The Department for Education has published non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges on responding to requests to social transition. The comprehensive guidance for teachers provides advice on how best to support pupils questioning their gender in schools.
The proposed draft provides guidance and practical support for schools and colleges, including:
- supporting children who are questioning their gender
- protecting children from bullying or abuse
- maintaining child safety and wellbeing
The draft guidance clarifies that schools and colleges do not have to, and should not, accept all requests for social transition.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, and ensuring parents are fully consulted before any decision is taken.
From the outset, schools and colleges should also consider the context and seriousness of the request including whether social influence is involved.
In exceptional cases where a request to social transition is agreed, children, teachers or staff at a school should not be required to adopt the use of preferred pronouns and there must be no sanction, verbal or otherwise. Where a teacher or child does not adopt the new pronouns, they should use the child’s preferred name. Schools should ensure that bullying is never tolerated.
Where safety is a consideration – for example in physical sport or single-sex spaces – the guidance is categoric that it must never be compromised by allowing a child of the opposite sex to participate in those activities or use those facilities. Schools should also make sure competitive sport is fair, which will almost always mean separate sports for boys and girls especially in older cohorts.
The guidance also reaffirms that single-sex schools can refuse to admit pupils of the opposite sex, regardless of whether they are questioning their gender.
Key Points:
- Registration of name and sex – Every school must record the name and biological sex of every pupil in the admissions register. It is not accurate to record a male child as female or a female child as male, or to record a male child as a girl or a female child as a boy.
- Safeguarding - In all cases - apart from where the law says schools must do something, for example providing single-sex toilet facilities for children 8 years and older - schools and colleges must consider whether there is a safeguarding or welfare reason to make an exception to the approach outlined for individual issues below.
- Changing names – Pupils may be allowed to informally change their names if it is in the best interests of the child and parents have been fully consulted. The new name should be communicated to relevant members of the school.
- Changing pronouns – Schools can decline a request to change a child’s pronouns and primary school aged children should not have different pronouns to their sex-based pronouns. Schools and colleges should not compel teachers or pupils to use new pronouns, except where necessary to safeguard and all other options have been exhausted, such as addressing the child by their first name.
- Single-sex spaces – Schools must provide sex-separated toilets for pupils aged eight or over, and suitable changing accommodation and showers for pupils who are aged 11 years or over at the start of the school year. If a child does not want to use the toilet, changing room or showers designated for their biological sex, schools and colleges may wish to consider alternative toilet, changing room or shower facilities for the child, however schools and colleges cannot allow a child to use a space solely designated for use by the opposite sex.
- Boarding and residential accommodation – Sleeping arrangements like dormitories, tents and shared rooms should be sex separated. In the event that a child questioning their gender requests alternative arrangements, these should be considered but should not compromise the safety, comfort, privacy or dignity of the child, or other pupils.
- Uniforms and clothing – In general, a gender questioning child should be held to the same uniform standard as other children of their sex. When making a decision relating to a child’s request to change a uniform, schools may agree changes or exceptions to the standard school uniform for most items, but not for swimwear. Many schools already operate a uniform with some flexibility.
- Physical education and sport – Schools and colleges should prioritise the safety and wellbeing of all children when implementing policies. This means for sports, allowing a gender questioning child to participate in sport with the opposite sex will not be appropriate if it risks safety or fairness.
- Single-sex schools – Under the Equality Act, 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.