Teachers should consider if a student’s request to socially transition to another gender has been “influenced by social media or peers”, under new government guidance for how schools and colleges in England deal with transgender children and young people.
The draft guidance issued by the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, and the equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch, advises there is no “general duty” for schools and colleges to allow students to change their preferred names, pronouns or uniforms – known as social transitioning – and stresses that parents should be involved in any decisions except where it would endanger the child.
When judging the “seriousness” of a request by a student to socially transition, headteachers are told to consider whether the child has made similar requests before and if they understand its impact.
“Schools and colleges should seek to understand societal or other factors that may have influenced the child, for example: has the child been influenced by peers or social media? Does the child feel pressured to identify differently because they simply do not align with stereotypes associated with their sex?” the guidance states.
The guidance is the first of its type to be issued to schools in England, and has been the subject of much speculation and accusations among government ministers and MPs since it was first announced by Rishi Sunak earlier this year.
Badenoch said: “This guidance is intended to give teachers and school leaders greater confidence when dealing with an issue that has been hijacked by activists misrepresenting the law.
“It makes clear that schools do not have to accept a child’s request to socially transition, and that teachers or pupils should not be pressured into using different pronouns.
“We are also clear how vital it is that parents are informed and involved in the decisions that impact their children’s lives.”
But the draft publication drew a hostile response from some Conservative MPs including the former prime minister Liz Truss, who is sponsoring a private member’s bill that would go further in barring social transitioning by children.
“Today’s guidance does not go far enough. During the many months we have been waiting for its publication, it has become increasingly clear that non-statutory guidance will provide insufficient protection and clarity, and that a change in the law of the land is required,” Truss said.
“I fear that activists and others will be able to exploit loopholes in the guidance and the existing legal framework to pursue their agenda, leaving children at risk of making irreversible changes and with single-sex spaces not sufficiently protected.”
The guidance will be subject to a consultation period that closes on 12 March next year.
Headteachers’ leaders said they would continue to be placed in a difficult position as the guidance leaves many “questions unanswered”.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The ongoing delays to this guidance due to political wrangling have been a source of significant frustration, and it is far from ideal for it to be published right at the end of term, after some schools have already broken up for Christmas.
“Upon an initial look, it would appear this guidance leaves a lot of questions unanswered, meaning school leaders will continue to be placed in an incredibly difficult position.”
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It is frustrating that ministers have dithered and delayed for so long, but we welcome the fact that draft guidance has now been published.
“However, getting to the stage of publication is only one part of the equation – the other important consideration is whether it is actually helpful. We’re now going to spend some time discussing the details with school and college leaders before responding in full to the consultation.
“In particular, we’ll be reviewing whether the guidance is clear and deliverable and whether it places extra workload on education staff who are already working at full stretch.”
The rules will allow students to change the name by which they are known and choose gender-neutral uniforms if they are available under the school’s rules, if their parents agree.
But teachers or other pupils should not be “compelled” to use a student’s preferred pronouns, and teachers will be able to refer to children collectively as girls or boys, even in the presence of children that have been allowed to change pronouns.
Schools that allow social transitioning are advised to use “watchful waiting” to “ensure it is a sustained and properly thought-through decision” by the child. It should then inform parents. “The only exception to this is the very rare situation where informing parents might raise a significant risk of harm to the child,” the guidance says.
For toilets and changing rooms, the guidance says that “all children should use the toilets, showers and changing facilities designated for their biological sex unless it will cause distress for them to do so”. In those cases schools and colleges need to make alternative arrangements while continuing to ensure other spaces remain single-sex.
In sports and PE lessons, schools are told to separate sexes in activities where physical differences between the sexes threaten the safety of children, and take into account the age of the children as well as safety and fairness in allowing mixed-sex participation.
