Transgender guidance for schools will take a “little bit longer”, the education secretary has said after headteachers vented their frustration over the delay.
However, Gillian Keegan also confirmed that the government plans to require schools to get parental consent for pupils to identify as a different gender.
Her comments come as the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said that the lack of guidance is “frustrating” as teachers are having to navigate the “complex and sensitive subject” of gender identity on their own.
Earlier this year, ASCL, the NAHT school leaders’ union, the National Governance Association, the Institute of School Business Leadership, the Chartered College of Teaching and the Confederation of School Trusts produced their own guide for schools in the absence of the government’s guidance.
In March, prime minister Rishi Sunak pledged that guidance for schools on transgender issues would be published “for the summer term”.
When pressed about the guidance today, Downing Street could not say whether it will be published this year.
Asked if Mr Sunak apologises, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “We recognise this is guidance that parents and teachers do need.”
Ms Keegan told ITV’s Peston programme: “We are working on the guidance and we were hoping to get that out but it is going to take us a little bit longer.
“It is confusing, by the way, and we know that people are confused - it’s why we committed to do the guidance in the first place.”
The education secretary said it will state that children should not change gender ID without schools having a conversation with parents.
“Yes, we think parental consent is really very important in this,” she said.
The minister made clear they favour issuing guidance rather than a law change because “guidance is quicker than legislation”.
Reports in The Times have suggested the attorney-general and government lawyers said plans to strengthen guidance would be unlawful, which could mean the publication of the guidance is delayed.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, criticised the delay: “We’ve been telling the government that schools and colleges need clear guidance on provision for transgender and gender-questioning pupils for the past five years, so it is frustrating that it has now got to the point of producing something but appears to be locked in an internal political squabble, which is causing a further delay.
“At present, schools have to navigate this complex and sensitive subject entirely on their own.
“Clear, practical guidance on this matter is important as long as it is genuinely supportive to schools and pupils and does not add to the existing and onerous expectations on schools.”
A report by the Policy Exchange think tank, published in March, suggested a number of secondary schools are not informing parents as soon as a child questions their gender identity.
It suggested that safeguarding principles are being “routinely disregarded in many secondary schools” when it comes to gender identity.
Mr Sunak told broadcasters on Wednesday: “This is a really complex and sensitive issue because it affects the wellbeing of our children. And it’s important that we get it right, given those complexities and sensitivities.
“I’m committed to bringing forward that guidance but I want to make sure that we take the time to go through it properly.”
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said “more evidence” is needed before publishing the guidance on transgender pupils, but he declined to say whether ministers would change the law alongside the new guidance.
The spokesperson added: “As the prime minister said, it is a complex and sensitive issue, it affects the wellbeing of our children.
“That’s why we are taking additional time to speak to teachers, to speak to parents and other relevant groups to ensure the guidance meets the high expectations they have for it so it can be robust, that it places the wellbeing and safety of children at its heart and that it makes sure that parents are always the ones that have the first say.”
A spokesperson for the attorney-general’s office said: “By longstanding convention, reflected in the Ministerial Code, whether the law officers have been asked to provide legal advice and the content of any advice is not disclosed outside government without their explicit consent. That consent is rarely given.”
