Teachers don't have to accept pronoun requests from pupils under new guidance
Teachers should not have to accept requests from pupils who want to change their pronouns and uniform, new Government transgender guidelines say.
Controversial new draft guidance issued by the Department for Education says that if a pupil's transition is agreed, teachers and staff won't face sanctions if they don't adopt new pronouns. The Government also said "significant decisions" affecting a child's future shouldn't be taken without parents being involved.
But critics branded it "actively dangerous" and said it would lead to "real harm" being caused to trans children and young people. Documents released this morning say schools and colleges have "no general duty" to allow children to change their gender identity. The Government says it is "categoric" that kids from opposite sexes should not share same-sex spaces and will "almost always" compete in sports separately.
The complex new rules - which will be subject to consultation - do state that school and college staff should use a child's preferred name if they wish to socially transition. The Government says the guidance has been issued in response to "the complex phenomenon of the increasing number of children questioning their gender". This means schools must consider requests for children wanting to change their pronouns, names, and uniform.
The Department for Education said: "The draft guidance clarifies that schools and colleges do not have to, and should not, accept all requests for social transition.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.
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"From the outset, schools and colleges should also consider the context and seriousness of the request including whether social influence is involved."
School leaders' union the NAHT has warned that there are a number of "unanswered" questions. General secretary Paul Whiteman 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."
He said the union will be reviewing the draft guidance, adding: "Upon an initial look, it would appear this guidance leaves a lot of questions unanswered, meaning school leaders will continue to be placed in an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. It is important to remember that it is individual children and young people at the heart of all this, and schools are focused on making sure every child in their care is both safe and treated with compassion and humanity.”
Campaign group Stonewall, which stands up for the LGBTQ+ community, said: "Not only is it legally unworkable and contrary to existing equality law and the government's own guidance on safeguarding – it is actively dangerous. If implemented it would inevitably lead to real harm being caused to trans children and young people across England. "
Accusing the Government of having a "very narrow ideological perspective", it said: "It presents trans children as a 'contested belief', and there has been no attempt to understand the needs or lived experiences of trans children, or to draw from best practice from inclusive educators across the country."
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.”
Ofsted Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman said: “I have long called for clear guidance for schools who face difficult choices around how to help pupils who are gender-questioning. This guidance is therefore welcome and will help schools do their best both for gender-questioning pupils and for all other pupils in their schools."
But flash-in-a-pan PM Liz Truss has hit out, saying it "doesn't go far enough". She 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.”
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