Game plan to close gender gap in Scottish schools

By CHRIS MARSHALL
Published on Sunday 5 February 2012 00:00

BOYS and girls could be banned from competing separately at school sports days under plans being considered by a Scottish council.

Edinburgh City Council also plans to put an end to children lining up separately for class after a successful pilot to tackle “gender stereotyping” at one of its primary schools.

The council is set to introduce the measures in more of its primaries following a trial at Trinity Primary, where children no longer line up separately in the playground and boys and girls compete in the same events at sports day.

The initiative has won the backing of school inspectors but has led to the council being accused of political correctness and “tinkering” with issues that are of little importance to parents.

The moves are an extension of a drive to tackle bullying and gender issues in the city’s primary schools. Trinity, where children work in teams to design “gender-neutral” toys, was identified as a model for the rest of the city. There is also a new focus on team games, where sides of mixed ages and gender compete across assault courses and in It’s A Knockout-style events.

Helen Donaldson, the acting head teacher, said that by P7, children had a “firm understanding” of why everyone should have equal access to toys, pastimes, sports and jobs, regardless of their gender.

“We have been very successful in educating our pupils about the importance of tolerance and fairness, and I am very proud to say that these themes are now an important part of the school’s ethos,” she said. “Our strategy has been to encourage children to treat others with sensitivity and respect, regardless of their race, religion or gender.

“As a part of this, one of the issues we were keen to include was that of gender equality, and pupils have taken part in a range of activities, such as designing a gender-neutral toy and talking about stereotypes. One of the aims of this work is to try to break down gender barriers, so we also make sure that children are not separated into boy/girl groups for sports, lining up in the playground or for competitions. The response from children so far has been excellent and the message of respecting others and understanding differences is definitely getting through.”

Edinburgh’s education leader, Councillor Marilyne MacLaren, said the school’s initiative was an “example of good practice for others to follow”. She said: “Projects such as these in primary schools are also very important as through the media, children become aware of gender issues increasingly early on in life.

“Complex themes are being addressed here, including the pressures on young girls in particular to dress in styles which are more suited to girls in their adolescence.

“These stereotypes need to be looked at and it is very healthy for youngsters to be able to discuss these in a non-threatening and supportive environment. I look forward to seeing similar activities take place in Edinburgh schools.”

But Tina Woolnough, a parent on the council’s consultative committee for schools and a member of the National Parent Forum, said that at a time when both primaries and secondaries were involved in implementing the Scottish Government’s new Curriculum for Excellence, such initiatives were distracting.

“I wish they would get on with the real focus, rather than just tinkering around the edges,” Woolnough said. “They seem to be struggling with Curriculum for Excellence, so perhaps it would be best to focus time and effort on the bigger picture. They’re stalling while Rome is burning.

“If the council has staff who have spare time and energy to look at this important, but not fundamental issue, they should probably focus their minds on supporting schools to deliver Curriculum for Excellence.”

Ann Ballinger, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, said the council had got its priorities wrong. “Of all the things that are wrong and of all the problems these kids face, you would have thought the differences between boys and girls would be the least of it. This is probably a well-meant initiative, and I don’t want to be too harsh, but there are so many issues that are more important than whether boys and girls line up together.”

Liz Smith MSP, the Tory education spokeswoman, said: “I think this is entirely a matter for schools. I don’t think it’s for local authorities to intervene in that. I certainly don’t think it’s appropriate for councils to be telling schools what to do based on political correctness.”

Trinity Primary was one of three Edinburgh schools visited by inspectors from HM Inspectorate for Education last year and commended for efforts to tackle bullying.

The initiatives being piloted by the schools, including Trinity’s attempt to tackle gender issues, will feature in a forthcoming good practice guide from the HMIE.

Comments

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21

Hector the Lessor

Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:48 AM

Boys and Girls should be taught together during their Primary years. They should be taught separately during their teenage years. This is not rocket science, this has been the accepted way for generations but unfortunately has fallen foul of economics. Your girl has to put up boys with raging male hormones not so much that it is the ideal method of teaching kids, but they do not have the money to separate the sexes during their teenage years. OK it is an elitist attitude, but if you cannot send them to private schools, educate them at home. +

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20

PeterVincent

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 06:24 PM

thomas thetank - personal insults are irrelevant and stupid.

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19

PeterVincent

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 06:22 PM

At Primary school age girls are often more able than boys and we need to encourage them to take part in sports. There should be little or no segregation of children at primary school age.

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18

PeterVincent

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 06:19 PM

GarryOtton, I have personal experience of coaching Primary School children at sport. Your post is irrelevant and stupid. You need to actually get out and do things, rather than post your septic claptrap.

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17

Harvey Mushman

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 05:16 PM

B@lls.....

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16

Rabigyin

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 01:05 PM

And how much of the Education Budget has been WASTED on this little exercise? When money available is being pared and cut, surely this is another little escapade we can do without.

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15

Aristotle

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:27 PM

Boys are boys and girls are girls - no matter how much the PC brigade and gender deniers pretend otherwise. Evolution has determined they are different and no amount of social engineering can disguise the fact. There are very few sports where men and women can compete on equal terms against each other so why pretend otherwise.

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14

Herodotus

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 10:31 AM

Girls and boys competing against each other at sports day? Oh dear, if I were a sportswoman I would be worried about this. First it will be gender neutral school sports days, and the next thing you know it will be a gender neutral Olympic Games. I can't see the feminists being too happy about that: don't think we'd see many female winners, or even competitors, in athletics, swimming, or any other physically demanding sport. For that very reason, this experiment will never take off: the feminists will continue to insist on absolute gender equality in every walk of life *except* sporting events and (for some odd reason) The Oscars (apparently, for some unknown gender equality reason, we need separate awards fro Best Actor and Best Actress).

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13

Thomas the Tank

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 10:18 AM

"could be banned "?? - - Could this be a Last Hurrah from the Utterly Irrelevant, Utterly Ridiculous and Utterly Hypocritical Jabba the MacLaren, before she steps down in May, and her Authoritarian and far-from-Liberal or Democratic party are swept into electoral oblivion? Tina Woolnough is absolutely right - this right-on, pc gesture is just a smokescreen to distract attention from the council's Utterly Disastrous attempts to 'reform' schools management.

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12

Ancient Wisdom

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 08:56 AM

That should read s stroke he. The Hootsmon has banned some symbols. It's the vison of Maria Press that distorts.

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11

Pilrig.

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 08:56 AM

This is the same city that's considerin' cuttin'back on public libraries (zillions go tae trams though).

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10

Ancient Wisdom

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 08:54 AM

That should read s hyphen he, but The Hootsman has banned symbols.

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9

Ancient Wisdom

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 08:53 AM

It's hard to tell the gender of the person in the picture, but is she also proposing unisex loos in our schools. Why stop at sport?

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8

GarryOtton

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 07:45 AM

This is a country is a poor, forgotten backwater that gloats about sectarian schools, where taxpayers money is snatched by governments to feed the mindset that demands seperate toilets and staffrooms. What chance do we have of getting such a good idea as this off the ground?

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7

cabrach loon

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 07:22 AM

How come in the Olympics and all major competions and games women and men compete separately. For sure she is on a different planet.

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