Transgender guidance: what schools need to know

Teachers and pupils in England will not be “compelled” to use a child’s preferred pronoun, the government’s draft transgender guidance says.

And it says that at primary school, children “should not have different pronouns to their sex-based pronouns used about them”.

The Department for Education has today published its long-awaited draft guidance for schools and colleges on how best to support pupils questioning their gender.

The non-statutory guidance, which is now the subject of a 12-week consultation, says “parents should not be excluded” from decisions taken by a school or college relating to a request for a child to “socially transition”, such as requests to change name, pronoun and clothing.

And schools in England are also told there is “no general duty” to allow children to change their gender identity.

The Confederation of School Trusts’ chief executive, Leora Cruddas, has criticised the government for the timing of the announcement at the end of term, which she said could add significant workload for school leaders and cause confusion for staff and families.

Here are the key points for schools from the guidance:

Transgender guidance for schools

No ‘general duty’ to allow children to change gender identity

Schools have no “general duty” to allow a child to change their gender identity, according to the guidance.

In a statement accompanying the guidance, the DfE said that it has clarified that schools and colleges “do not have to, and should not, accept all requests for social transition”.

“Where a school considers a request, they should take a very cautious approach, including watchful waiting periods, ensuring parents are fully consulted before any decision is taken,” it added.

• Background: School gender guidance “may take longer”
• Ofsted: Schools “urgently need” guidance on gender identity
• Transgender guidance: Schools may need single-sex and unisex toilets

The guidance references the Cass Review, which it says concluded that social transition is not a neutral act, and that better information is needed about the outcomes for children who undertake degrees of social transition.

The guidance also notes that some forms of social transition “will not be compatible with schools’ and colleges’ statutory responsibilities”.

The DfE said that requests from children in primary schools should be treated with greater caution. It said they are more vulnerable because they are less able to articulate their feelings and will have a less mature understanding of complicated issues.

Involving parents

The guidance makes it clear that if a pupil asks to change their gender, their school should make their parents aware, and says that parents should not be excluded from decisions taken by the school relating to requests for a child to socially transition.

It adds that schools and colleges should take a cautious approach and that decisions should never be taken in haste or without the involvement of parents.

However, the guidance does also state that schools can choose not to inform parents if they have reason to believe that “informing parents might raise a significant risk of harm to the child”.

The guidance describes this as being an “exceptionally rare circumstance”.

Single-sex spaces

The guidance states that schools “must always protect single-sex spaces with regard to toilets, showers and changing rooms” and that responding to a request by a pupil to support social transition “must not include allowing access to these spaces”.

It states that pupils should use the toilets, showers and changing facilities designated for the sex they were assigned at birth “unless it will cause distress for them to do so”.

Where it does cause distress, the guidance says that schools “should seek to find alternative arrangements, while continuing to ensure spaces are single-sex”.

Pronouns

The guidance says that schools should not agree to a child’s request to use a different pronoun in primary school. And secondary schools “do not need to specify pronouns to be used about each pupil and can decline a request to change a child’s pronouns”.

Schools should also consult with parents and “should only agree to a change of pronouns if they are confident that the benefit to the individual child outweighs the impact on the school community”.

But the government has said that it expects there to be “very few occasions in which a school or college will be able to agree to a change of pronouns”.

And even where these changes are granted, the guidance says that no teacher or pupil should be compelled to use these preferred pronouns.

Bullying should not be tolerated but ‘honest mistakes’ should not be punished

The guidance says that schools and colleges should be respectful and tolerant places where bullying is never tolerated.

Staff and children should treat each other with “compassion and consideration”, it states, in accordance with the ethos of the school or college.

However, it adds that no child should be “sanctioned for honest mistakes when adapting to a new way of interacting with another pupil”.

School sports

The guidance recommends that schools should adopt “clear rules which mandate separate-sex participation” for all sports where “physical differences between the sexes threaten the safety of children”.

It goes on to state that it would “not be safe for a biological boy to participate in certain sports as part of a teenage girls’ team”. According to the guidance, this is because biological boys “constitute more of a risk” to biological girls because they are “generally stronger, larger and heavier”, particularly during or after puberty. The exception is sports that are deliberately mixed-sex, such as mixed netball.

Where a child requests to participate in PE lessons or sporting competitions that are intended for the opposite biological sex, the guidance states, schools should consider the “age” of the child making the request, how “safe” it would be to allow mixed-sex participation, and how “fair” it would be to allow mixed-sex participation.

Single-sex schools

The guidance says that single-sex schools can refuse to admit pupils of the other biological sex, regardless of whether the child is questioning their gender.

A school cannot, however, refuse to admit a child of the same biological sex on the basis that they are questioning their gender.

The guidance adds: “The Equality Act also does not prevent single-sex schools from admitting pupils of the opposite biological sex if their admission is exceptional, or their numbers are comparatively small and limited to particular classes or courses. While this decision should be regardless of whether the child is questioning their gender, if they are, the process outlined in this guidance should still apply to that child.”

‘Parents’ views at the heart of all decisions’

Education secretary Gillian Keegan said: “This guidance puts the best interests of all children first, removing any confusion about the protections that must be in place for biological sex and single-sex spaces, and making clear that safety and safeguarding for all children must always be schools’ primary concern.

“Parents’ views must also be at the heart of all decisions made about their children, and nowhere is that more important than with decisions that can have significant effects on a child’s life for years to come.”

Headteachers’ leaders have voiced frustration over the length of time it has taken for the guidance to be published.

CST chief Ms Cruddas said that the organisation was taking legal advice to understand the position of academy trusts and schools.

She added that leaders and trustees need to be aware that this is draft guidance and may be subject to change following the consultation.

“It is disappointing that the government has chosen to publish this consultation as schools are breaking up, and with widespread media briefing ahead of the draft document’s publication,” Ms Cruddas said. “This will make it very challenging to respond to any concerns felt by pupils, parents and staff until schools return in the new year.

“We have repeatedly asked the department not to publish major documents and consultations at the end of term and during holidays, which can add significant workload to school leaders and cause unnecessary confusion for staff and families.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, 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.”

The NAHT has said it will review the draft guidance, but Mr Whiteman added that, on first impressions, the guidance “leaves a lot of questions unanswered”, meaning school leaders will “continue to be placed in an incredibly difficult position”.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We have been asking the government to produce guidance for schools and colleges on this complex and sensitive issue for many years.

“It is frustrating that ministers have dithered and delayed for so long, but we welcome the fact that draft guidance has now been published”.

Cathie Paine, chief executive at REAch2 Academy Trust, said: “We welcome this move towards greater clarity from the DfE as this will inform our policies and ensure our school leaders are better supported - and, in turn, can better support families.”

She added: “We do still believe more support is needed to help schools but we are pleased that this guidance has been opened up to further consultation with the sector. We hope that suitable feedback from all representative groups is brought in to ensure there is full understanding of the issues faced.”