Young children should not be able to change pronouns, schools told

Schools must consider whether children who believe they are transgender are gay or lesbian, according to long-awaited guidance for teachers.

Headteachers have been told to consider whether a child’s request to use pronouns of the opposite sex is connected to their sexual orientation.

It comes after Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, warned this month that Britain is in the grip of an “epidemic” of young gay children being told they are transgender.

She said: “We are seeing I would say almost an epidemic of young gay children being told that they are trans and being put on a medical pathway for irreversible decisions and regretting what they have done.”

And a former teacher, writing for The Telegraph last week, told how in recent years pupils who are bullied for being same-sex attracted have “suddenly adopted a trans identity hoping that doing so would eliminate their problems”.

The first guidance of its kind for schools in England, published on Tuesday, notes that an NHS-commissioned review by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass “heard from young lesbians who felt pressured to identify as transgender male, and conversely transgender males who felt pressured to come out as lesbian rather than transgender”.

Schools should consider whether a child feels pressured to identify differently because they have been influenced by their peers or social media, the guidance states.

A child might also be influenced by a feeling that they do not align with stereotypes associated with their sex, it adds.

The advice is part of a checklist to consider when a child requests to change gender, to test whether it is a “sustained request” that a child has seriously considered.

Schools must also assess whether they should seek input from their lead in special education needs and disabilities (SEND).

The guidance has been drawn up by Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, and Ms Badenoch in response to an increase in the number of children questioning their gender.

It notes that the rise in children confused about their gender has been linked to gender identity ideology, a “contested belief” that a person can have a gender that is different to their biological sex.

Schools have no “general duty” to allow a child to “socially transition”, which is when a pupil asks to adopt the pronoun, uniform or use the facilities of their peers of the opposite sex.

Children changing gender in any school “should be extremely rare”, the Government said.

Primary school children should not change their pronouns

Primary school children should not be allowed to change their pronouns, according to the guidance.

Younger children are “more vulnerable as they are less able to articulate their feelings and will have a less mature understanding of complicated issues,” schools have been told.

Pupils who are under the age of 11 “should not have different pronouns to their sex-based pronouns used about them”, according to guidance published for consultation on Tuesday morning.

Ministers wanted to ban primary school pupils from social transitioning entirely, but they did not do so because they believed it would breach the Equality Act 2010.

Secondary school pupils can be refused requests to change gender identity

In secondary schools, children who request to change their pronouns can be refused, according to the new guidance.

Parents should be consulted on any demands by pupils to change their gender identity.

Schools 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”.

On occasions where a school has agreed to allow a pupil to change their preferred pronoun, it should not prevent teachers from referring to children collectively as “girls” or “boys”.

Teachers and pupils will not face sanctions for not using a child’s preferred pronoun unless they are found to have been bullying a trans pupil.

Pupils can change their “informal name” if parents agree

Schools have been told they must record a child’s sex accurately wherever it is recorded.

A child’s legal name must also be recorded in the register.

Pupils can change the name they are “known as” in school after their parents have been consulted in full. If a new informal name is agreed, it should be communicated to the school community.

Toilets and changing rooms must be single-sex

Schools must always protect single-sex spaces with regard to toilets, showers and changing rooms, the guidance makes clear.

This means that boys must not be allowed to go into girls’ toilets or changing rooms, and vice versa, to protect all children.

Pupils should use the facilities designated for their biological sex “unless it will cause distress for them to do so”. In such circumstances, schools should seek to find alternative arrangements, while continuing to ensure spaces are single-sex.

If an alternative toilet is found for gender-questioning children, it should be secured from the inside and used by one child at a time, including for hand washing.

Boarding schools told to keep boys’ and girls’ dormitories separate

The guidance tells boarding schools that no child should be allowed to share a room with a child of the opposite sex. The same applies to pupils on residential trips.

If a child is questioning their gender and does not want to share a room with children of the same sex, schools can consider whether to find an alternative arrangement but are under no obligation to do so.

An alternative arrangement must not compromise the safety, comfort, privacy or dignity of the child, the guidance states.

Uniform and hairstyle rules can be different for girls and boys

Children who are questioning their gender should, “in general”, be held to the same uniform standards as other children of their sex in school, according to the guidance.

Schools should not be expected to develop new uniform policies for children who identify as trans.

If, after consulting with a child’s parents, a school decides to make accommodations for a trans-identifying pupil, it cannot do so for swimwear.

The guidance warns schools that a child who wishes to adjust their uniform “may simply not wish to conform with expectations related to their sex”. It “should not be assumed that such a child is now on a path towards any transition”, it states.

Contact sports must remain single-sex

Schools have been told that “there can be no exception” to separate-sex participation in contact sports.

The guidance states that “it would not be safe for a biological boy to participate in certain sports as part of a teenage girls’ team”. However, it states that where sports are “deliberately mixed-sex, such as mixed netball, there should be no cause for concern”.

It notes that where sports are deliberately mixed sex, schools should ensure that they are “fair”.

If a child requests to participate in PE lessons or sporting competitions that are intended for the opposite sex, schools must consider the age of the child making the request, how safe it is to allow mixed-sex participation and how fair it would be to allow mixed-sex participation.

In primary schools, there can be a more “relaxed approach” to participation in mixed-sex sports because it is deemed to be safer.

Girls’ schools can exclude boys who say they are trans

Single-sex schools can refuse to admit pupils of the other biological sex, regardless of whether the child is questioning their gender, the guidance states.

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

Parents should be told if their child wants to change gender

Parents should be told if a child wishes to change their gender identity.

Where a child requests action from a school or college in relation to any degree of social transition, such as demanding a new pronoun, name or uniform, schools and colleges should “engage parents as a matter of priority, and encourage the child to speak to their parents,” the guidance states. The only circumstance where this should not happen is on “exceptionally rare” occasions where “involving parents would constitute a significant risk of harm to the child”.

Waiting period must be enforced before a child can change their gender

In circumstances where a school considers a request from a child to change gender identity, it should include a “watchful waiting period”, which is an approach to a medical problem whereby a period of time is allowed to pass before any intervention is made.

If, after a period of watchful waiting and consultation with parents, a child still wants to change their pronoun, schools and safeguarding professionals must also consider the long and short-term impact on the child and the impact on any other pupils.

The non-statutory guidance will be finalised after a 12-week consultation.