Education Secretary Gillian Keegan confirmed in front of the Education Committee this morning that trans guidance to be issued before Christmas will not restrict social transitioning. Keegan faced a fiery line from Tory MP Nick Fletcher, who asserted he “can’t go to bed at night knowing a Secretary of State is allowing current trans situation in schools“. Keegan hit back: “Never go to bed at night thinking you care more about children than I do”. She is the Education Secretary after all…
Keegan explained that banning social transitioning in schools would require a “change in the equalities law,” a matter for Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch to deal with. Kemi has been positioned as taking the more hardline approach on the issue of social transitioning in schools, having been brought in to help draw up new guidance, while Keegan has been criticised for being “too liberal“. Though if star of the Tory-right and “culture warrior” Kemi was so passionate about the subject, then it’s up to the Equalities Minister to change the law…
As the government comes out against Sturgeon’s trans bill, which would allow 16-year-olds to change gender with minimal effort, Guido was surprised to hear one minister contradicting this message. Speaking to Kay Burley this morning, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she thought 16 was old enough to change gender, despite even Sir Keir saying it was too young at the weekend. At least she’s not overseeing the publication of new gender identity guidance for schools…
It seems odd that a Secretary of State would deviate so wildly from the government line, however a recent DfE appointment might shine a light on Keegan’s thinking. The Department for Education recently announced the hiring of Russell Viner as their Chief Scientific Adviser.
Russell Viner has spent much of the last decade researching the effects of puberty blockers. Recently a paper of his found that the effect of puberty blockers was “positive for the majority”. His research involved giving such blockers to 12–15-year-olds with gender dysphoria. To be fair to Russell, he did also say that “we are dealing with unknowns” and that further study was “essential”. This didn’t stop the controversial and discredited Tavistock Centre from citing his paper as the justification their decision to give hormone treatment to pre-teens.
Co-conspirators will not need reminding that the Tavistock Centre was shut down last year after an independent review found it to be “inadequate”, with doctors saying it was referring patients onto a gender transitioning pathway “too quickly”. Guido imagines Kemi will have a word or two to say about Keegan’s medical beliefs…
Learn. Work. Retire.
Three little words you won’t find emblazoned on a mug, yet their meaning is ingrained in our consciousness.
And like their more fashionable cousin, Eat. Sleep. (Read/Run/Rave). Repeat., they’re crying out for a revamp.
Because while most of us still think in terms of a relatively simple three-stage life – education comes first, then working and perhaps raising a family, and finally retirement and leisure – that model no longer adds up.
Thanks to breakthroughs in medicine and public health, we’re living longer lives. You most likely underestimate your own life expectancy. Based solely on my age and sex, I’ve got a one in four chance of reaching 95. One in five baby girls in the UK today will reach 100.
But for longer lives to be better lives, we need to change the way we think about how – and when – we work, learn, save, care for our families, and retire.
Despite his annus horribilis, persona non grata Gavin Williamson’s scheme to offer Latin lessons to state school kids is still being pushed ahead by his successor. A contract just launched by the government, and spotted by Guido, confirms the £4 million bill for its “Latin Excellence Programme“. To quote verbatim it is to:
“…improve pupils’ attainment via increased access to, and uptake of, GCSE in Latin, as part of contributing to pupils’ broader Classics education.”
The scheme will be offered ad hoc across 40 state schools as part of a four-year pilot scheme, with the hope to eventually move on from the current status quo of limited classics provision. Guido would have thought teaching kids how to code would been more useful, after all tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis…
Following Education Tsar Sir Kevan Collins’ resignation last night – after No. 10 refused to back his £15 billion funding proposals – Safeguarding Minister Victoria Atkins had to defend the government’s current spending plan of just 1/10th of what Collins was calling for. Rishi is also feeling the heat after being accused of putting up the main objections.
Atkins insisted on Sky News that the £1.4 billion sum was a “huge amount of funding” and that she “didn’t know where [Collins’] figures have come from“. LBC’s Nick Ferrari resorted to asking her how she could keep a straight face. And the government were hoping recess would be an easy ride…
Watch the full back-to-school address here.
