certainly not ethical, for the Scottish government to provide guidance for schools stating that children can assume a delusional state. Children and teenagers are hugely suggestible, and they do not have the cognitive understanding or emotional capacity to necessarily withstand the onslaught of claims promoted by activist organisations such as LGBT Youth Scotland and TIE (Time for Inclusive Education). Both LGBT Youth Scotland and TIE have been encouraged into our schools and financially supported by the Scottish government. As Tavistock whistleblower Dr David Bell states, ‘Children struggle to even imagine themselves in an adult sexual body’.[3] To take at face value a child stating they are ‘trans’ and then affirm them is, as Dr Cass states, ‘not a neutral act’.[4]
The Cass Review (2024) highlighted the lack of clarity regarding the risks versus benefits of gender social transition in childhood and adolescence, but noted the association between social transition, especially at a very young age, and progression to life-long medical intervention.[5] In schools, teachers affirming pupils’ gender self-identification and social transition as ‘trans’ is likely harmful, not just in terms of setting those individuals potentially on a path towards unnecessary medicalisation, but also just in terms of promoting their delusional self-perceptions. Parents and professionals have key roles in reassuring and supporting pupils to learn to accept their bodies and the biological changes they experience as they grow and develop. Children need to be encouraged to love their bodies and themselves for who they are. We also know from extensive research that the process of puberty itself helps most teenagers to resolve their feelings of unease about their bodies (Griffin et al., 2021).[6]
Dr David Bell has stated the following:[3]
Characterizing a child as, ‘being transgender’ is harmful as it forecloses the situation and also implies that this is a unitary condition for which there is a unitary ‘treatment’. It is much more helpful to use a description: the child suffers from distress in relation to gender/sexuality, and this needs to be explored in terms of the narrative of their lives, the presence of other difficulties such as autism, depression, histories of abuse and trauma, and confusion about sexuality.
Affirming the concept of ‘trans’ amounts to potentially grooming the child towards a lifetime of delusion, confusion, psychological and physical harm. By its past and current actions, the Scottish government has created its very own child-safeguarding crisis.
The Supreme Court’s ruling clarified that the terms sex, man and woman in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex, not gender identity or certificated sex as modified by a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). This decision has profound implications for policies and guidance that rely on definitions of sex or gender that deviate from biological reality. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s interim guidance, issued in May 2025, further reinforced that public bodies, including schools and care services, must align their policies with this legal definition of sex to comply with the Equality Act 2010. It explicitly states that duty bearers should not wait for the updated Code of Practice to review and amend their policies to ensure compliance with the law as settled by the Supreme Court. The EHRC, through Baroness Kishwer Falkner, has explicitly stated that it did not advise ministers to delay action until the final Code of Practice is published. Instead, it has emphasised that public bodies must act immediately to ensure compliance with the law. The Scottish government’s delay in withdrawing or revising these guidance documents risks perpetuating unlawful practices and exposing vulnerable children to further harm.
Conclusion
Our Scottish education system requires safe, evidenced-based interventions, effective psychological assessment, and appropriate care for all its pupils. It is not helpful to have leading, ideologically led input in any of our public services, especially our schools and child social services. This is particularly the case where vulnerable children are concerned. The continued enforcement of the ‘transgender’ pupils guidance not only contravenes the Supreme Court’s ruling but also undermines the trust of parents, carers and the wider public in the Scottish government’s commitment to upholding the law and the protection of children. The protection of children’s safety and rights must be paramount. The current guidance, by prioritising gender identity over biological sex, risks undermining the privacy, dignity and safeguarding of children, particularly in single-sex spaces.
References
1. Scottish government. 2021. Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools: guidance for Scottish schools. https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and-guidance/2021/08/supporting-transgender-young-people-schools-guidance-scottish-schools/documents/supporting-transgender-pupils-schools-guidance-scottish-schools/supporting-transgender-pupils-schools-guidance-scottish-schools/govscot%3Adocument/supporting-transgender-pupils-schools-guidance-scottish-schools.pdf
2. Sanderson D. 16 August 2025. For Women Scotland suing ministers for failure to abide by gender ruling. https://archive.ph/WhYNu
3. Bell D. 2024. The Cass review of gender identity services marks a return to reason and evidence – it must be defended. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/26/cass-review-gender-identity-services-report
4. The Cass Review. Independent review of gender identity services for children and young people: interim report. 2022. pp. 62–63. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20250310144509mp_/https:/cass.independent-review.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Cass-Review-Interim-Report-Final-Web-Accessible.pdf
5. The Cass Review. Independent review of gender identity services for children and young people: final report. 2024. pp. 31–32. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20250310144409mp_/https://cass.independent-review.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CassReview_Final.pdf
6. Griffin L, Clyde K, Byng R, Bewley S. 2021. Sex, gender and gender identity: a re-evaluation of the evidence. British Journal of Psychiatry Bulletin. 45(5): 291–299. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2020.73
Further reading
Brown C. 17 November 2022. Gender ideology a hindrance if a pupil identifies as trans. https://archive.ph/UFCeN
Cunningham J. 2023. Transgender Ideology in Scottish Schools: what’s wrong with government guidance? Scottish Union for Education.
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.scotpag.com/education ScotPAG, In August 2025, ScotPAG interviewed a former manager in education in a large Scottish education service and a head teacher of a moderately sized primary school. Both interviewees shared with us their concerns about the impact gender ideology and the transgender movement is having on our Scottish education system, the teaching profession, pupils and their families. Aug 2025
https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/07/23/feeling-down-is-not-a-mental-illness/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLtXrBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHjbRf3glE5-h_SvIW1L2-uv1tzuV2INhuGLNwkCLeO5pcUPTpqvymA9sJZrc_aem_qzIm9KD4LNWtSZot5B5GOw Frank Furedi, Feeling down is not a mental illness. Labour is finally having to admit that the ‘mental health’ obsession is damaging to kids. 23/07/25
https://www.educationnext.org/romancing-the-child/ ED Hirsch, Jnr, Romancing the Child Curing American education of its enduring belief that learning is natural. Summer 2025
https://news.stv.tv/scotland/increasing-numbers-of-asn-applications-rejected-in-scotland PA Media, Increasing numbers of ASN applications rejected in Scotland. Data released by School Leaders Scotland showed an increase in rejected additional support needs requests. 20/08/25
https://archive.is/6D83F Alex Massie, John Swinney loves the law — but trans row proves he can be unfaithful. Foot-dragging by the first minister’s government on the Equality Act’s single-sex guidance appears to be a deliberate shunning of a ruling that it simply doesn’t like. 20/08/25
https://archive.is/6zwn7 John Maier, Academics are to blame for the woke wreckage at universities. As young teachers at Oxford we know how deep-rooted woke thinking is. And it’s older colleagues who stood by nodding it all through. 22/08/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4yvm3w3lvo Rebekah Wilson, 'No parent wants to send their child to a school that does not want them’. 25/06/25
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15033059/Equalities-chief-says-womans-rights-groups-like-MAGA-US.html Graham Grant, Equalities chief says woman's rights groups like MAGA in US. 25/08/25
https://archive.is/n0o7f Louise Eccles, Why boys aren’t studying English (and teachers don’t like it either). It’s not just smartphones: the ‘boring’ GCSE curriculum seems to be denting A-level entries and testing everyone’s patience. 23/08/25
Thanks for reading the SUE Newsletter.
Please visit our Substack
Please join the union and get in touch with our organisers.
Email us at info@sue.scot
Contact SUEs Parents and Supporters Group at psg@sue.scot
Follow SUE on X (FKA Twitter)
Please pass this newsletter on to your friends, family and workmates.