The Government has published long-awaited guidance setting out how schools should respond to pupils questioning their gender identity.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said it aimed to provide pragmatic advice for headteachers and to not use the gender issue as a “political football”.
It will mean primary school-age children who question their gender could be allowed to use different pronouns at school.
The guidance will be embedded into “Keeping Children Safe in Education”, the statutory safeguarding framework that schools must follow, after a ten-week consultation.
Central to the policy is the principle that requests from pupils to socially transition, including changes such as adopting different names or pronouns to reflect a felt gender identity, should be treated “with caution” and never approached on a blanket basis.
Schools are instructed to consult with parents in most cases, take any clinical advice into account and prioritise pupil wellbeing.
Will council primary school-aged children be allowed to transition?
The publication of the guidance come after years of political and legal wrangling over how gender identity is handled in educational settings.
The long-awaited document, which was originally drafted by the Tory government in 2023, has been on hold for more than two years under Labour.
Under the Conservatives, the guidance was that primary-aged children “should not have different pronouns to their sex-based pronouns”.
Labour has been grappling with the question and the issue has divided the party’s MPs.
Under the new framework, younger pupils, including those in primary schools, could be allowed to use different pronouns if they are questioning their gender if it is judged appropriate by teachers and families.
But it stresses the need for caution on social transitioning for younger children, adding that it is expected to be very rare for primary school kids.
Single-sex spaces
The guidance affirms that single-sex spaces, such as toilets, changing rooms and sleeping arrangements, should remain determined by biological sex for children over a specified age.
Children over the age of 8 should not access toilets designated for the opposite biological sex.
Pupils over the age of 11 should use changing rooms designated for their biological sex and should not sleep in accommodation with those of the opposite sex on school trips.
Colleges should follow the same rules. “This is to comply with applicable legislation, including safeguarding duties, and maintain the privacy and dignity of children,” the Government said.
Reaction
Education unions and headteachers’ bodies welcomed the clarity that statutory guidance provides after prolonged uncertainty with schools and colleges having to find their own solutions “amid an often polarised public debate”.
The general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Pepe Di’Iasio, said: “We have long called for clear, pragmatic and well-evidenced national guidance to support them in this area and we are pleased to have reached this point.”
The general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, Paul Whiteman, added: “We welcome the publication of this guidance for consultation, as there is a clear need for greater clarity about how schools should manage this sensitive issue and support their pupils.”
The emphasis on parental involvement has also been welcomed after schools previously lacked clear procedures.
Maya Forstater, CEO of Sex Matters, welcomed the news of the guidance but criticised the parts around social transition.
She said: "Schools are still being left with the idea that they can facilitate 'social transition' – which remains undefined and that they should negotiate this on a case-by-case basis.”
Shadow Equalities Minister Claire Coutinho also criticised Labour’s plans saying primary school children “are too young to make these decisions”.
